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When Kim Crawford’s Rubbermaid commercial came to an end, it was time for her to sell.
“I was thinking of how I could sell my greenhouse in California, but I didn’t think of it like that at all,” she says.
“It was just a business that worked.”
So the Adelaide, Australia-based commercial greenhouse maker decided to take a different approach: she started a business called Rubbermaid.
“For years, we’ve been trying to get more businesses to understand how to grow and sell organic produce,” she explains.
“This is a business for growers, not for anyone else.”
The company’s main product is the Rubbermaid Grower.
When you buy one, you’ll get a set of three grow lights.
“We have a large, tall grow light with a glass lid, and you can see the plants on the bottom,” explains Kim.
“So the growers can see where they are and know when the plants are going to be ready to harvest.”
That way, they can choose the right growing season for the best crop, and there’s no need to spend a lot of money on lights, because the growers will just grow more of what they need, at home.
Rubbermaid’s Grower also comes with an array of tools and a lot more than just grow lights: it has a growing tray and growing equipment.
“When I started Rubbermaid, I never thought that this would become such a huge market,” says Kim.
The company started selling in 2016 and now, it has sales of more than $US150,000 ($250,000) a year, and it’s one of the biggest growers in the country.
And, as you can imagine, it’s not just about growing your own produce.
“They’re selling in all kinds of places: from restaurants to restaurants and even retail, and they’ve done really well with it,” Kim says.
But she says Rubbermaid has been able to attract more customers through a more direct approach to the consumer.
“The consumer has always been the biggest customer for us,” she adds.
“People come in, they buy their Grower, they have it shipped to them, and then they’re back to buying from us.
And that’s really the key to our success.
They’re coming in because they want to see how well our product works and what kind of things they can do with it.”
The Rubbermaid business model is working for the company.
“As you grow the business, you’re buying products, you buy a grow light and you sell to retailers,” says Sarah.
“You’re also growing your brand and brand recognition.
People love that.
So we’ve had a really good response, which is really exciting.”
And while Rubbermaid is still growing, she’s also expanding.
“There’s a lot to be done in Australia, because it’s very small,” she admits.
“But we’ve already grown our global footprint, and we’re very excited about what the future holds.”
She adds that she’s looking forward to seeing what the consumer demand for Rubbermaid products will be.
“If it’s a good product, people will buy it.
And if it’s good for them, people are going a lot further.
So, I really do want to be able to continue to grow that and be able offer more products.”