Check Out Alexey Savin’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexey Savin.

Hi Alexey, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi there, I’m Alexey, the founder of HAY! Straws. As someone who cares deeply about the environment, I was shocked to learn that roughly 500 million plastic straws are used every day in the USA. These straws are used once and then tossed in the garbage, polluting our landfills and oceans and harming marine life. It’s even been found that microplastics from these straws are making their way into our food sources.

Me and my co-founders Emma and Gilmar were inspired to take action after seeing the negative impact of single-use plastics. We started avoiding plastic bags, wrapped produce, and requesting “no straws” at restaurants, but we were still encountering plastic straws in our drinks. That’s when we decided to take matters into our own hands and create an alternative solution.

We searched for a replacement for plastic straws that was 100% biodegradable and not made from bioplastic, and that’s when we discovered straws made from hay. We were surprised at how simple and effective the solution could be, and that’s how HAY! Straws® was born.

Hay or straw is a byproduct of wheat production, and once the wheat is harvested, the stems are trimmed and made into hay for animal feed or, in our case, straws. Our straws can be tossed right in the compost bin after use, and they will break down naturally, returning to the circle of life.

We are proud to offer HAY! Straws® as a sustainable and environmentally-friendly alternative to plastic straws, and I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Well, let me tell you, it hasn’t been a walk in the park! We faced a lot of challenges along the way. One of the biggest hurdles we encountered was competing with plastic and paper straws.

On top of that, COVID hit and threw a wrench in everything. The pandemic caused disruptions in our supply chain and made it difficult to get our products to customers. It also forced many of our customers to close temporarily, which meant a significant drop in sales.

But you know what they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. We were able to survive and maintain our operations. We also used the downtime caused by the pandemic to automate processes in the company and improve our products, so we came out of it stronger than ever.

Overall, it’s been a bumpy road, but we’ve learned a lot along the way and we’re proud of where we are today.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As an engineer, I always dreamed of creating a widely used product. After multiple attempts, HAY! Straws became my passion project. With over 400 million straws sold, it brings me joy to see our impact on the environment.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love traveling, and I believe everyone should travel as much as possible because it helps with every aspect of our life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.haystraws.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/haystraws 

Image Credits
www.haystraws.com