1. Linking
our
knowledge
of
food,
nourishment
and
health,
to
our
understanding
of
Mother
Nature
Sydney
MacInnis,
Founder
&
CEO
sydney@motheringMother.com
www.motheringMother.com

2. What
Is
mothering
Mother’s
Mission?
• mothering
Mother’s
mission
is
to
strengthen
the
natural
bond
between
our
bodies’
health
&
wellness,
and
the
health
and
sustainability
of
the
natural
resources
embodied
in
our
Mother
Earth.
• Through
web-­‐based
educaAon
and
its
lead
product
line
of
reusable
coCon
grocery
bags,
mothering
Mother
has
made
the
relaAonship
between
food
choices,
food
buying,
and
the
environmental
crisis
caused
by
single-­‐use
plasAc
bags,
a
resounding
call
to
acAon
for
consumers.
• Every
minute
over
one
million
single
use
plasAc
bags
are
given
away
in
grocery
stores
to
transport
produce
and
other
bulk
items
to
the
home;
within
a
maCer
of
hours,
these
bags
are
discarded.
The
evidence
linking
these
bags
which
never
biodegrade,
with
environmental
destrucAon,
is
profound.
mothering
Mother’s
coCon
bag
system
for
grocery
shopping
is
a
convenient
and
appealing
alternaAve.
• The
health
benefits
conveyed
via
mothering
Mother’s
educaAonal
focus
on
bulk
foods,
best
pracAces
in
buying
and
storing
fresh
produce,
and
exploring
healthy
ingredients,
brings
the
circular
message
together.
With
regular
blog
entries,
lifestyle
suggesAons,
recipes
and
cooking
videos,
mothering
Mother
connects
its
bags
to
a
new
way
of
thinking…about
the
health
of
the
body,
and
the
health
of
Mother
Earth.

3. What
Is
mothering
Mother’s
Strategy?
• mothering
Mother
offers
a
complete
system
of
unbleached
coCon
bags
for
plasAc-­‐free
shopping:
– A
drawstring
coCon
bag
(available
in
two
sizes)
designed
for
the
produce
secAon.
– A
Velcro-­‐closure
bag
(also
available
in
a
range
of
sizes)
best
accommodates
bulk
food
items.
– A
sizable
coCon
tote
designed
for
the
checkout.
• The
ulAmate
value
proposiAon
is
strong.
Benefits
of
a
$2.50
–
$3.00
bag
include:
– 300
fewer
clear
plasAc
bags
used
per
person
each
year.
– Food
spared
the
exposure
to
the
toxins
emiCed
by
plasAc
bags.
– Fresher
food:
produce
stored
directly
in
mother
Mother
bags
is
able
“to
breathe.”
• mothering
Mother
is
not
just
selling
a
bag.
We
are
teaching
people
how
to
use
the
bag,
and
how
to
prepare
the
food
from
the
bag.
This
approach
is
an
invitaAon
to
a
lifestyle
that
centers
on
connecAng
our
personal
health
to
planetary
health.

4. mothering
Mother’s
Revenue
• Money
is
earned
through
the
sale
of
the
bags.
We
sell
six
different
bags
with
thirteen
different
SKU’s.
• Our
end
consumers
are
primarily
women
in
the
30-­‐65
age
category,
especially
young
mothers
concerned
about
the
environment
etc.
• Consumers
find
us
in
stores
and
on
the
internet.
• Our
wholesale
customers
are
approximately
50
stores,
including
two
Whole
Foods
regions.
• We
have
two
e-­‐tail
distributors
and
ecommerce
on
our
home
website.
Traffic
is
driven
to
the
site
with
SEO,
the
promise
of
diet
and
health-­‐related
arAcles,
YouTube
videos,
shared
newsleCers/blog.

