Our Team

The ETE team currently consists of 2 ladies; social designer Annet Bruil and health care consultant Chenting Zou. While their names might suggest the reverse, Annet lives in Singapore and Chenting lives in the UK. Bringing the new ETE plates to life was entirely communicated via a series of cross-continental Skype sessions (zero in-person meetings) - a testament to today’s globalised, nomadic way of working – internet connection and amazing teamwork are all you need!

Annet Bruil

The ETE plate is designed by social designer Annet Bruil. She saw the need for people to eat healthy easily and created the ETE plate concept back in 2008. At that time still studying at the Delft University of Technology with no direct opportunity to bring the idea to market she moved on, working on other projects and graduating on decreasing aggression in the Dutch society. Ever since starting to work on the ETE plate concept she was strongly motivated to contribute positively to society through her design projects. 2012 was a turbulent year where she started her company at the beginning of 2012 and moved to Singapore at the end of 2012. Arrived in Singapore and encouraged by new friends she picked up the ETE project again. In 2013 the ETE plate got a redesign and was tested intensively trough out 2014. She produced the first batch of ETE plates in 2014 completely in line with her ideal to not only benefit the people who use the plate as well as benefit the maker (in this case a social enterprise in the Netherlands). Due to good media coverage end 2014 she spread her idea of the ETE plate and decided to produce a second batch. Teaming up with Chenting Zou at the end of 2014 they now form a strong team behind the ETE plates.

Chenting Zou

Chenting Zou joined the ETE team end of 2014, as an enthused health care consultant looking for a career change. Her strong organizational skills as well as her global mindset helped the ETE team to grow. Not afraid to travel she helped the ETE team to find the perfect manufacturer for the second batch of ETE plates. Besides that, she is also a star in marketing as well as passionate about developing products that solve healthcare challenges with beautiful designs.

History

Start of the ETE Plate

09 June 2008

The first idea for the ETE Plate sprouted in May 2008 and came from the designer's Bachelor's final year project at the Delft University of Technology.
There, the challenge was to design a product that could be produced by workers without any education in South Africa which could be sold in the Netherlands. The designer found the contrast between the two countries very interesting and thought about how food poses a problem to both countries. In Netherlands people over-eat, resulting in more than 50% of the population being overweight whereas in South Africa uneducated people struggle to provide daily healthy meals to their families. She decided to think of a tool or product that would benefit both populations, providing one population with income through work and providing the other population a tool to eat healthier.
After many explorations, the ETE Plate was born.

Rethinking ETE

01 Jan 2013

After having been shelved after graduation, new interest came for the ETE Plate when the designer moved overseas to Singapore. Suddenly people started to ask her if they could buy the ETE Plate.
A market research followed, prototypes were created and production facilities researched. There was interest in the ETE Plate and after a redesign the first 10 prototypes where happily used in Netherlands and Singapore.

First series made

20 October 2014

Sometimes you have to go far to see something that was there all along.
The search for a socially sustainable production factory had proven to be difficult in Asia but with an order from a client there was the urgent need to produce. After searching, from Singapore, a social enterprise in Netherlands was perfect for the task. Social Enterprise Mooi B.V. produced the first series of silk-screened ETE Plates, in English and in Dutch language. Made from ceramic, they proved a challenge to be shipped overseas when orders as far as from Brazil came pouring in!

First series sold out

18 feb 2015

The first series sold-out and was popular in the United States. People there would even order the last versions in Dutch just to have the ETE Plate.
We started to search to scale up our production and investigated different material options that would be easier to ship: lighter (thus more environment friendly) & less fragile. We researched different bio-plastics as well as tempered glass options.
We had one hilarious moment when we received the second set of samples from one of the factories ... the text was all mirrored and you had to keep the plate in front of a mirror to be able to read what it said.

Successful crowdfunding campaign

12 July 2015

From 12 June till 12 July we crowdfunded for the production of the ETE Plate on Indiegogo. We reached our goal just before the deadline and pre-sold over 500 ETE Plates to customers all over the world!
We got featured in many magazines and online blogs!

Factory visits

15 Augustus 2015

After many samples and visits to factories we found the right factory near Shanghai where they produced the ETE Plate from 50% bamboo fibre, 20 % cornstarch and the rest made from melamine.
Their friendly owner and staff showed us the whole process and factory and made sure they were up to the task. Although not certified, they also proved to handle their employees with dignity and a fair pay.
We went there before the production started as well as mid production to check the ETE Plates.

First Bamboo Plates Shipped out

15 October 2015

After the production and quality control finished, the ETE Plates where shipped to our warehouse in the US to be delivered to our backers all over the world.
We launched our webshop and continued to nudge people into healthy behavior.
Check our news page for the latest news and developments of the ETE Plate.