Food & Drink
Cocktails for World Bee Day
8 cocktails we would lose in a world without bees – and how you can help our pollinators.
20 May 2021
This article first appeared in our International Women’s Day 2026 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
Main image: The Ocean Straw Group founder Mathias L. Nyström
In the early days of the war on plastics, bars, pubs and restaurants raced to switch single-use plastic straws for paper alternatives.
The move was laudable but the reality – paper that went limp after 30 minutes in liquid – was grim.
Still today, kids discard sticky, unfurled straws and ask for replacements, reminding parents up and down the UK that the hospitality sector’s waste crisis is far from over.
‘The hospitality industry was being offered so-called sustainable alternatives that simply did not perform at a professional level’, says Mathias L. Nyström, founder and CEO of The Ocean Straw Group. ‘Paper straws that failed mid-service, products that compromised the guest experience or materials that still released microplastics.’
Mathias channelled this frustration and founded The Ocean Straw Group; the goal was to create products that meet the highest premium standards while being genuinely sustainable. ‘Our ambition is to raise the bar for what sustainable hospitality products should be’, he tells us, ‘and to demonstrate that environmental responsibility and premium service are not opposites – they are inseparable.’
Years of experience in the hospitality sector – as an event organiser, nightclub manager and, at the age of 23, a restaurant property owner – have given Mathias a practical understanding of how hospitality truly works; not in theory, but in real service environments under pressure.
‘Operating in one of the world’s most competitive industries teaches you very quickly that premium is not optional – it is essential’, Mathias shares. ‘Premium guest experience, premium materials, premium execution at every level. Only when every step meets the same high standard can a hospitality business survive and succeed in a highly competitive market.’
Moved to act, Mathias founded The Ocean Straw Company as a way to bridge two worlds: it would service the uncompromising demands of premium hospitality while also addressing the devastating impact of waste on the ocean. ‘Before my experience in hospitality, I worked professionally as a diving instructor’, Mathias shares, ‘which deeply shaped my environmental awareness.’
As a diving instructor, Mathias spent hundreds of hours beneath the surface of the ocean; ‘The ocean was both my workplace and my classroom’, he tells us. ‘It was there that I truly began to understand how fragile marine ecosystems are. Seeing plastic pollution even in remote, seemingly untouched locations leaves a lasting impression and creates a lifelong sense of responsibility; once you have seen plastic embedded in coral reefs or drifting through open water, it becomes impossible to ignore. That experience fundamentally shaped my sense of environmental stewardship.’
While sustainability has always been important to Mathias, he recognises that his thinking on the subject has evolved. ‘Early on it was all about awareness, he tells us. ‘Over time, it became responsibility. Today, it is action. I do not believe sustainability should ever mean compromise. True sustainability is about better design, better materials and better systems.’
Historically, the hospitality sector has relied heavily on single-use products, for myriad reasons around convenience, hygiene and cost efficiency. Given the scale of global hospitality, this dependence has contributed significantly to global waste streams.
‘The most obvious issue with these single-use plastic products is longevity’, Mathias explains. ‘These products are used for minutes, yet remain in the environment for centuries. Many plastics break down into microplastics that enter ecosystems, food chains and, ultimately, the human body. This is a largely invisible but extremely serious problem.’
For a long time the sector has been crying out for viable alternatives that match professional requirements. Today, The Ocean Straw Group provides premium, circular alternatives to traditional single-use hospitality products, primarily within beverage service.
The demand is there; its products are used in high-end restaurants, cocktail bars, hotels, airlines, luxury events and premium hospitality venues around the world.
The Ocean Straw Group provides wood- and plant-based products, made from residual byproducts of the Norwegian forestry industry. ‘We upcycle wood waste from Nordic forestry that would otherwise have no high-value use’, Mathias explains. ‘In this way, we transform an industrial byproduct into premium hospitality products rooted in Scandinavian sourcing and design values.’
The materials and processes are carefully engineered to ensure that no microplastics are released, either in use or at the end of the product’s lifecycle. This is not a marketing gimmick, it’s a core value embedded in every design decision and a fundamental pillar of The Ocean Straw Group’s circular economy model.
‘Sustainability is built into the product from the beginning, not added afterwards’, Mathias says – yet the products are developed from a hospitality-first perspective. The solutions are premium in look, feel and performance, designed by professionals who understand real service conditions.
For Mathias, this approach is part of a broader movement that’s redefining quality standards in hospitality. ‘Sustainability is no longer an alternative to premium’, he says; ‘it is premium.’
Mathias has noticed demand for premium, authentically sustainable products has increased significantly and continues to gather steam. ‘The shift is being driven by regulation, consumer pressure and the availability and innovation in materials and design’, he says. ‘When circular products also make commercial sense, adoption accelerates rapidly.’
There’s also a growing understanding that low-quality alternatives damage brand perception. ‘Hospitality professionals increasingly recognise that premium solutions are required even for traditionally disposable items. At the same time guests have come to expect responsible choices without compromising experience’, Mathias shares. ‘Sustainability has become a core brand value rather than a niche concern.’
A key milestone has been The Ocean Straw Group’s endorsement and collaboration with the International Bartenders Association (IBA). ‘Having our products recognised by the world’s leading bartending organisation as a new industry benchmark confirms that sustainable products are becoming the new standard’, Mathias says.
Mathias acknowledges there is still ‘work to be done’; many initiatives and targets are in place globally, but implementation remains uneven. Progress now depends on collaboration, scalable solutions and products that work operationally.
It’s unlikely that single-use products will ever be completely eliminated from the hospitality sector, but they can certainly be reduced and redesigned. Achieving this requires system change, education and the willingness to rethink established practices.
Growth for The Ocean Straw Group has been particularly strong in the Nordic countries, where sustainability and design excellence are already deeply ingrained, and more recently in the UAE. In both regions, premium hospitality and sustainability are increasingly viewed as inseparable. The Nordics have a strong culture of environmental responsibility and design integrity, while the UAE combines innovation, premium hospitality and ambitious sustainability goals. Mathias notes that both regions value excellence, and that this aligns naturally with The Ocean Straw Group’s philosophy.
‘Our focus now is on global expansion’, Mathias shares; ‘we are developing new premium circular products and building strategic partnerships across international hospitality markets. Profitable business and environmental protection can and must go hand in hand; sustainability that does not work commercially will never scale. Premium, profitable and sustainable are not contradictions; they are complementary.’
‘For me, this journey is about respect – for the guest, for the industry and for the ocean’, Mathias continues. ‘When premium thinking guides every decision, sustainability becomes a natural outcome rather than a compromise.’
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