THE STRAW
THAT BELONGS
IN THE CUP.
Gerald Shaffer grew up watching BC farmers struggle against commodity prices that never kept pace with the cost of growing. His answer was a hollow rye stem, cut to length, and placed in every craft cocktail worth drinking.
"Paper straws suck. Naturally Straws sip."
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Gerald's Take
BEFORE 1888,
EVERY STRAW
WAS THIS STRAW.
I have been handed a lot of straws in my life. Paper ones that collapsed before I finished the drink. Plastic ones that tasted of nothing good. Metal ones that made everything taste like a plumbing fixture. And then, at a bar in Vancouver, someone handed me a Naturally Straws rye straw — and I understood immediately what had been missing.
It is not a novelty. It is not a gimmick. It is the original straw, grown in a field in British Columbia by Gerald Shaffer and the farmers he has recruited to the Shaffer Farms network. A hollow rye stem, dried in the sun, cut to length. Nothing added. Nothing left behind. The same straw that went into every Victorian cocktail, every Edwardian soda, every drink served before Marvin Stone wound paper around a pencil in 1888 and called it progress.
The craft cocktail world has been searching for this straw for years. It has arrived. And it was grown forty minutes from Vancouver.
"The straw in a guest's hand at a bar in Edinburgh or a resort in Costa Rica was grown in a field in British Columbia. That provenance is verifiable, communicable, and genuinely valued."
NATURALLY STRAWS BY SHAFFER FARMS — WHOLESALE TO BARS, CAFES & HOTELS
A Naturally Straws rye straw in a negroni. Farm-grown in British Columbia.
The Founder
GERALD
SHAFFER
Gerald Shaffer has been watching the commodity grain problem for a long time. As the founder of Shaffer Farms in British Columbia, he spent years thinking about what a farm can grow that the world actually needs — and will pay a premium for.
His answer, arrived at after considerable research into agricultural history and the modern hospitality trade, is both surprising and entirely logical: drinking straws. Specifically, the hollow rye stem that was the world's only straw for thousands of years — until a man named Marvin Stone wound paper around a pencil in 1888 and called it progress.
Shaffer Farms is bringing the natural straw back. Not as a niche novelty, but as a scalable, farm-sourced supply chain built to serve the professional hospitality trade — from craft cocktail bars in downtown Vancouver to luxury hotels in Monaco.
"Farm-grown, not factory-made. A raw agricultural crop — grown in a field, dried in the sun, cut to length. Nothing added. Nothing left behind."
— Gerald Shaffer, Founder, Shaffer Farms
The Brief
FIVE PROBLEMS.
ONE SOLUTION.
Naturally Straws was built to solve a cluster of interconnected problems — in the environment, in agriculture, and in public health — with a single, elegant product.
AUTHENTICITY
Before 1888, every straw was a natural straw. Premium beverages deserve the original format — not paper that goes soggy, not plastic that poisons, but the real thing that bartenders and baristas used for centuries.
ZERO POLLUTION
Factory straw production contaminates water, emits CO₂, and leaves a persistent waste stream. Naturally Straws are grown, not manufactured. The crop is the product. Nothing is added. Nothing is left behind.
FARMER INCOME
BC farmers need crops that pay better than commodity grain. Shaffer Farms supplies seed, provides growing guidance, and guarantees purchase of every harvest. Farmers gain a reliable, premium-value crop with a guaranteed buyer.
SUPPLY RELIABILITY
The natural straw market has been chronically undersupplied. Naturally Straws is building a vertically integrated supply chain — local BC farms as primary supply, supplemented by regional partners — so buyers never face stockouts.
CARBON NEGATIVE
The rye crop sequesters carbon as it grows. No factory, no industrial process, no emissions from manufacturing. The existence of this product is a net environmental positive — which almost nothing in the food and beverage supply chain can claim.
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Naturally Straws supplies natural straws to Vancouver's shelters and community organisations, reducing disease transmission from shared water vessels. Purpose is not a marketing strategy — it is built into the supply chain.
