Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Kleinert.
Aaron, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
While playing soccer at a collegiate level, I began diving deeper into my passion for entrepreneurship. Finishing my last two years at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL, I had the pleasure of being accepted into the startup accelerator FAU TechRunway after winning a pitch competition. That year of working in a community of like-minded individuals really pushed me outside my comfort zone and into the world of entrepreneurship more than ever before. As StrawFish began to manifest itself right around the time I was graduating University, I made the decision to take on the challenge full time, dedicating all my time to growing the brand and the community that has supported our mission – traveling all over the state to speak at events, pitch in competitions, meet local mayors & politicians.
Has it been a smooth road?
In any entrepreneurial endeavor, there are always obstacles to face (and overcome). The StrawFish team bootstrapped the company with only a couple hundred dollars and a handful of product samples. Weeks were spent going door to door to hundreds of restaurants pitching the business model and gaging interest; we knew we were on to something when not a single owner or manager said no to removing an expense line from their operations with a better quality product.
The demand was very high from the end-user, but it took time to define and relay the value of our “eco-branding” campaign to brands or businesses we believed would find value. In a highly saturated advertising/marketing space, we had to find ways to inspire others and show the value that laid at the convergence of sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the StrawFish story. Tell us more about the business.
StrawFish was founded by three college friends in Boca Raton, FL who grew up seeing the detrimental impact of plastic pollution on the environment that plays such an important role in the local coastal community. As single-use plastic legislation began to implement bans on foodservice and packaging items, we came to the realization that the sustainable alternatives on the market were either very poor quality or very costly. This meant businesses large and small had to incur [sometimes] 5x the costs in order to join the sustainable movement; this just didn’t make sense to us. So our mission began with a simple question, “what if we give away our sustainable alternatives for FREE?”
Starting with paper straws, we spent months engineering our own product that is the highest quality on the market and gluten-free to support over 20 million people that suffer from Celiac or gluten-intolerance, all while being the most affordable solution. With this, we started aligning restaurants and bars in the local community with brands who find value in an innovative, sustainable, and affordable advertising medium. We curated “eco-branding” campaigns that guarantee a 100% interaction rate – unlike any other traditional or digital advertising medium! This led to us very quickly giving away over half a million paper straws to local businesses (and counting).
When working with corporates to remove single-use plastics from their operations on a wholesale level, we started unraveling the unfortunate truth that many competitors were “green-washing” clients and consumers just to make money in a young sustainable products market. This meant using confusing industry terminology and large advertising budgets to push a product that wasn’t even truly sustainable – our mission was to remove greed from the equation and be more than just another paper straw supplier with core values such as transparency and honesty incorporated into our business practices.
Today, we are working with businesses, brands, and governments in the United States and abroad to highlight sustainable initiatives through truly 100% biodegradable alternatives to plastic. We also work with corporates to remove single-use plastics with alternative(s) that can be customized for no additional cost. To learn more about our “one-stop-shop” for biodegradable foodservice and beverage items, go to www.strawfish.co.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The global movement of sustainability has exponentially grown over the past couple of years, with no signs of slowing down. As legislation continues to pass in the United States and abroad, I believe the next 5-10 years will see a complete ban on single-use plastics in the foodservice item and packaging industry, with more truly sustainable alternatives available. These bans will begin to regulate how competitors market their product and will remove (or at least identify) alternatives aren’t living up to what they claim – this can be seen in “PLA” products that are branded by competitors like Karat Earth, WorldCentric, or EcoProducts as biodegradable or compostable; unless brought to a commercial composting facility at the expense of the client (these facilities rarely exists in your area), PLA products will have the same effects on the environment as plastic.
The industry is going to begin finding more and more environmentally friendly solutions, and StrawFish is leading the charge.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.strawfish.co
- Phone: 561-859-0031
- Email: aaron@strawfish.co
- Instagram: @strawfish.co
- Twitter: @strawfishco
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