It's been an amazing year. New relationships, new accomplishments, new products and new opportunities have all presented themselves some with great fanfare, some without, but, all, building on a strong foundation for continued success in 2010.
Three accomplishments for GreenSmart stand out for me this year. Leading that list is our certification by our local Keep the Sierra Green regional business recognition organization. To achieve this, our Company was put through an extensive questioning process which reviewed our resource consumption and waste practices. Being the first Company recognized in the local Grass Valley/Nevada city area that includes a lot of high tech and one of the highest rates of solar powered homes, feels pretty good, too.
GreenSmart this year brought to market Neogreene (tm) our proprietary replacement for neoprene for bag making. This was no small feat either, needing to learn all we needed about the material, the supplier, confirm the supplier's claims via third party lab testing, and of course, produce bags, in this case laptop sleeves. We did this while hiring a new marketing firm, Mighty Karma from Denver, and having new people involved in the design process thanks to our new investor relationship with Compass Partners.
We closed the year with our most ambitious product launch yet, the Food & Beverage collection of lunch, water and wine bags. Not willing to settle for yet another basic black collection, we chose to go for lots of colors, make it bright and make it fun, and from what we're hearing and seeing, we have hit that mark.
We have laid out an aggressive product development plan for 2010 that includes a new Neogreene laptop sleeve program and finally, the full development of our Bottles 2 Bags collection, which will include backpacks, messengers, shoulder and duffel bags. We're adding sales people to expand the network of retailers that sell GreenSmart and we're building internally as well, as the work of the sales people creates needs for infrastructure.
I expect 2010 to be a very exciting year. The outlook only 1 year ago for 2009 was pretty grim and very unstable. Looking forward from here, even market stability seems like a very good start. I'm very much looking forward to adding hundreds of retail locations, adding the many products we can so GreenSmart can displace that much more eco-unconscious product from the marketplace.
We're still finding our way, moving forward deliberately and thoughtfully. To create a sustainable Green Brand is really no different than creating any other financially sustainable business, it just begins with a different underpinning that guides decision making in product design. Having that process set is the foundation for all the other elements, which are the typical competitive issues found in the marketplace. 2010 will layer on new accomplishments and hopefully, through our product development and design, a whole new set of opportunities for consumers delighted to have an eco-friendly, socially conscious choice when they need a bag.
And if the Golden Bears could create a victory in San Diego against the Utes in the Poinsettia Bowl, the year would end on an even higher note.
Recent Comments