The Science
PAPER STRAWS
HAVE A
PFAS PROBLEM.
In 2023, researchers at the University of Antwerp tested 39 brands of drinking straws for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — PFAS, or "forever chemicals." The results were striking: PFAS were detected in 90% of paper straw brands and 80% of bamboo straw brands.
PFAS are called "forever chemicals" because they do not break down in the environment or in the human body. They accumulate in soil, water, and biological tissue. The irony is significant: paper straws were introduced as a biodegradable, eco-friendly alternative to plastic — and many of them contain chemicals that are, by their nature, not biodegradable.
Naturally Straws contains no additives of any kind. A hollow rye stem, dried in the sun. That is the entire product.
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF ANTWERP, 2023. PUBLISHED IN FOOD ADDITIVES & CONTAMINANTS.
| MATERIAL | PFAS | STRUCTURALLY STABLE |
|---|---|---|
| Paper | 90% of brands | No — collapses in 4–20 min |
| Bamboo | 80% of brands | Partial — degrades slowly |
| Plastic (PP) | Not detected | Yes — but persists 300+ years |
| Glass | Trace in some | Yes — fragile, heavy |
| Stainless Steel | Not detected | Yes — metallic taste, reusable only |
| Natural Rye (Naturally Straws) | N/A — no additives | Yes — holds full drink duration |
4MM BORE.
ZERO COMPROMISE.
A 4mm hollow grass stem, naturally dried and cut to length. No processing. No additives. No allergens. The same straw placed in every drink from ancient Mesopotamia to the Victorian cocktail bar — and now, from a farm in British Columbia to your bar.
DIAMETER
4mm internal bore
LENGTHS
5" (127mm) · 8" (203mm)
MATERIAL
Natural hollow rye stem
SHELF LIFE
24+ months dry storage
WORKS PERFECTLY FOR
Not for thick smoothies or milkshakes — Naturally Straws knows its lane and owns it completely.
The Supply Chain
FIELD TO GLASS.
NOTHING IN BETWEEN.
GROWN IN BC
Partner farmers in British Columbia grow the rye crop from seed Shaffer Farms supplies. The hollow stems develop naturally over the growing season.
HARVESTED & DRIED
Stems are cut at peak maturity and naturally dried. No chemicals, no processing, no industrial intervention.
CUT & PACKED
Dried stems are cut to length — 5" or 8" — and packed in compostable packaging at the BC facility.
SERVED WITH PRIDE
Delivered to restaurants, bars, cafes, and hospitality groups across Canada and beyond. From field to glass.
For the Trade
YOUR GUESTS
NOTICE THE
DETAILS.
A natural straw signals authenticity, care, and a genuine commitment to sustainability — not just a regulatory checkbox. It completes the experience. It is the thing a bartender can hand to a guest without an explanation or an apology.
The craft cocktail world has been moving for over a decade toward provenance-driven purchasing. The same instinct that led bartenders to seek out single-origin spirits and estate-grown garnishes is now extending to every element of the bar experience. A straw is no longer just a straw. It is a statement about what the venue values.
DEDICATED ACCOUNT MANAGER
A real person who knows your account, confirms orders, and is reachable when you need them.
RELIABLE SUPPLY
BC-grown primary supply supplemented by regional partners. No stockouts.
FLEXIBLE QUANTITIES
Case packs for independent operators; pallet pricing for groups and distributors.
COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING
Packaging that matches the product — no plastic, no waste.
"In a £20 cocktail at a London bar, the straw is part of the presentation. It should not be the thing the guest is thinking about."
Downtown Vancouver
GROWN HERE.
SERVED HERE.
FIRST.
Downtown Vancouver is the natural home market for Naturally Straws. The city has one of the most sophisticated craft cocktail and specialty coffee scenes in North America — a community of bartenders, baristas, and hospitality operators who have been quietly furious about paper straws for years and are actively looking for something better.
