Culinary Collective Develops Up-Cycling Program for Rice Bags

Culinary Collective, parent company of Spanish food brand Matiz España, has launched a new package recycling or “up-cycling” program for its best-selling Matiz Paella Rice. Consumers who send in three empty Matiz Paella Rice and Bomba Rice cloth bags will receive a free shopping tote made from up-cycled rice bags.

The eco-friendly tote bags are handmade in Seattle from sturdy American-made canvas, with an up-cycled Matiz Rice cloth sack forming a pocket on each side. 

Owner Betsy Power explained, “We’ve been hearing for years just how much people love our uniquely beautiful Matiz Paella Rice cloth packaging and being a certified B Corp responsible business made us think about how we might creatively re-use them in a way that both reduces waste and rewards our customers. The result is both stylish and functional.”

Each bag of Matiz Paella or Bomba Rice will have a special tag promoting the program with instructions on how consumers can receive their free tote, with additional details on the company website.

Matiz Paella Rice from Spain is grown in the national L’Albufera Nature Preserve in Valencia. Both the traditional paella and bomba varieties are the perfect ingredient for paella and risotto. The short-grain rice varieties have high absorption rates that allow them to soak up and hold an abundance of flavor in rice dishes. To ensure freshness and quality, Matiz rices are packaged in a cloth sack that allows the rice to breathe.

Distributors and retailers are encouraged to promote the program with their customers. 

Based in Lynnwood, Wash., Culinary Collective is an import and distribution company specializing in gourmet cultural foods that embody and promote native cultures and traditions. The company works with small family and community companies that take pride in producing all-natural foods using methods and recipes passed down through the generations. 

Under its Matiz España label, Culinary Collective imports and distributes an extensive line of traditional products from Spain. Under its Zócalo Gourmet brand, the Collective supports small-scale producers of all-natural cultural foods in Peru by bringing quality products such as grains, flours, beans and chili pastes direct from the producers North American retailers and consumers.