A Winnipeg business that has developed eco-friendly, luxury reusable cutlery is about to find itself on one of the world’s biggest stages.
iReuse2 Cutlery founders Nikki and Jamie Buchannon have been asked to include their products in high-end, $20,000 “swag bags” that will be given to players and celebrities at the Feb. 2 Super Bowl in Miami, Fla.
Nikki told 680 CJOB that when they first got the call, the Buchannons thought it might be a prank.
“At first, we were very concerned… but we made sure it was a legit company, and it’s amazing,” she said.
“The initial proposition was just to send the sets to get placed in the bags. I asked if we could attend the event as well, so we are going to go to Miami and actually hand the sets to the players and the celebrities in person. I just hope I can be cool!”
The connection with the Super Bowl, Jamie said, happened through a series of lucky online connections that started when Nikki was trying to break into influencer marketing. A connection with a California chef, he said, kicked the whole thing off.
“The chef contacted Nikki and said: ‘I’d like to collab with you. I’d like to do something with you,'” Jamie explained.
“One of that person’s followers in Florida bought a set, and when they bought a set, they hosted a party. The person who did the Super Bowl swag bag happened to be at that party, loved the sets and wanted us to be a part of it.”
The Buchannons — who spent years in the restaurant business prior to starting the iReuse2 company — said their goal was to create a high-end, “eco-sustainable” product for daily use.
“It’s just a mindset. It’s about choices… are customers actually needing that plastic waste? The napkins, the single-use bottles, the single-use cutlery?
“We can change that, and it’s one meal at a time,” said Nikki.
“It’s a luxury option… it’s not just child-size. It’s a full grown-up, nice weight, good quality stainless steel, dishwasher safe. We want people to use it and actually function with it every day.”
The couple will be driving to Minneapolis, Minn., and flying from there to Florida — 100 sets of their cutlery in tow — to take in the game and hand out their products to the movers and shakers.
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