International Business Alumnus Creates an Easier Way to Say No to Plastic

Born and raised along the slow flowing twists of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Steffek Rainey ’24 (BBA) grew up seeing first hand the effects of environmental degradation and pollution in the rivers and lakes he grew to love. As he learned more about the 8 million tons of plastic that ends up in the ocean each year, he felt inspired to get involved and help make a difference, participating in local cleanups and advocating for policies to reduce plastic.

One day during high school, Steffek was sitting in a coffee shop and noticed a girl walking out, her hands full and struggling. In one hand she had her coffee and food, in the other she had a reusable water bottle and plastic utensils in a plastic bag which made him think there has to be a better way.

“My thought process was that if we can make reusables just as easy and accessible as single-use plastics, then that might encourage people to adopt them,” said Steffek

That’s when he thought of the Evera Bottle, a reusable water bottle that has a hygienic and convenient section holding a full five-piece stainless steel utensil set including a fork, knife, spoon, chop-sticks and straw. 

“Even as somebody who is passionate about sustainability, I would forget to use the reusable kits I owned, or wouldn’t have them when I needed them,” Steffek explained, “I and everybody else I know carries reusable water bottles with them... So, why not just put [the cutlery] inside the bottle? Then you're carrying them with you all the time.”

It was then that he began the slow process of designing, testing and networking that it took to create the product and bring it to life. 

“That was one of the reasons why I chose to go to [the University of San Diego] because of the startup ecosystem in San Diego, the opportunities to get involved with sustainability and being so close to the ocean,” Steffek recalled, “it was the perfect place to continue to pursue my sustainability passions within the community in San Diego and also within the school’s community”.

Through years of prototyping the evolution of the product began as cardboard conceptualizations, to a 3-D printed copy, visiting farmers markets, beach cleanups and sustainability fairs to show the prototypes for feedback and gather information on consumer desires for the product. 

“That process took years and hundreds of prototypes and different designs and like, 99% of them failed,” Steffek laughed. Eventually he created his dream product, but he knew that it would take more than a dream to get it going on a larger scale.

As an international business major at the Knauss School of Business Steffek was able to learn the business practices he desperately needed to move his business forward, network with like-minded professionals, and even win pitch competitions, such as the Global Social Innovation Challenge, to raise funding and awareness of his product. 

“I was very naive going into this. I knew nothing about marketing or finances or anything like that. So, I literally applied the concepts that I was learning [in class] to my business as it was going along,” said Steffek.

Steffek acknowledged that although this was a lot of long hours and hard work on his end, he couldn’t have done it without the help from mentors, investors, professors and other resources along the way. 

During this time he also made connections with organizations and nonprofits such as 4Ocean, a movement to reduce plastics and trash in the ocean, and Blue Land, an eco-friendly cleaning company aiming to reduce plastic waste. 

“They have been really helpful in offering me advice and being very supportive of a fellow entrepreneur in the fight against single-use plastic… all kinds of different people have come out to support me,” said Steffek, “I've had many people that have mentored me and offered guidance in different fields like marketing or refining my pitching skills or the financial aspects.”

Currently as the business is growing, Steffek is sticking to online retail sales or attending farmers markets and sustainable business fairs. Having now saved over 27,000 pieces of plastic with his Evera Bottle sales, his goal is to keep growing the business for the betterment of our environment. 

“My ultimate goal since the very beginning has just been to reduce single-use plastic consumption. And, really, it's about inspiring and empowering everyday people to take action against this… people that maybe feel like they can't make a difference in this issue. But I'm hoping that this product will inspire them and show them that you can make a small difference that can add up if we all do this together.”

— Jess Applonie