ChopValue
ChopValue creates high-performance circular economy designs made entirely from recycled chopsticks. The urban harvested material is transformed through a carbon-neutral micro-manufacturing model and reintroduced into society as a beautiful and durable engineered product.
ChopValues’ competitive advantage is that everything is done in-house – from sourcing, designing, production, and customer service – which allows them to also create custom solutions. Customers can feel good about their purchases by participating in the circular economy.
Traction
To date, they’ve recycled close to 30 million chopsticks, and have been fortunate to partner with the likes of TED, Disney, and Google. ChopValue has also recently been featured in media outlets such as Forbes, BBC, and Inhabitat.
They are currently working on launching a Kickstarter for their newest product: a modular shelf system that uses 4,276 recycled chopsticks and recycled construction steel for the string frame. You can sign up for notifications to get an early bird discount of 40% off through their link here: https://www.smileshelf.com/
ChopValue’s biggest hurdle as of now is focusing on educating the importance of “made local” to customers. With a network of Microfactories located globally, they operate based on the needs of each respective community, making sure they utilize local resources. This also means a decreased distance for transportation of goods, leading to lower shipping costs, and faster lead times.
Team
Felix Böck, Founder – Felix is the founder of ChopValue and CrossLink Technologies. He holds a background in wood engineering from Germany and has a Ph.D. in structural bamboo composites in collaboration with UBC, MIT, and Cambridge.
Hugh Grady, Founding partner of ChopValue, Franchise Development & Training
Board of Directors
Mike Winterfield, Advisor for Operations, Sales – Founder of Active Impact Investments
Yuri Fulmer, Advisor for Strategic Partnerships, Franchising – Founder of Fulmer&Co, Franchise Development A&W and Pizza Hut
Brian Curin, Advisor for Branding, Franchising – Co-founder of Little Kitchen Academy, formerly Head of Growth for Cold Stone Creamery (Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top 100 Franchise”)
Evian Macmillan, Director of Strategic Partnerships for ChopValue
Funding
ChopValue to date has successfully raised $2.65M Pre-Series A funding led by franchising, branding, and impact funds, as well as a select group of high-profile angel investors. These funds will be used for their circular economy Microfactory franchise to expand their market presence.
“It is truly validating to see Fulmer Capital, Mindset Ventures, Active Impact Investments, and other notable investors join the team to scale our business,” said Böck, Founder and CEO. “Their extensive network, combined expertise in franchising, brand building, and credibility in the industry will help us realize our mission of opening operations on a global scale. We can then further decrease our carbon footprint by having microfactories in multiple cities – truly being local, wherever our suppliers and customers may be.”
ChopValue has also launched its turnkey Microfactory franchise concept for expansion on a global scale in Spring 2020. With Microfactories operating in multiple cities, they can truly be local, wherever their suppliers and customers are, for a more efficient process while being a carbon-negative company.
Revenue Model
ChopValue is launching chopstick+ in September, a novel subscription service available for $99/month that incentivizes recycling by providing restaurant partners access to an unlimited number of chopsticks. The restaurants only have to pay a fee for the ones that are not returned to be recycled – that means no waste, no extra charge. This unique model allows ChopValue to manage their supply chain and improve environmental and economic performance while offering a recurring revenue stream for franchisee partners from their first day in operation. ChopValue is hiring for a business development and program manager to run chopstick+ and oversee strategic partners within the restaurant industry. They’re always seeking for self-driven and performance-oriented individuals who are motivated to make the circular economy the norm (to apply, check the details below).
Along with their new program, ChopValue’s other stream of revenue is selling franchises globally to increase their network and market presence.
Details
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