hugo de boon of fruitleather rotterdam talks alleviating fruit waste problem on #storyofdesign

news by shafa diandra

it was a pleasant coincidence too good to be true for fruitleather rotterdam to be able to introduce how valuable fruits are and how they can promote sustainable illustrations more than just as natural coloring or fragrance — this is how they are commonly used in the industry.

the two founders, hugo de boon and koen meerkerk, were students at the willem de kooning academy in rotterdam studying spatial design. under the same major, neither de boon or meerkerk ever thought about creating such inspiring business that regenerates value to things that have been labeled useless — the not-so-aesthetically-appealing fruits to take home, the unlucky waste that people often ignore in the markets and leave to rot by the end of the day.

hence, the humble thought driving the idea was to turn fruit waste into a surprisingly beautiful leather-like material that can be made into endless beautiful products. what a wonderful way of giving second chances to these unlucky sources of nutrition!

and this is how the story begins……

the willem de kooning academy is situated near the rotterdam block, where indoor and outdoor markets are almost in any corners.