Today we’d like to introduce you to David Lee.
David, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Started in late 2008 when a friend moved out to New York City to start a frozen yogurt store which eventually became a franchise chain. We immediately sourced a couple paper cup and spoon suppliers overseas in Taiwan/China. Then we began supplying his frozen yogurt stores with eco-friendly paper cups and spoons.
Quickly we began growing by supplying other stores in this space (frozen yogurt, ice-cream etc…). We established relationships with food service distributors in major cities in the east/west coast and select major markets throughout the country.
Today our headquarters is located in Chatsworth, CA. We have 3 full time employees in the US and 1 full time employee in Taiwan. We work with a dozen factories in Asia whom we import a line of several dozen categories in foodservice disposables. Our relationships with our customers and distributors has grown 10 fold since our inception and my partner has almost 40 frozen yogurt locations in New York City today.
Has it been a smooth road?
CASH FLOW. In the importing business, you typically pay your suppliers in full once the product lands on your shores. Sometimes, you pay them before it departs the supplier’s port. So you have to prepare to budget the purchasing of all your products in full before you start collecting from your customers in the US. Sometimes those customers want 30 days+ terms with you so you are without payment for a 30-60 days, all the while having to continually purchase more inventory to service more clients. It’s a never ending cycle.
When you promise to supply a customer with a product that is manufactured 10,000 miles away, there are no refunds, at least not for us. If we find an error in the printing or quality of the product, we either eat the costs and refund the customer or offer deep discounts. Then we have to negotiate with our factories to offer us a refund or deep discounts. This issue can damage the credibility of our company and the credibility of our suppliers overseas. However, its normal for mistakes to happen from time to time, so we continually try to improve our “process” to lessen any chance of mistakes as the years go by.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Greeno Products story. Tell us more about the business.
Greeno Products supplies a commodity product (paper/plastic cups) and our customers have many choices to turn to. Our underlying message has always been “Be extremely easy to work with so our customers remember that experience and must return”.
Our product is a re-order item. Therefore, we are selling to the same customer for months, weeks, even daily. So establishing a good working relationship is key. And making ourselves extremely accessible and easy to work with is what they want. It’s actually what they need. Customers do not have time to keep shopping for different cup suppliers and chasing a small savings. So if you service the customer right the first time, you could be looking at a multi-year customer with potentially every customer.
Paper cups are not top of mind when someone is opening a restaurant. They have a million other things to prepare. So we make what we do as seamless and behind the scenes as possible. The customer obviously knows what a paper cup is, what its function is, so then it becomes about price, quantity and logistics.
We specialize in supplying a custom logo printed paper or plastic cup, fast and low minimum quantity. In the past, only large chain restaurant organizations were capable of having custom printed disposable packaging due to their justified volumes. Today, almost every small business in the food & beverage space has an option to get something custom printed in minuscule quantities.
We are most proud of the fact that the products we provide are a necessary component for other business to succeed. We have a small part in helping a restaurant who is having a grand opening look a little more prestigious at a relative small cost.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
New and up-in-coming small businesses that start restaurants, coffee/tea shops, ice-cream shops etc… want more and more unique packaging to set themselves apart. Now more than ever do they have access to the style of packaging they desire through sites like Alibaba and Amazon. But if they grow into multi-unit locations, the same logistical challenges that their counter-parts have had for the better part of the last century will still loom.
Somebody has to manufacture, store and ship large volumes of product into their stores weekly. That is why the foodservice distribution business is (for the time being) safe from disruption. Companies like ours, will continue to service those distributors as well as establish relationships with the end users. It’s still a face-to-face people business with lots of money transacting, so a simple click from a website does not suit everyone.
As far as trends, the paper cup has been untouched for over a century. It’s a product that everyone knows and no one really thinks about. I’m confident paper cups will be around indefinitely into our future.
One shift that has been taking place for several years now is the move to more sustainable, environmentally friendly packaging. Many cities and counties enforce bans on polystyrene and other harmful to the environment packaging (i.e.: styrofoam). These, albeit more expensive, choices in packaging represent the coming wave of millennial consumers who vote with their wallets on a company’s stance on the environment and other social issues.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9654 Cozycroft Ave.,
Chatsworth, CA 91311 - Website: www.greenoproducts.com
- Phone: 800-313-6568
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: facebook.com/greenoproducts
Image Credit:
16 Handles
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