The trip:
It was the summer of 2020. Bahadir had just purchased milk, eggs, and a bunch of fruits and vegetables at a well-known grocery store in Palo Alto. It seemed like all could fit in just 3 paper grocery bags. Maybe even 2. However, he was given 6 bags, because every one of his loads was double-bagged!!!
Paper grocery bags break. You wouldn't want to end up with your eggs on the pavement, scrambling to collect your strawberries and tomatoes (or what's left of them) while letting others pass on the sidewalk. The store was courteously protecting its customer from such a situation. However, the amount of paper waste was bothersome. He just couldn't shake it off. Maybe it was the raging California wildfires, or the ones from other parts of the world that had been in the news.
The idea:
Then, a light bulb went off as the cashier was scanning the items. He thought about a design that could potentially eliminate double-bagging. On his drive back home, he kept thinking that it was worth a try, but hoping one of the paper grocery bag manufacturers would design something like that to help save trees. He did not have the means or the time at that point in time, but would have been happy to share the design idea.
A few weeks passed. Bahadir saw an environmental competition looking for submissions in September. Thank God he came across that email, as it was the spark he needed. Things got really busy thereafter. He searched the web for anything close to his design idea and came across none. He went over his design in theory, and constructed it from different pieces of the paper grocery bags from multiple stores.
The testing:
Already familiar with experimental design from his engineering background and career at multiple firms, Bahadir devised some testing schemas, utilizing a real-time digital display load measurement tool. When ready, he conducted the first tests at home, and it was quite a scene with two cameras, sometimes one of them recording slow motion graphics to analyze the breaking points of existing paper bags. Apparently, his wife was not super happy about paper bags all around the house, sometimes with bits and pieces of torn bags laying on the floor. However, she also got really excited when... (drumroll, please):
He still could not break the new design, having gone up to twice the failure load of a typical grocery bag. More vertical room was needed, so he postponed the rest of testing to a later day. Finally when able to test, the results were really encouraging: approximately 8 out of 9 currently existing bags from multiple stores he tested broke at about 14.5kg on average. The new design simply did NOT break below 29.3kg!
The power of a team:
Things were inmotion then. Bahadir started to dedicate more time towards the development of
this bag, eventually filing a provisional patent, followed by actual patent
applications in multiple countries. He also reached out to his network for
contacts who may be in the paper business. He was hoping to find someone who
could help with sourcing. Thank God, he came across something much better.... a
great team to kick things off...
First, hecalled a long time friend - Oguzhan - from 25 years ago. He operated a
successful printing shop and business, and was a mechanical engineer with a
special interest in tackling challenging mechanical problems. Oguzhan already
had an interest on the topic, and they dived deeper into dicussions about who
may source raw materials and how to manufacture the new designs.
In parallel, Bahadir connected with another long time friend from highschool - Baris - who had spent years in the packaging business around the world
from Europe to Asia building his expertise, before settling in Turkey. He
already knew a great deal about the business, finances, and logistic aspects.
When Baris and Oguzhan met, they also realized they had a lot in common (read more about the team at https://www.bag2last.com/blog/it-s-all-about-the-team).
The reactions:
Things were in motion then. Bahadir started to dedicate more time towards the development of this bag, eventually filing a provisional patent, followed by actual patent applications in multiple countries. He also reached out to his network for contacts who may be in the paper business.
Things then really got on a roll when the store owners or sourcing managers reacted in amazing ways calling the bags "the solution to an age-old problem". Thus, the business started generating revenue within just 4 months.
Behind every bag, there is a countless amount of tests, thinking, design, sourcing, and planning, sometimes literally one by one. If you're holding one of our bags or using them at your store now, it's the result of such passion and constant improvement. With this, we always welcome and appreciate any feedback you may have for us, so that we may make things even better for you and for the world.