Kellstadt students Virginia Head (right) and Teagen Andrews launched ReusaBowl, an app that enables restaurants to utilize and maintain an inventory of reusable containers.
A DePaul University team took home the winning prize at the Campus 1871 Pitch Competition hosted by Chicago’s digital startup hub, 1871, this past April. The annual event, held virtually this year, included a two-week educational program for university students to learn and develop entrepreneurial skills, build connections and pitch their businesses to a panel of tech industry leaders in Chicago.
Kellstadt Graduate School of Business student Teagen Andrews, MBA graduate and current master’s student Virginia Head, along with their teammates, DePaul undergraduates Mudabbir Tariq and Requel Young, won $2,000 in prize money for pitching their business, ReusaBowl – an app that enables restaurants to utilize and maintain an inventory of reusable containers, made from recycled plastic, for off-premise dining.
“During COVID we quickly recognized an increased strain on Chicago restaurants and the city’s waste stream from the jump in demand for off-site dining options, such as takeout and delivery,” explains Andrews in their pitch video. “The cost for takeout containers and the time it takes to order and manage that inventory are hurting restaurants. ReusaBowl is here to change all that.”
Andrews and Head (MBA ’21) are the co-founders of ReusaBowl and current students in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program at Kellstadt. Tariq is an entrepreneurship major at the Driehaus College of Business and Young is studying user experience design at the Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media.
Their ReusaBowl pitch beat out other teams of students from the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Loyola University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“We got a lot of comments from the [Campus 1871] mentors on their excitement for more sustainable options entering the marketplace, and we’ve heard more support from others, and it has galvanized us to move forward with the business and make it happen,” says Head of the win.
“To me this was a validation that a reusable takeout container system for restaurants and eateries is viable, that there is tangible benefit that can be demonstrated and that people are willing to invest in the success of this idea,” Andrew adds. “It is yet another example of how a circular economy model is not only good for the planet, but is also great for business and can be a profitable operation.”
Click here to view their three-minute winning pitch video.
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