Wonderbag. A Unique Recipe for Change Launches in the United States

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Wonderbag, the simple but revolutionary non-electric portable slow cooker, brings its inspirational use to the United States this fall, and will be available exclusively through online retailer Amazon.com. 

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Wonderbag's clever insulation allows food that has been brought to a boil to continue slow cooking while in the bag.  No electricity is required. Boil it, bag it, slow cook it, and serve it.  Potlucks, tailgating, or dinner parties, Wonderbag is versatile and can be used anywhere you want and for any occasion. It's also perfect for holidays when stove and counter space are at a premium.  

Wonderbag isn't just a powerless cooker; it's an instrument for change.  Founded in South Africa by Sarah Collins to ease the social, economic and environmental impacts of wood fire cooking, the Wonderbag is proof that a simple slow cooker can make both delicious food and a lasting environmental and humanitarian difference. Collins, the founder of Natural Balance, the company who developed the Wonderbag, was recently recognized by Fortune as a member of the 2013 class of the Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs.

Buy One, Give One

For every Wonderbag purchased in the U.S. through Amazon.com, one is donated to a family in need in Africa. The Wonderbag has already reached more than 600,000 African homes through the international Buy One, Give One campaign. Wonderbag launched in the United Kingdom and Europe in 2012.

"Wonderbag is all about fostering a sense of global community and celebrating what unites us all – our love of cooking and of sharing a meal with those we love," Collins explains. "With the Buy One, Give One program, U.S. consumers have the power to cook wholesome, healthy meals for their families, whilst empowering a family in Africa who could not otherwise afford a Wonderbag."

Powerless is Powerful

Slow cooking is a quick and easy way to create wholesome, healthy, homemade meals. The Wonderbag allows the U.S. consumer not only to slow cook without using electricity or gas, but also to bring these slow cooked favorites anywhere – potlucks, picnics, tailgating, and dinner parties.  Virtually any slow cooker or stovetop recipe can be easily adapted for the Wonderbag, including traditional holiday dishes like mashed potatoes, gravy and soup.

U.S. consumers can also feel great that their Wonderbag has helped empower women across the globe.

Wood fire cooking is the source of major social, economic, and environmental issues in Africa. Families in Africa that use Wonderbag significantly reduce fuel usage, allowing time for other activities such as attending school and work, and not having to collect firewood daily, as well as a significant cost savings that eases the burden of poverty. Using the Wonderbag helps save water, reduces the carbon footprint, and minimizes deforestation and smoke inhalation deaths.

"The Wonderbag is an innovative solution that empowers women and helps them better feed their families, while also helping the environment," says Lauren Bush Lauren, CEO, Creative Director, and Co-Founder of FEED Projects. "It is wonderful to see such a simple and brilliant solution come to market in the United States."

Unilever Partnership

Unilever, one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products, has partnered with Wonderbag to bring it to North America.

"We've seen the impact Wonderbag has had for families in Africa, and we believe in its potential for growth in the United States," Kees Kruythoff, President of Unilever North America, says. "Unilever is proud to support Sarah Collins and her eco-entrepreneurial causes as she launches Wonderbag in the U.S." 

Along with supporting the Buy One, Give One effort, a Wonderbag purchase also includes a Knorr®/Wonderbag slow-cooker recipe booklet and free Knorr® Homestyle Stock to add rich flavor to your favorite dishes. Knorr® Homestyle Stock tastes like stock made from scratch. It uses carefully selected ingredients that are slowly simmered to perfection by the Knorr® Chefs. At Knorr®, they love food the way you love food and will go to extraordinary lengths in pursuit of great flavor – flavor they want to bring home to you, your kitchen, and your cooking.

The Wonderbag is available in red or blue at www.Amazon.com/wonderbag for $60. Empower someone in Africa with your Amazon.com purchase, and empower yourself by learning more at www.Amazon.com/wonderbag.  

About Natural Balance
Natural Balance is a South African social enterprise established in 2008 which developed the Wonderbag. The Wonderbag is a heat retention cooker, which was inspired by Sarah Collins's memories of using similar devices as a child growing up on a farm in rural South Africa.  ONE WONDERBAG saves, in Africa, over the period of a year, one ton of carbon, 1.7 trees, 3,000 litres of water and $36. The Founders of Natural Balance, Murray and Sarah Collins, announced at the 2013 World Economic Forum in Davos , their goal to have 100 million Wonderbags in homes across the world by 2020. With over 600,000 Wonderbags already in use in communities across Africa and the Middle East, they are well on the road to achieving this. The Wonderbag has thus far impacted over 2 million people who otherwise would not have had access to daily meals. It has created over 2,000 jobs and has more than 40 entrepreneurs selling the Wonderbag. Businesses have been started, domestic violence reduced and children put back into school. The impact of this simple innovation is astounding. For instance, in 2012 Microsoft bought over 20,000 carbon credits from Natural Balance.

About Unilever United States, Inc. 
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Fruttare, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Ragu, Simple, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/ or http://www.unilever.ca/sustainable-living/.

Unilever employs more than 12,000 people across North America – generating over $10 billion in sales in 2012. For more information visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.

For more information, please contact:
Alexandra Demers
GolinHarris
312-729-4240
[email protected]

SOURCE Wonderbag