The pitch is straightforward: a BC-grown product, delivered by a BC company, to BC bars. The provenance story writes itself. The sustainability credentials are genuine. And the product performs better than anything else in the category.
If you run a bar, restaurant, café, or hotel in downtown Vancouver and you want to be the first venue in your neighbourhood to serve the original straw, the conversation starts at naturallystraws.com.
WHOLESALE INQUIRY
Naturally Straws supplies restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, and hospitality groups across Canada. Wholesale accounts receive dedicated account management, reliable supply, and flexible case quantities.
CONTACT WHOLESALE →THE BEST STRAW
I HAVE EVER
BEEN HANDED.
It holds its form. It has no taste. It has a warmth and weight in the hand that no paper or plastic straw can replicate. And it was grown forty minutes from Vancouver by a man who decided that BC farmers deserved better than commodity grain prices — and that BC bartenders deserved better than paper straws.
NBDI SCORE
247
EXCELLENT
PRODUCT
10/10
STORY
10/10
MOUTHFEEL
10/10
SUSTAINABILITY
10/10
BC PROVENANCE
10/10
TRADE VALUE
10/10
"The craft cocktail world has been waiting for this straw to come back. It has arrived. And it was grown forty minutes from Vancouver."
— GERALD SHAFFER, EDITOR, JUST GERALD MAGAZINE
SERVE THE
ORIGINAL STRAW.
Wholesale accounts across Canada. Dedicated account management. Reliable supply. Flexible quantities. Compostable packaging.
Sales Tool
THE SHARE MATRIX
Five ready-to-send messages — one for every channel. Copy, personalise the bracketed fields, and send. The article does the introduction. You arrive already known.
SUBJECT LINE
We wrote about Naturally Straws in Just Gerald Magazine
MESSAGE
Hi [Name], I wanted to share something before we connect. Just Gerald Magazine — a lifestyle and travel publication based in BC — has just published a feature on Naturally Straws: the original hollow rye straw, farm-grown by Gerald Shaffer right here in British Columbia. The article covers the science (zero PFAS, carbon negative, holds its shape for the full drink), the story, and why we think it belongs in every serious cocktail bar in Vancouver. Here’s the feature: https://www.justgerald.com/best-days-ever/naturally-straws I’d love to bring you a sample kit and have a five-minute conversation. Would [day] work for you? Best, [Your name] Naturally Straws
MESSAGE
Hi [Name] — I noticed [Bar/Restaurant] and thought you’d appreciate this. We just published a feature on Naturally Straws in Just Gerald Magazine — BC-grown hollow rye straws, zero PFAS, carbon negative. The kind of product that actually belongs on a back bar. Article here: https://www.justgerald.com/best-days-ever/naturally-straws Happy to send a sample kit if you’re curious. No pitch, just the product.
MESSAGE
Hey [Name] — Just Gerald Magazine just ran a full feature on Naturally Straws and your bar came to mind immediately. BC-grown rye straws. Zero PFAS. Holds its shape. The real thing. https://www.justgerald.com/best-days-ever/naturally-straws Worth a look — happy to send samples if you want to try them behind the bar.
MESSAGE
Hey [Name]! Just wanted to share this — Just Gerald Magazine did a full feature on Naturally Straws this week. BC-grown rye straws, zero PFAS, carbon negative. The article explains the whole story really well. https://www.justgerald.com/best-days-ever/naturally-straws Let me know if you want me to drop off some samples 🌾
MESSAGE
Hi [Name], Just Gerald Magazine featured Naturally Straws this week — BC rye straws, zero PFAS. Thought of [Bar]. Article: https://www.justgerald.com/best-days-ever/naturally-straws — happy to bring samples anytime.
SALES PRO TIP
Replace [Name] with the actual person’s name and [Bar/Restaurant] with the venue name before sending. The bracketed fields are the only thing standing between this message and a reply. The article link does the rest.
Best results: send the article link 24–48 hours before your first call or visit. They will have read it. You will not be a cold call.