brush with bamboo - think beyond plastic
TRANSCRIPT
Our company designs, manufactures, and distributes toothbrushes made from bamboo that use entirely compostable packaging.
Primary Contact:Ro Kumar, Co-Founder
[email protected](415) 779-4ECO
In partnership with:
Problem: Plastic Toothbrush Waste• Around 450 million plastic toothbrushes end up in landfills every
year in the USA alone. Worldwide usage is estimated at over 2 billion plastic toothbrushes per year.
• Toothbrushes are a daily personal care product that average consumers purchase 4 times per year. At present, the packaging, the handle, and the bristles are all made from plastic.
Solution: Switch to Bamboo
• Our bamboo toothbrush is a drastic reduction in plastic. It presents customers with a beautiful,safe, and effective alternative to the plastic toothbrush. It is recommended by SF Green Dentistry and the Eco Dentistry Association.
• Bamboo is naturally antimicrobial and protectsitself against mold in moist bathroom settings.
• Our impact on plastic pollution is measurableby our customer base. Each purchase of ourproduct helps reduce the use of plastic and is a vote for a more sustainable material.
Our Business and Customers• Wholesale channels: Our toothbrush is already available in 50+ key stores across the United States,
Canada, Norway, and Mexico. We have partnered with World Centric to expand into their distribution channel of over 2500 stores.
We are also approaching customers in the airline, cruiseline, hotel, gift, home furnishing, and outdoor/camping industries.
• Dental and Healthcare channels: We have already cultivated partnerships with key green dental associations. We plan to grow our customer base in this industry.
• Retail channels: We have thriving online sales from our own website, Amazon.com, Buy.com, and Ebay.• Expos, Festivals, Events. We have exhibited at important green-focused events including Green Festival LA
and SF, Conscious Life Expo, and Knowphest. We will also exhibit at Natural Products ExpoWest and ExpoEast with World Centric, Yoga Journal Conference, the New Living Expo, etc.
Our Technology: Toothbrush Specs
Marketing and Sales Strategy• Partnership with World Centric. Word Centric is a nationally distributed line of
compostable products (2500 grocery stores). We will co-brand our toothbrush with their logo. World Centric will warehouse and ship our product to grocery stores. This will free up our time to focus on other channels like the dental industry, and focus on marketing and sales efforts.
• Social media—building grassroots support for our cause. Our fan page has 2500+ fans. We also started a blog about sustainability, localblu.com, which has 12,000+ fans. Costs: Labor/Time
• Dental Industry—reaching out to key dentists and dental associations to attain professional dental approval of our product for our customers. We’re supported by SF Green Dentistry and the Eco Dentistry Association. Samples to Dentists/Association Membership Costs: $500 annually
• Media Coverage—we have been supported by major organizations like My Plastic-Free Life, Back to the Roots, and EcoVegan Gal. Upcoming articles are scheduled with GOOD Magazine, TreeHugger, and TriplePundit.
Our Competitors
Our Difference›We have the strongest online presence and most active social media community.› We have the widest distribution – We currently have the most stores and the most units sold. With our partnership with World Centric – we are poised to make a nationwide splash.› We were the first mover on the market, with a strong launch 3 months prior to any of our competitors.› We are the only company to use bamboo packaging. Others use plastic and cardboard.
Brush with Bamboo
LivePlusUltra Smile Squared GreenPanda BogoBrush
Retail Price $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $3.99 Unknown
Packaging Fully compostable
Plastic, not biodegradable
Fully compostable
Uses plastic, not biodegradable
Uses plastic, not biodegradable
Time on the market
7 months 1 month 4 months 1 month Unreleased
# of Stores 150+ 32 ~30 ~60 0
Our Team & Board MembersManagement Team
Rohit SahdevB.S. UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business ’07. Accenture, Merrill Lynch, Blue Sky Sustainability Consulting, Alameda County Hospital.
Ro KumarJ.D. Stanford ‘16. B.A. UC Berkeley ’08. Columnist, GOODMagazine. Reporter, KPFK 90.7. Social Media, Raj Patel. Founder and Editor, LocalBlu.com.
Board Members
Aseem DasCEO, World CentricA leading manufacturer of compostable products.
Fred SelingerProfessor, Haas School of BusinessA lecturer at UC Berkeley’s business school on entrepreneurship/personal finance.
Advisors
Beth TerryAuthor, My Plastic-Free LifeA prominent blogger and author in the space.
Alex Velez & Nikhil AroraCo-Founders, Back to the RootsA UC Berkeley-incubated manufacturer of upcycled grow-at-home mushroom kits.
Financials (Projected YOY customer base increase)
Sept. 2012 - Present FY 2013 FY 2016 FY 2018
Revenue# of Stores 50 350 1,000 1,500Wholesale Units Sold @ $2.50 5,000 105,000 300,000 450,000Online Retail Sales Sold @ $5 1,000 20,000 60,000 90,000
Total Revenue $17,500 $362,500 $1,050,000 $1,575,000 *Conversion rate assumptions: -1 Store purchases 50 brushes every 2 months = 300 brushes/year-Each consumer of online retail sales orders 1 brush every 3 months = 4 brushes /year-Our cost per unit on the first round of toothbrushes was high because of setup costs. New cost per toothbrush is 85 cents, we can have a more competitive retail price.
Round 1 – Outside Angel Investment Investment
R&D Costs $4,000 Marketing Costs $6,000 Initial Inventory $12,000
Total Investment $ 22,000
Round 2 – Think Beyond Plastic 50K Investment
New Inventory $12,000 Product Development/Research $5,000Sales/Marketing/New Hires $13,000 3rd Party Certifications $5,000Operations Cost $10,000Legal Fees $5,000
Total Investment $50,000
World Centric Distribution
We also plan to use our strong social mediaPresence for Kickstarter campaign.
VS.
Moving towards a closed-loop lifecycle
• The use of bamboo as a material is an integral aspect of our product’s sustainability. With the resources of World Centric as a partner, we hope to start using FSC-certified bamboo.• Bamboo grows at 2-4 feet per day no need for fertilizer• Bamboo is inherently anti-microbial no need for pesticides• Bamboo has the same tensile strength as steel durable but non toxic
• In our operations we re-use materials as much as possible• We re-purpose shipping materials to create in-store displays• We encourage creative up-cycling of the toothbrush handles and boxes.
Plastic Toothbrush Processing
Current + Future Timeline
Aug ‘12 | Sep ‘12 | Oct ‘12 | Nov ‘12 | Dec ‘12 | Jan ‘13 | Feb ‘13 | Mar ‘13| Apr ‘13 | May ‘13 | Jun ‘13 Aug ‘12 | Sep ‘12 | Oct ‘12 | Nov ‘12 | Dec ‘12 | Jan ‘13 | Feb ‘13 | Mar ‘13| Apr ‘13 | May ‘13 | Jun ‘13
Product Launch
Quick growth of customer base to 50+ key stores
Key partnerships created by demoing at expos, conferences, grocery stores
Partnered with
to expand distribution channel to 2500+ additional stores
If we win the competition we hope to use the prize $ to:•Research plant-based bristles •Order New Inventory•Increase Marketing Spending•Certifications for our product (FSC, USDA Biobased, Organic, BPA-Free)•Expand product line (child size)•Get legal advice regarding patenting.
Continue to seek outside investment to expand product scope