7 minute read
In Profile: Talking Tables
Right: Talking Tables’ founder Clare Harris. Below right: A Jubilee cake stand fit for a Queen. Below left: Royal napkins are a ‘must’ to wipe away the crumbs.
A Right (Sustainable) Royal Knees Up
With the promise that celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this June will be the ‘biggest series of coming togethers over a long weekend’ that many of us have seen in a long time - from big, official events to local street parties and garden gatherings - it’s only natural that partyware specialist Talking Tables is keen to be right at the centre of it all.
Talking Tables’ founder, Clare Harris, tells PG&H not only what the company is launching for the Royal celebrations, but also why sustainability is at the heart of the company’s business.
Nothing says British tradition like a right Royal Queen’s Jubilee celebration. OK, maybe aside from the occasional pot of tea and a good old moan about the weather. But we’re talking about the party scene here, and if there’s one party that we’ll all be joining in with this year it’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Marking 70 years of the reign of Elizabeth II, Talking Tables is flying the flag for Great Britain and sustainability alike through the launch of a range of 100% recyclable or reusable partywares. They include the world’s first plastic-free and home recyclable hot drinks tea and coffee cups that will not only uphold the timeless British tradition of pomp and ceremony, but also showcase the progression of the industry when it puts people and planet front of mind.
“We’re pending B Corporation status and have been producing plastic-free partyware collections for some time,” explains Clare Harris, founder of Talking Tables. “The Jubilee gives us the opportunity to really amplify this, as it is such a high-profile occasion. It was therefore natural for us to want to embrace and lead the conversation on this major cultural celebration.” The collection itself plays heavily to the nostalgia-lovers, across a selection that spans cake stands, table covers, plates, napkins, cake toppers, paper streamers, balloons, paper dress-up, garlands, bunting and more, designed to tap into the history and heritage of the United Kingdom and its reigning monarch. “My aim was to give this collection a handpainted and retro feel, a more elevated look than your run of the mill Jubilee products,” explained Talking Tables’ senior designer Melanie Watt. “Although the items are paper, I wanted to give the impression of texture rather than being flat. I therefore looked at the original 1950s Coronation items, such as tea towels, for inspiration. Then I added an element of humour to bring it up to date and provide a talking point for the table.”
And creating a talking point is certainly what this UK company does best. Like most things it does, Talking Tables won’t be taking a low key approach to the Jubilee this June, opting instead to host its own events in the community and support various charity events.
As Clare explains: “In addition to our Right Royal Spectacle party collection, we’re also helping people plan their parties with a series of both inspirational and practical guides that are designed to instil party planning confidence in our customers. We’re encouraging our stockists to get involved
too, with a special window display competition.”
This is though, very much the Talking Tables way. It was in the summer of 2020 that the team introduced its first collection of home compostable napkins, a launch that signified a new starting point for a business that, since its foundation, has been built on the idea of community, people, and purpose.
This is a company that places people at the very heart of what it delivers; a business that allocates a wellness budget for each member of staff and gives all team members two volunteer days a year for them to support the local community and ‘give back’. Supporting a good cause runs through the DNA of the business, and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is no different an occasion, but a platform to put sustainability in the hands of the nation, and a chance to, once again, put doing business with purpose front and centre. Today, Talking Tables is on track to becoming B Corp accredited, hitting an overall B Impact score of 93 points (way over the minimum requirement of 80) as it embarks on its journey to reach net zero by 2030.
In taking on the challenge, Clare will be the first to admit that rolling out sustainable solutions and measures across the business in such a manner “has been a challenge”, but with a natural alignment to the values of sustainability built into the firm’s DNA, it’s been a journey that has seemed, “only the most very natural one to us. We’ve learnt to adapt and change very quickly. We’ve had to challenge ourselves and innovate - from the materials we use to the suppliers we partner with. But for Talking Tables, looking after people and the planet go together, and we have always been very aligned with the values of sustainability, so this has been a natural process for us.”
What began with the launch of a range of home compostable napkins in 2020 has quickly evolved into an ongoing transformation for the business, and one that has taken it through the process of stripping out single-use plastic across its portfolio, moving towards plastic-free across 95 per cent of its product roll-out (including the Right Royal Spectacle collection), and the introduction of the world’s first plastic-free paper cup. It’s a journey that has been dependent on some true innovation, and a holistic look at not only Talking Tables’ own operations, but the wider party and gifting scene too.
“You can’t deny that rolling out sustainability across your entire business is challenging,” says Clare. “It’s important to break it down and not be too hard on yourself because it is going to be a journey. Our B Corporation application has really helped us see sustainability as a holistic approach - that it’s not just about packaging and product. The first step is to set yourself goals. We set key goals in that we wanted to launch certain products, such as home compostable napkins. We then put a project plan in place as to how we could make that happen - what teams needed to be involved, how we would need to work with suppliers, and how they work with their material suppliers.”
Continues Clare: “Secondly, setting business KPIs is important. For example, all new products need to be plastic-free or not single use plastic. And thirdly, you have to collaborate with your supply base.”
In the summer of 2021, Talking Tables launched the world’s first plastic-free paper cup. One year later, and the team has since innovated the means of making those paper cups suitable for hot drinks - marking both another world first and a major leap for sustainability across the partyware scene. In fact, it was fortuitous indeed that the innovation was ready for launch in the year of the Jubilee. If ever there was a moment for putting sustainable innovation in the hands of consumers this was it.
“Major retailers have been hugely enthusiastic about the recyclable cups and we have experienced high demand for them,” confirms Clare. “Our green sustainable cup, which has featured prominently in stores, has been a best seller and achieved 100% sell-through before any other product. The packaging, emphasising that they are completely plastic-free, has been a big influence in this success. Several of our larger retailers are highly receptive to the concept of a plastic-free party scene, and we are currently developing more collections for them.”
So, what else is new for Talking Tables this year, as it strives to hit those everexpanding sustainability goals across the business? Naturally, product innovation will remain at the heart of what it does, as the team continues to develop new products and push the envelope in materials while in pursuit of its own business mantra: ‘sustainable joy.’
“We bring people together, and that will remain at the heart of what we do,” says Daniel Fagan, director of supply chain at Talking Tables. “To do that, you need great products, and we know we can make great products that have that considered approach all the way from source, supply chain and development. “Making our products home recyclable is a key point for us, as is stripping out single use plastic. We also recognise that some plastics are unavoidable, so we’re looking at how and where to use recycled plastics, rather than virgin plastics, while making our products reusable and built to last.”
It’s why the Right Royal Spectacle collection will comprise not solely paper products designed to be recycled, but a selection of gifts produced with the quality that enables them to be kept in the value stream and out of the waste stream indefinitely.
This is a collection not only to celebrate the Queen’s 70 year reign this year, but also to celebrate British heritage, innovation, and progression for many years to come.
