Having witnessed the enjoyment of beer-quaffing crowds in Hong Kong’s popular clubbing and dining precinct of Lan Kwai Fong, entrepreneur Anushka Purohit came up with the idea of making beer from the unsold bread that would otherwise end up in the city’s landfills.
To do just that, Purohit and three other friends – Deevansh Gupta, Suyash Mohan and Naman Tekriwal – founded a company while being undergraduates at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. They named it ‘Breer’.
The Hong Konger speaks to Purohit about what makes the city special, what made her start her businesses, and what the one thing is that she would change about how the city views its ethnic minorities.
If you met someone unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe it to them?
I’m all about sustainability. Ever since I was younger, I wanted to try and minimise waste and make our world a better place, so now my work is all about this! I have two initiatives, Breer and Ssome Cosmetics – the first collects unsold, uneaten and surplus bread and uses it to brew local craft beer, and the second collects fruit peels from bakeries and flowers from temples and churches, and uses these to create skincare products and cosmetics!
What makes Hong Kong special to you?
Hong Kong is my home. Having lived here all my life, I cannot think of another place in the entire world that brings me the familiarity and comfort that Hong Kong brings. It is a melting pot of cultures – so many incredible ideas, new people and new activities!
What also makes Hong Kong special to me is how I’ve realised that anybody and everybody can call it home. You could have spent one day, one month, one year or one decade here, and it could still leave a forever imprint in your mind!
What made you start Breer and what does its success mean to you?
For me, Breer was always about an attempt to make a difference. I honestly never expected it to grow into what it is today, so its success, for me, is a clear indication that passion and purpose together will always drive profits! I began Breer because I wanted to reduce the amount of food that goes to waste in Hong Kong, and today we’ve saved over 12,000kg of food from heading straight to the landfill, so something’s working!
Everyone goes through highs and lows. What have been your proudest and lowest moments in your journey so far?
My proudest moment has been our partnership with Maxim’s Hong Kong, who gave us surplus bread from their factories. It was a dream collaboration and I’m so glad we made it work! We love working with corporate companies in the city because we get to learn so much from them, and we want to normalise sustainability in industries that otherwise don’t sound, or are not, sustainable – like the food and beverage industry!
My lowest moment would probably be navigating internal company mechanics. It’s not easy starting something with friends and having that equation turn professional. It can definitely blur some lines. For me, this is difficult. It’s hard to segregate the two and maintain clear boundaries, so this has been difficult but it continues to be a learning journey!
If you could change one thing about how Hong Kong views its ethnic minorities, what would that be and why?
The fact that we are still viewed as ethnic minorities. The term itself isn’t correct because individuals who are ethnically different to Hong Kongers/Chinese are actually in large numbers and definitely don’t constitute a minority anymore! I wish the world would realise that we live in times where people can choose what place they identify with. I call myself a Hong Konger and call Hong Kong home, even though when you look at me, you probably couldn’t guess that!
What would your advice be to young non-Chinese Hong Kongers that are confused about their identity?
There’s nothing wrong with taking your time to explore and understand [your identity]. Being a Hong Konger doesn’t mean you have to know every nuance of the culture, speak the language fluently or have to spend your entire life here. What matters is that you try! You try to notice the subtle preferences of Hong Kongers, you try to learn some phrases of the language, and you try to move out of your comfort zone to enjoy everything the city has to offer. Take your time, and connect with those who might also be confused like you! Explore the city together and build lifelong connections. You’ll realise that being a Hong Konger is a feeling, not ticking boxes of an eligibility checklist!
