Disposable chopsticks are undoubtedly convenient, but they come with a heavy environmental cost. The production of these utensils contributes to deforestation, while their disposal leads to landfill pollution.

With that in mind, a power couple became the first circular economy franchise in Singapore - to upcycle single-use chopsticks into style Scandinavian eco-friendly furniture.

They count Shaw family scion, Howard Shaw, as one of their early investors and have recently raised USD$7.7 million dollars in growth funding to scale its circular global microfactory network.

On Mind Your Business, Lynlee Foo and Ryan Huang speak with the husband and wife combo - Evelyn Hew, Founder and Managing Director, ChopValue Singapore and Justin Lee, General Manager, ChopValue Singapore on how they stumble upon this business, where do they obtain their chopsticks, their rapid growth since its inception in 2016, creating over 150 jobs across 6 countries through 63 in-development franchises.

This podcast is produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)