Memobottle raises over $370,000 for new bento boxes

Memobottle is gearing up to launch its new bento boxes with the support of its loyal customer base and has already raised more than $370,000 on Kickstarter in the past week to do so.

The Melbourne-based business was founded 10 years ago by Jesse Leeworthy and Jonathan Byrt, producing unique, slimline water bottles to help customers embrace a reusable lifestyle.

“The overwhelming goal has been to reduce single-use waste,” says Byrt, speaking to SmartCompany.

Over the past decade, the company has experienced exponential growth, with revenues soaring by approximately 400% and Byrt estimates the brand has saved more than 200 million single-use plastic water bottles from ending up in landfills.

Reusable alternatives

Expanding beyond its signature water bottles, Memobottle now wants to tackle single-use consumption during lunchtime.

“We’re pushing into lunchboxes and eradicating all that single-use that happens around lunchtime,” says Byrt.

The brand’s bento box has a sleek B5 paper shape to it, easily fitting any work bag. The silicone system allows users to prepare meals and store them in a steel-insulated container, promising a convenient lunch experience.

Byrt believes Memobento’s unique design will set it apart from other lunch boxes in the market.

“[It’s] designed to make the whole experience from start to end a lot more convenient for people,” he says.

“We’re really confident that the concept will take off.”

Community-driven growth

Within the first 48 hours of launching its Kickstarter campaign, Memobottle had already raised $300,000 for the new product.

“Launching our Memobento lunchbox through Kickstarter was a strategic decision,” explains Byrt.

The campaign garnered immediate success, surpassing initial expectations of $30,000. On the first day alone, the campaign attracted more than $100,000 in pledges.

Byrt is grateful for the enthusiastic support of Memobottle’s loyal community, which he says has been vital for the brand’s success.

“The Kickstarter campaign is officially the fourth crowdfund campaign,” he says.

“For us, community engagement has been instrumental. We are literally built from the crowd, and we’ve got a huge engaged community.”

With a dedicated base of 10-year recurring customers, the brand has cultivated a loyal following that continues to champion its mission.

“We’ve got a great community that is highly engaged,” Byrt adds.

What’s next?

As Memobottle looks towards the future, its focus remains on product expansion and the promotion of a reusable lifestyle. This will include launching a range of bags in the coming months.

“It’s a premium tote bag range, which is going to be a lifestyle, daily tote that is going to be the ecosystem for our other a lot of products,” explains Byrt.

Memobento is set for a March 2025 delivery.

Never miss a story: sign up to SmartCompany’s free daily newsletter and find our best stories on LinkedIn.