Worksmith & Four Pillars announce first start-up scholarship winner

Stroh, an Aussie start-up that sells compostible wheat straws, has won the first Worksmith scholarship.

Worksmith is Melbourne’s first co-working space designed by and for the hospitality industry, in partnership with current member Four Pillars Gin.  

Since opening in February, Worksmith has grown to over 50 members creating a diverse community of wine, beer and spirit distributors, spirit producers as well as social media, graphic design, journalism and technology professionals. 

The scholarship involves a three-month full resident membership at Worksmith with 24/7 access to the space, events and industry support.

Stuart Gregor, Four Pillars co-founder and trade director said: “We at Four Pillars love the team at Worksmith – we don’t just take up space in their Smith Street workspace but we like their thinking, their laser-like focus on the hospitality industries and frankly we just like them as people.

“So partnering on the sponsored membership wasn’t one of the more difficult decisions we’ve made. A great idea, a proper partnership and a damn good group of people giving it a crack. They had us at hello.”

Michael Bascetta, Worksmith co-founder added: “Worksmith exists to support the food, beverage and hospitality industries. We are excited to partner with Four Pillars on the initiative and look forward to working alongside the winner of the membership.”

The woman behind Stroh is Teresa Aylott, who has worked in social media and digital marketing in London and Sydney for 10 years.

After seeing one picture too many of marine life suffering as a result of waste, and becoming increasingly concerned about climate change she decided to do something about it. Queue a swift exit from the corporate world and months of research into sustainability, this research led her to Holland, whose sustainability policies and businesses are more developed.

During this trip, she discovered wheat drinking straws, a truly circular product! Made from the stem of a wheat plant, wheat straws are considered an agricultural waste product of the harvesting process so they do not deplete any natural resources and because they are 100% natural they are fully home compostable nourishing the soil from which they came.

Stroh is now stocked in various forward-thinking bars and restaurants around bars and restaurants around Sydney, Melbourne, Malaysia and New York. From small cocktail bars and cafes to the larger groups such as Merivale and the Opera Bar. 

The Worksmith team said it was extremely excited to be working alongside Aylott looked forward to supporting more food and beverage start-ups in Melbourne.