Raised in Vancouver in Canada, Love Lauren Gropper increased early – identical to her desire for help in his behavior. After continuing environmental studies and geography in studies, Gropper did a variety of work in related fields. Then she studied a balanced project at the graduate school.
Image loan: thanks to the kindness by destiny. Lauren Gropper.
He says that at the graduate school Gropper had a terrible accident that confirmed her commitment to continuing the work, which made the difference.
“Like many foreigners abroad, I was very interested in riding on mopeds and motorcycles,” recalls Gropper, “I was in the mountains of Thailand and finally collided on the bus. I broke my jaw and lost all teeth. It was changing life, close to death. It was an event. [conviction to] Do something in the world that has influenced. “
Gropper was determined to build a profession for this purpose, but at the starting you founded the business was not on her radar. She was still gaining experience in Consulting Consulting in the field of Green Building Space for large firms, and then moved to Los Angeles to do the same job to design film and television sets.
“It wasn’t a game of words, not balanced.”
Although Gropper had a hand in building sustainable sets, she couldn’t fail to notice the serious waste that appeared on them after filming: disposable plastic cutlery were the norm of every meal.
“People had to break to eat [and] Eat quickly, “explains gropper.” It was not possible to use one -off items. It’s just a business nature. Everything is very temporary. It just became obvious to me that it was not a game of words, not balanced. “
Thanks to her origin, Gropper saw the apparent solution to this problem: a cleaner, green product that didn’t last endlessly at the landfill. Gropper began to study alternatives that have already existed and discovered that it is possible to produce similar products from non -toxic materials that may break down inside 90 days.
Image loan: thanks to the kindness by destiny
“There was a round solution with zero waste, which embodied everything I studied, so I excited me a lot,” says Gropper. (*8*)
When Gropper continued research on plant alternatives, she discovered that some were much more profitable than others. Many of them not only didn’t work well, but also with excessive costs. Gropper had to come up with how to develop a product that he made and didn’t require people to pay much more.
“[It’s]Basically, taking plants starch and transforming it into a polymer imitates plastic. “
Gropper explains that two large chemical firms “create construction blocks” for this sort of products, which are often made from a combination of resin and agricultural waste. Basically, the process involves taking something that has been burned or rejected and giving him a second life.
“[It’s]Basically, taking plants and transforming it into a polymer imitates plastic, “says gropper.” This combination gives a product that can maintain a conventional plastic product, but then spreads over 90 days and be certified by independent bodies as compostal. “
In the United States, products must undergo third parties jurisprudenceComplete with the soil test and the assessment of the microplastic trace and toxins to receive the “compostable” designation.
Gropper’s research led her to the Taiwanese group “, which was in a sense leading charge around the world in alternatives to disposable plastic”. The group has already produced products that worked well at a good price; Gropper says that it seemed an opportunity to adopt consumers on a massive scale.
Image loan: thanks to the kindness by destiny
“There was a white space everywhere,” says Gropper, “But what was really convincing was the idea of creating a brand around these different products, because then you definitely didn’t do only one product. You didn’t only do goods and didn’t put it in the system. In fact, you create a brand that might extend to different categories of products that may represent this higher, higher, higher brand for contemporary consumption.
“The quality of the product has always been the most important for us.”
The GROPPER PROJECTION hit the market at the end of 2011 and has increased significantly over the past decade. Now the brand offers eight -digit sales, replaced 656 million plastic pieces and offers over 15 several types of sustainable household products in 20,000 stores throughout the country.
Like many founders and general directors, Gropper recognizes a lot of challenges related to building its company over the years: those that usually require creative problem solving. Before the essential premiere of retail sales, products were printed the other way up, restrictions on money flows, with which the fundamental players do not encounter, conflicts to navigation between team members and many others.
Image loan: thanks to the kindness by destiny
According to Grock, being agile enough to overcome these obstacles was the key to changing destiny and success – identical to unwavering involvement in the quality of the brand’s product.
“The quality of the product has always been the most important for us,” says Gropper. “But at a price that is available. [We want this product to be] Available to all Americans. [And also] As balanced as possible. If you can provide these three things at the same time, you can succeed. And that’s what we did. “
This article is a part of our current series of girls entrepreneurs, emphasizing the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a company as a woman.