NEW YORK, N.Y. – With products such as bamboo-handled tooth brushes developed in Sweden and manufactured all over the world, The Humble Co. spread a message of sustainability to a willing audience at last year’s HX: The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA. With headquarters in Stockholm and San Diego, The Humble Co.’s bamboo products are made in China and India — places where bamboo grows naturally. Other products such as toothpaste, mouthwash, dental tabs, and chewing gum are all made in Europe where they can source the best ingredients.
Jimmie Berggren (pictured), owner, launched U.S. operations in 2017. HX sat down with Mr. Berggren to get an idea of the company’s mission and how it can be applied to a hotel industry that is increasingly environmentally conscious.
HX: The News: What do people need to know about bamboo?
Berggren: It is one of the most sustainable materials in the world. It can literally grow inches per day and can be used for a wide range of products, such as toothbrushes, utensils as well as different types of fabrics and paper-based products. Being biodegradable, it is the perfect option for a world moving to more eco-conscious options.
Sometimes people forget that bamboo is a living material and that the care and disposal of a biodegradable product is different than a plastic one. There’s a lot of eco-friendly new products coming out, which is good, but I think it might take some time to get used to using them. People are expecting exactly the same features as a plastic option. They will never get that from an eco-friendly option—not exactly.
HX: The News: How are you applying the product to the hotel industry?
Berggren: We have a product line for the amenity kits that are requested by guests, another one for suites where hotels might want to give the VIP guests eco-friendly oral care products, and finally, products that hotel retail stores can sell to guests and visitors. To give an example, we flew out to Las Vegas to meet with one of the largest gaming hotel groups in the world, and they are interested in using our different product lines for their VIP suites, amenity kits, and many retail stores located on their properties. In addition to this, we can engrave our toothbrushes with their logo and brand the packaging in any way they desire – if the quantities are right obviously.
HX: The News: What types of hurdles do you have to overcome with these bamboo products?
Berggren: One of the struggles when going into these type of verticals is that they [hotel execs] are used to buying low cost plastic options. Fortunately, we have managed to find a way to come as close as possible to the plastic low cost options out there, but still be eco-friendly, which is something I have to give credit to our superb supply chain—being the best sold bamboo toothbrush in the world pays off.
HX: The News: What type of inroads have you made in the retail world?
Berggren: We have launched with large retailers, Walgreens, Target, Kroger, CVS, Sprouts, URBN, Bed, Bath & Beyond to mention a few in the U.S., and we’ve been quite successful in doing business with them, with our own brand but private label as well. For instance, if you go to a Kroger store and buy a Simple Truth bamboo toothbrush, that is ours. We are now finalizing yet another significant private label project in the U.S. where we will be manufacturing toothpaste, toothbrushes, and dental floss picks for one of the largest drugstore chains in the U.S. To conclude, we are definitely still growing the retail vertical as well as expanding others, like hotels and dental clinics.
HX: The News: What kind of conversations did you have at HX?
Berggren: It was outstanding, honestly—really good. We had conversations with high level people. I spoke with the strategic sourcing manager for Marriott as well as the equivalent person at IHG. The Humble Co. team had great conversations with Guest Supply and AHR, the two largest distributors in the U.S. We’re filling out paperwork with AHR, and we’re in really good follow-up conversations with Guest Supply as well. We are looking forward to growing this vertical very quickly in 2020.
HX: The News: How environmentally aware is the hotel industry?
Berggren: Everybody is aware that we could do better when it comes to our environment. What are the drivers for change? When it becomes trendy enough, consumers or hotel guests may actually be requesting sustainable options and making their decisions based on the overall profile of a hotel. Does the hotel actually care about the environment? Do they care about the less fortunate around the world? It’s becoming more than just a box to tick.
HX: The News: What are your future plans, and are you planning to attend HX again?
Berggren: Yes, we are planning to be back at the HX show. By the end of 2017, five months after we launched in the U.S., we were in 400 retail stores, and now we are in 12,000. In a couple of months, we are going to be in almost 20,000 retail stores in the U.S alone. We always look for aggressive growth, and we want to expand quickly. We invest, we go into all these different trade shows, we secure meetings, and we get to talk to the right people quickly. Our plans are to really make a splash in the hotel industry in the U.S. in 2020
We are the only ones that can supply an eco-friendly option for the enormous amount of amenity kits that are used on a yearly basis in the U.S. That’s why we won Kroger’s private label project, and why we are now launching with one of the largest drug retailers in the U.S. as well as 10 more new chains during Q1 of 2020. They chose us because we are the only ones that can deliver what we say we can deliver. It’s going to be the same for the hotel industry. We are expecting to launch with large hotel chains as well as boutique hotels quickly.