Remember LunchSkins?
Even if you do, let's do a little recapture before the ladies get all set to ward off our volley of questions.
LunchSkins is the story of two moms who put together their minds to transform the way kids at school carry their lunch. It is a story that brings together the common problem all moms face - how to get all kids carry and eat what's being sent in the lunch bag. Well as you know, kids can be a little tantrum-ish when it comes to cleaning the plate!
Taking their personal dilemma faced with their own kids, these two moms, along with their childhood friend - Jennie Stoller Barakat, began a stand out project which they called 3GreenMoms. This eventually gave birth to their product baby - The LunchSkins.
Even if you do, let's do a little recapture before the ladies get all set to ward off our volley of questions.
LunchSkins is the story of two moms who put together their minds to transform the way kids at school carry their lunch. It is a story that brings together the common problem all moms face - how to get all kids carry and eat what's being sent in the lunch bag. Well as you know, kids can be a little tantrum-ish when it comes to cleaning the plate!
Taking their personal dilemma faced with their own kids, these two moms, along with their childhood friend - Jennie Stoller Barakat, began a stand out project which they called 3GreenMoms. This eventually gave birth to their product baby - The LunchSkins.
LunchSkins are nothing but reusable lunch and snack bags for kids. Their main goal was to come up with a product that took care of packing off kids to school with a do-able lunch bag as well as a product that was not going to pollute the environment too. In a way they set their bar going for what's being dubbed as green marketing nowadays.
Their entrepreneurial journey is full of inspiration, dotted with the typical feeling of homeliness that moms naturally exude. Let's get to know what the mom-preneurs have to say now.
Happy Reading!
1. Hi Cris and Kristen, please tell our readers something about yourselves.
We both love the outdoors and having family time outside as much as possible. Between us we have 7 children, two dogs, a parakeet and chickens!
2. How tough was it for you guys to make the transition from being homemakers to mom-preneurs (by the way, I just love this new word)? What has been your source of inspiration to get started?
We were actually sitting at the kitchen table one morning, after getting everyone off to school, and realized that between the two of us, we were going through over 100 plastic bags per week, with just the lunches for our 7 children. This didn’t even take into account our lunches, when we ate away from home, or our husband’s lunches.
3. I really loved your business concept that tries to balance out necessity, environmental sustainability and innovation. Could you tell our readers something about conceiving 3GreenMoms and your early marketing techniques?
Everything we did at the beginning was word of mouth. Our goal was and continues to be, getting the bags in the hands of the people who want to use them instead of plastic. We work with other local “green” companies, who have the same goals.
We were actually sitting at the kitchen table one morning, after getting everyone off to school, and realized that between the two of us, we were going through over 100 plastic bags per week, with just the lunches for our 7 children. This didn’t even take into account our lunches, when we ate away from home, or our husband’s lunches.
3. I really loved your business concept that tries to balance out necessity, environmental sustainability and innovation. Could you tell our readers something about conceiving 3GreenMoms and your early marketing techniques?
Everything we did at the beginning was word of mouth. Our goal was and continues to be, getting the bags in the hands of the people who want to use them instead of plastic. We work with other local “green” companies, who have the same goals.
4. What according to you was the turning point for your small business?
I would have to say, seeing our baggies on Oprah.
I would have to say, seeing our baggies on Oprah.
5. According to you personally, does eCommerce beat the traditional word-to-mouth business model? How and why has LunchSkins benefitted by eCommerce marketing? What is your take on social media as promotional tool?
We are in the new business/growth stage so we do not have “hard” statistics on the traditional word –of- mouth business model beating out eCommerce. In this time of tweeting, texting, instagraming, etc. businesses have the opportunity to get their messages out to a large group of people, instantly! Social media is a wonderful tool, we can educate others about LunchSkins and we can answer questions, in real time.
6. Can you enlighten our readers about your current products? Do you have any specific expansion plans in this regard?
We make reusable lunch bags, in sub, sandwich and snack sizes. We also offer icy cool mats with sub purchases, at no charge. Our bags take on the attributes of plastic baggies in that they can be used for cosmetics, jewelry travel pouches, dog food holders and just about anything else you can think of. We do have plans to expand and offer totes, for the back to school season. Please consider visiting our website to get a peek at them.
We are in the new business/growth stage so we do not have “hard” statistics on the traditional word –of- mouth business model beating out eCommerce. In this time of tweeting, texting, instagraming, etc. businesses have the opportunity to get their messages out to a large group of people, instantly! Social media is a wonderful tool, we can educate others about LunchSkins and we can answer questions, in real time.
6. Can you enlighten our readers about your current products? Do you have any specific expansion plans in this regard?
We make reusable lunch bags, in sub, sandwich and snack sizes. We also offer icy cool mats with sub purchases, at no charge. Our bags take on the attributes of plastic baggies in that they can be used for cosmetics, jewelry travel pouches, dog food holders and just about anything else you can think of. We do have plans to expand and offer totes, for the back to school season. Please consider visiting our website to get a peek at them.
7.Well now a small drift from business talks to some personal insights... Ready?
a. What has been the contribution of your families in making you successful mom-preneurs?
Support at every level!
b. Besides balancing out business and home, what activities do you guys do to relieve stress?
We are all lovers of the outdoors, so lots of time biking, snorkeling, hiking and walks with our dogs.
a. What has been the contribution of your families in making you successful mom-preneurs?
Support at every level!
b. Besides balancing out business and home, what activities do you guys do to relieve stress?
We are all lovers of the outdoors, so lots of time biking, snorkeling, hiking and walks with our dogs.
c. According to you, is being an entrepreneur less tasking than being a mom?
I think they overlap, all moms are entrepreneurs at times, budgeting time and family finances. Strong management and leadership skills – they are almost one and the same. Being both is hard work but very rewarding at the same time.
8. What has been the biggest compliment you have gotten for your works? I think they overlap, all moms are entrepreneurs at times, budgeting time and family finances. Strong management and leadership skills – they are almost one and the same. Being both is hard work but very rewarding at the same time.
I think it is when one our children come home telling us that other kids at school asked where they got their LunchSkins and are all so interested in the fact that you don’t throw them out and can use them over and over. Even our youngest children are being educated about what we all have to do to save our earth and we are getting the tools in their hands to help them achieve this goal.
9. What are your future plans for LunchSkins? Where do you see your business 5 years down the line?
We hope to have reusable baggies be the norm, and we are almost there! As mothers of young children, a 5 year plan is tough to answer as we never thought we would grow to where we are now in just five years. We hope to expand to other reusable items, stay tuned!
10. Both of you are great inspiration for all women and young entrepreneurs alike. What is that special piece of wisdom that you would like to hand out for budding talents?
You must be flexible and not afraid to succeed.
Thanks Cris, Kristen and the whole LunchSkins team for taking out the time and doing this interview with us. We'd like to wish you the very best for your future endeavors.
If you have an interesting business story like theirs and want to get featured, you simply have to contact us here.
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