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Linking our knowledge of food, nourishment and health, to our understanding of Mother Nature Sydney MacInnis, Founder & CEO [email protected] www.motheringMother.com
Linking our knowledge of
food, nourishment and health, to our understanding of Mother Nature
Sydney MacInnis, Founder & CEO
www.motheringMother.com
What Is mothering Mother’s Mission? • mothering Mother’s mission is to strengthen the natural bond between our bodies’
health & wellness, and the health and sustainability of the natural resources embodied in our Mother Earth.
• Through web-‐based educaAon and its lead product line of reusable coCon grocery bags, mothering Mother has made the relaAonship between food choices, food buying, and the environmental crisis caused by single-‐use plasAc bags, a resounding call to acAon for consumers.
• Every minute over one million single use plasAc bags are given away in grocery stores to transport produce and other bulk items to the home; within a maCer of hours, these bags are discarded. The evidence linking these bags which never biodegrade, with environmental destrucAon, is profound. mothering Mother’s coCon bag system for grocery shopping is a convenient and appealing alternaAve.
• The health benefits conveyed via mothering Mother’s educaAonal focus on bulk foods, best pracAces in buying and storing fresh produce, and exploring healthy ingredients, brings the circular message together. With regular blog entries, lifestyle suggesAons, recipes and cooking videos, mothering Mother connects its bags to a new way of thinking…about the health of the body, and the health of Mother Earth.
What Is mothering Mother’s Strategy?
• mothering Mother offers a complete system of unbleached coCon bags for plasAc-‐free shopping: – A drawstring coCon bag (available in two sizes) designed for the produce
secAon. – A Velcro-‐closure bag (also available in a range of sizes) best accommodates
bulk food items. – A sizable coCon tote designed for the checkout.
• The ulAmate value proposiAon is strong. Benefits of a $2.50 – $3.00 bag include: – 300 fewer clear plasAc bags used per person each year. – Food spared the exposure to the toxins emiCed by plasAc bags. – Fresher food: produce stored directly in mother Mother bags is able “to
breathe.” • mothering Mother is not just selling a bag. We are teaching people how to use
the bag, and how to prepare the food from the bag. This approach is an invitaAon to a lifestyle that centers on connecAng our personal health to planetary health.
mothering Mother’s Revenue
• Money is earned through the sale of the bags. We sell six different bags with thirteen different SKU’s.
• Our end consumers are primarily women in the 30-‐65 age category, especially young mothers concerned about the environment etc.
• Consumers find us in stores and on the internet. • Our wholesale customers are approximately 50 stores, including two Whole Foods regions.
• We have two e-‐tail distributors and ecommerce on our home website. Traffic is driven to the site with SEO, the promise of diet and health-‐related arAcles, YouTube videos, shared newsleCers/blog.
Our Technology • Our technology is technology of yesteryear: reviving the usefulness and reusability of
coCon. Shopping and eaAng closer to the Earth can have a large impact on the carbon footprint of an individual over a lifeAme.
• Our manufacturing process reflects this ethos. mothering Mother designed the bags, which are manufactured in India. The coCon fabric must be sourced from Asia, making assembly in India more cost-‐efficient. Sydney has travelled to India to visit the two major manufacturers of the bags, ensuring safe and legal work condiAons where the bags are made.
Bulk Bag Produce Bag Tote Bag
Target: The “Unaware Aware”
• Changing habitual, ingrained grocery shopping behavior is a HUGE task. mothering Mother’s strategy has been to focus on early adopter women who have the potenAal to become ambassadors for change. – i.e. she is currently shopping the health/organic food
distribuAon channels and probably bringing her own reusable shopping bags BUT is almost completely unaware of the produce/bulk plasAc bag issue
• With distribuAon in place, mothering Mother now needs to drive sales with greater awareness, educaAon and engagement.
• More signage and promoAonal events to support the sales channel and create more awareness.
• Educate and engage consumers via website, blog, recipes, speaking engagements, video and social media.
Re-‐thinking What CompeAAon Means
• At this stage of the market’s development, we have ONE foe, and a number of allies.
