Sustainable products are more expensive than traditional ones. That’s a phrase that is heard all the time, especially from businesses. Research suggests that the prices of sustainable products are higher by 75-80% on average. However, a new initiative from Fox Fold designed to help hotels boost their green credentials and reduce their costs is delivering on both fronts.
The Vancouver-based startup is transforming the hotel bathroom landscape with its sustainable toilet tissue made from bamboo rather than trees and a dispenser that eliminates the need to throw out unused product.
The company estimates that an average premium hotel with 300 rooms goes through just over 40,000 rolls of tissue paper per year and that up to half of that inventory gets thrown away, leading to a huge cost in waste every year.
Just six months after its launch Fox Fold is working with some of the world’s biggest hospitality brands, as it targets a share of the North American tissue and hygiene paper market, estimated to be worth US$60 billion.
War on waste
Cofounders, CEO Ludovic Siouffi and COO Greg Hegger, who are also cousins, both gave up lucrative careers – Siouffi was a wealth manager, and Hegger ran marketing operations and product marketing in the wireless world – to become entrepreneurs.
It was whilst working out at a gym that Siouffi had been idly musing over which item he could reinvent. He came up with toilet paper, specifically, making it more sustainable and less wasteful. He says: “Greg and I are cousins and we’ve been coming up with ideas since we were kids. Some we explored, but none had ever warranted us leaving our careers. The idea for Fox Fold was one of those that seemed ridiculous, but quickly left us wondering why nobody else had thought of it first.”
The pair met with several different hotel owners and operators to sound them out about their idea. “A big part of us wanted to have them say, ‘guys, this will never work, and here are 20 reasons why’,” says Siouffi. “But every time we left a meeting with a midscale, two-to-five-star hotel and their general managers and ownership groups, they were saying ‘You know what, we throw out a lot of toilet paper, and we waste a lot of money. Do you guys have this product? I would start a trial tomorrow.’”
Idea on a roll
They began reaching out to designers and manufacturers and on the back of what Siouffi describes as ‘an insane cold call’ found themselves flying to San Francisco for a meeting at Box Clever HQ. Founder Bret Recor loved the idea and saw huge value for hotels and commercial properties. Better than that he wanted to partner with them.
“We were still working our full-time jobs, but we could see the idea was growing legs,” says Hegger. “We had secured an equity partner that had worked on some mega projects like Away Luggage and Caraway Cookware, and we had hotel general managers waiting impatiently to run a trial. This was it. Ludo and I quit our jobs, sold our homes, and put everything we had into the business.”
Their early funding was in the form of microloans from local banks in Canada, plus a first-stage friends and family fundraising round. “That was oversubscribed in May of last year,” says Siouffi. “A second round that we did a couple of months ago raised another $1.5 million, and equity funding from our partner Box Clever enabled us to build out our products.”
Sustainability and savings
Vancouver and Toronto were their first target markets, but following their attendance at several U.S. trade shows the brand is gaining traction with some of the larger chains, many of which are leading on sustainability and managing dozens of hotels in their portfolios.
“Our products are sustainable and will save hotels money,” says Hegger. “Typically, it’s one or the other. Bamboo is a bit more expensive, however, we have removed a lot of the packaging, and because it’s flat pack we can store and ship more. It’s a more efficient product that has enabled us to reduce our costs and maintain a really good price point on what is otherwise a more expensive product, bamboo.”
Chris Nelson, owner of Pacific Sands Beach Resort, has already experienced the benefits of Fox Fold’s products. He says: “It supports our mission to adopt more sustainable practices; we’re believers in bamboo as a raw material over trees and it reduces the waste we had with unfinished rolls. We’re also able to share this story with our guests. Housekeeping loves it as they now store and replace less product, and we can achieve this without increasing our annual tissue costs; we’re saving money.”
Recognizing the broader potential of the brand, Nelson has also invested in the business. He adds: “Yes, we wanted to experience the benefits in our own resort, but we also wanted to participate in the upside as this grows across the industry, so we decided to invest funds in the company. I never thought I would invest in a toilet paper business!”
Global potential
In the last few days, Fox Fold signed a deal with global hotel group Accor, which has a presence in over 110 countries and many hotel brands. In 2020, Accor announced its commitment to eliminate all single-use plastic from its guest experience.
Senior Vice President, Procurement, Luxury & Lifestyle Denis Klurfeld says: “Sustainability is increasingly becoming a priority for many guests. Consequently, we are seeing more disruptors in the industry and finding it easier to source alternative products that align with our goals. Fox Fold’s facial tissue product is baffleless, meaning there is no plastic around the top of the box. This design advances the effort to eliminate plastic from our guest rooms. Additionally, the facial tissue box itself is reusable and refillable, eliminating the disposable packaging eliminating the waste associated with tissue boxes.”
Hegger says their short- or medium-term ambition is to see the Kimberly Clarks and Georgia Pacifics of the world start folding toilet paper. He adds: “My longer term dream is that in 10 years, if you go to the bathroom that has a roll of toilet paper, you will find it hard to believe that you’re still seeing rolls.”
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