Can Wonderbag, the electric-free slow cooker credited with saving energy, the environment and livelihoods in the world’s poorest places, help Britons struggling with rising power bills and the cost of living?
“We’ve never been more relevant to everyday life, everywhere. That’s why we’re looking for growth investment for this next move,” says Sarah Collins, chief executive of the non-profit social enterprise that she founded a decade ago in South Africa and which also has a base in the UK.
The cooker – essentially a portable, polyester fabric pouch stuffed with repurposed foam – is a tech and logistics distribution triumph. Users bring food to the boil then transfer their pan to a Wonderbag, which is sealed with a drawstring.
The heat retained through the insulation does the rest, cooking the food and keeping it warm for up to eight hours, cutting energy consumption by 70 per cent. The product comes in three sizes, and its universality is proving a genius solution for the billions who survive on little.
As they often cook on open fires, the bag reduces their dependency on scarce resources such as firewood and charcoal. Demand for Wonderbag is growing as many people must deal too with the impacts of deforestation, climate change and political conflict. Today the product, which has a 15-year life span, is in six million kitchens.
Sold mainly online directly and through Amazon, it has created 5,000 jobs, and a £7.7 million turnover is forecast for 2025/26. Having one has cut the need for women to search for fuel in isolated areas, helping thousands evade gender-based violence in regions such as central Africa.
Wonderbag recently organised women in Egypt to make cookers that were then transported into Gaza. The foam is chipped and bagged in 55 sites around the globe, including small locations and Bag a way to cut bills larger factories in Africa, Turkey and Mexico.
“What we most need now is old chipping machines and grinders,” says Collins, who is also consulting with pharmaceutical companies. “Our insulation can apply to lower temperatures too which means potential for the cold chain supply of vaccines,” she explains.
Having “felt like alien” when she first mooted her idea, partnerships with Unilever, Microsoft and independent cook shops have helped Wonderbag establish itself, while distribution collaborations are carried out with governments and development organisations.
The rise of the conscious consumer is now opening up more retail opportunities and Wonderbag is looking for funding of around £10m to scale, from “a social impact investor or one that shares our values,” says Collins who thinks the cooker would make an ideal present. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” says the entrepreneur who is reinventing what fine dining can mean for the world.
wonderbagworld.com