• The foe is the free plasAc produce/bulk food bag available in every supermarket in the country:
• Our allies are every other brand of reusable product/bulk food bag*. At this point, they are NOT mothering Mother compeAtors; we are all niche brands with the same goal: to unseat the free plasAc bag as the default choice for shoppers and in doing so, educate and inspire beCer shopping decisions.
• As the market develops, MMs compeAAve objecAves will evolve, from growing the market (with allies) to dominance through superiority. – Versus today’s allies: more sustainably sourced, beCer value, superior performance,
more trusted brand.
*Companies producing reusable bag products include: Ecobags, Chicobags, Hands on Hemp, Blue Lotus, Reusit, Flip & Tumble
mothering Mother’s Team • Sydney Bio: An unusual combinaAon of a Cordon Bleu trained cook with a HolisAc
NutriAonist with a Yoga & MeditaAon Instructor, all swirled together with Sydney’s passion for care of the Earth, make for unlimited twists and turns for the mothering Mother company.
• Summer student (1), part Amers (2) throughout the year, an unpaid intern.
• The Board of Advisors is a recent part of the team. • Kate Guenther-‐ non-‐profit fund raiser and business development professional. • Susan Monteith-‐ investment banker with over 25 years’ experience.
• Gary Ryan-‐ MarkeAng and sales execuAve with extensive experience in both not-‐for-‐profit and for-‐profit sectors.
• Bea Smith-‐ former advisor to major financial services projects/M&A deals. Currently a virtual markeAng strategist for SMB clients.
• Hugh Duthie-‐ Strategic planning consultant and market researcher with a broad experience in the world of consumer brands.
• BeCs Fitzgerald-‐ Business Development ExecuAve: Licensing, MarkeAng, Branding.
• Iain MacInnis-‐ Banker with over 20 years’ experience financing mid-‐sized companies in all industry sectors/ both Canada and the US.
Financials YEAR 3 YEAR 5
SALES Stores $100,000 $200,000
Distributors $80,000 $250,000
mM Website $20,000 $50,000
Total $200,000 $500,000
CUSTOMERS Stores 300 700
Distributors 25 40
mM Website 1500 4000
CONVERSION RATE Stores 20% 25%
Distributors 30% 40%
mM Website 10% 15%
• Less than 1% of target consumers are currently using produce and bulk bags. • Bag awareness is increasing with bag bans in communiAes across the country. • Distributors will find stores more recepAve as consumer demand/interest grows. • Start-‐up capital came from private investor.
Sustainability • mothering Mother evolved from over 20 years of sustainable
pracAces in the home of founder Sydney MacInnis. Those pracAces are also in place in the home-‐based office: – Only recycled paper purchased. Limited prinAng of file copies-‐-‐when
required, ‘scrap’ paper is used first. – Natural light and minimal temp control most days. Low flush toilet.
Laptop computers with energy efficient fax/printer. LED light bulbs. – Carpooling/biking encouraged. – Snacks are homemade and filtered water is available from the tap in
glasses. • Most communicaAon with stores is by email and phone. We work
to restrict store visits for demos, unless there is a specific need. The Board of Advisor call was through teleconferencing.
• As sales volume increases, more sustainable organic coCon will be viable.
Current Status • mothering Mother has been in business since 2009.
– over 25,000 bags sold! – in 2 Whole Foods Market regions. – accredited member of Green America. – awaiAng cerAficaAon as a NaAonally recognized Woman Owned Business.
• Growing library of educaAonal tools: – over 20 food-‐prep videos, and more evolving. – 60+ vegetarian and vegan recipes, created by Sydney, on the blog. Increasingly weekly.
• Free screening of Bag It sponsored by mM for Earth Day 2012.
• Sydney is a vocal advocate for bag bans throughout lower Westchester County.
• Sydney is compleAng her first book in a series from mothering Mother. Each will focus on an individual lifestyle choice that encourages the mM values. The book will include pracAcal informaAon interspersed with personal stories and reflecAons.
• With this funding, mothering Mother would add one full Ame employee, who would handle social media, store relaAons and markeAng promoAons. Store display and promoAon will be improved with the help of a markeAng consultant. If resources permit, web markeAng would also be addressed to bring mM to the forefront of reusable opAons.
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