Water bottle venture to outline success as Edinburgh networking event resumes face-to-face gatherings

An entrepreneurial duo behind the world’s first reusable water bottle made from plants will next week outline their expansion plans, including the creation of additional jobs, at a business networking event in Edinburgh.

Amee Ritchie and Jake Elliot-Hook, founders of S’wheat, will be the first 'in person' speakers at the Love Your Business event, which returns to Black Ivy in Bruntsfield after two years running online.

Amee Ritchie and Jake Elliot-Hook, founders of S’wheat, will be the first “in person” speakers at the Love Your Business event, which returns to Black Ivy in Bruntsfield after two years online, due to the pandemic.

The networking initiative was founded in 2018 by Michelle Brown of the eponymous PR agency to help businesses share contacts, referrals and build their networks, as well as raise money for various charity partners, which include Make 2nds Count, Support in Mind Scotland, Invisible Cities and currently, Epilepsy Scotland.

It has attracted more than 150 speakers from around the world, including Californian-based eco-entrepreneur Paul Tasner, founder of PulpWorks; Chris van der Kuyl, chairman and co-founder of 4J Studios, developer of the Minecraft Console editions; co-founder of Social Bite and business coach, Alice Thompson; and Larah Bross, founder of Bross Bagels.

At Thursday’s event, Ritchie and Elliot-Hook will be telling the story of their entrepreneurial journey which began four years ago when they were studying, after seeing the amount of single-use plastic bottles that were being discarded by students.

S’wheat, which has continued to adapt and expand its product range and added a number of jobs, has just launched a new black bottle and will be unveiling a range of lunchboxes in September.

The business has also expanded into co-branding corporate partnerships with clients including the University of St Andrews, Edinburgh College and construction company Morgan Sindall, resulting in the creation of three jobs to help grow the business further.

Ritchie said: “We are so excited to be a part of Love Your Business at Black Ivy this month so we can share S’wheat’s journey. It has been so rewarding to watch our business grow over the last four years and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”

Brown added: “We are delighted to be back at Black Ivy this month for our first face-to-face networking event since the start of the pandemic, especially with Amee and Jake from S’wheat as our speakers.”