5. Our
Technology
• Our
technology
is
technology
of
yesteryear:
reviving
the
usefulness
and
reusability
of
coCon.
Shopping
and
eaAng
closer
to
the
Earth
can
have
a
large
impact
on
the
carbon
footprint
of
an
individual
over
a
lifeAme.
• Our
manufacturing
process
reflects
this
ethos.
mothering
Mother
designed
the
bags,
which
are
manufactured
in
India.
The
coCon
fabric
must
be
sourced
from
Asia,
making
assembly
in
India
more
cost-­‐efficient.
Sydney
has
travelled
to
India
to
visit
the
two
major
manufacturers
of
the
bags,
ensuring
safe
and
legal
work
condiAons
where
the
bags
are
made.
Bulk
Bag
Produce
Bag
Tote
Bag

6. Target:
The
“Unaware
Aware”
• Changing
habitual,
ingrained
grocery
shopping
behavior
is
a
HUGE
task.
mothering
Mother’s
strategy
has
been
to
focus
on
early
adopter
women
who
have
the
potenAal
to
become
ambassadors
for
change.
– i.e.
she
is
currently
shopping
the
health/organic
food
distribuAon
channels
and
probably
bringing
her
own
reusable
shopping
bags
BUT
is
almost
completely
unaware
of
the
produce/bulk
plasAc
bag
issue
• With
distribuAon
in
place,
mothering
Mother
now
needs
to
drive
sales
with
greater
awareness,
educaAon
and
engagement.
• More
signage
and
promoAonal
events
to
support
the
sales
channel
and
create
more
awareness.
• Educate
and
engage
consumers
via
website,
blog,
recipes,
speaking
engagements,
video
and
social
media.

7. Re-­‐thinking
What
CompeAAon
Means
• At
this
stage
of
the
market’s
development,
we
have
ONE
foe,
and
a
number
of
allies.
• The
foe
is
the
free
plasAc
produce/bulk
food
bag
available
in
every
supermarket
in
the
country:
• Our
allies
are
every
other
brand
of
reusable
product/bulk
food
bag*.
At
this
point,
they
are
NOT
mothering
Mother
compeAtors;
we
are
all
niche
brands
with
the
same
goal:
to
unseat
the
free
plasAc
bag
as
the
default
choice
for
shoppers
and
in
doing
so,
educate
and
inspire
beCer
shopping
decisions.
• As
the
market
develops,
MMs
compeAAve
objecAves
will
evolve,
from
growing
the
market
(with
allies)
to
dominance
through
superiority.
– Versus
today’s
allies:
more
sustainably
sourced,
beCer
value,
superior
performance,
more
trusted
brand.
*Companies
producing
reusable
bag
products
include:
Ecobags,
Chicobags,
Hands
on
Hemp,
Blue
Lotus,
Reusit,
Flip
&
Tumble

8. mothering
Mother’s
Team
• Sydney
Bio:
An
unusual
combinaAon
of
a
Cordon
Bleu
trained
cook
with
a
HolisAc
NutriAonist
with
a
Yoga
&
MeditaAon
Instructor,
all
swirled
together
with
Sydney’s
passion
for
care
of
the
Earth,
make
for
unlimited
twists
and
turns
for
the
mothering
Mother
company.
• Summer
student
(1),
part
Amers
(2)
throughout
the
year,
an
unpaid
intern.
• The
Board
of
Advisors
is
a
recent
part
of
the
team.
• Kate
Guenther-­‐
non-­‐profit
fund
raiser
and
business
development
professional.
• Susan
Monteith-­‐
investment
banker
with
over
25
years’
experience.
• Gary
Ryan-­‐
MarkeAng
and
sales
execuAve
with
extensive
experience
in
both
not-­‐for-­‐profit
and
for-­‐profit
sectors.
• Bea
Smith-­‐
former
advisor
to
major
financial
services
projects/M&A
deals.
Currently
a
virtual
markeAng
strategist
for
SMB
clients.
• Hugh
Duthie-­‐
Strategic
planning
consultant
and
market
researcher
with
a
broad
experience
in
the
world
of
consumer
brands.
• BeCs
Fitzgerald-­‐
Business
Development
ExecuAve:
Licensing,
MarkeAng,
Branding.
• Iain
MacInnis-­‐
Banker
with
over
20
years’
experience
financing
mid-­‐sized
companies
in
all
industry
sectors/
both
Canada
and
the
US.

9. Financials
YEAR
3
YEAR
5
SALES
Stores
$100,000
$200,000
Distributors
$80,000
$250,000
mM
Website
$20,000
$50,000
Total
$200,000
$500,000
CUSTOMERS
Stores
300
700
Distributors
25
40
mM
Website
1500
4000
CONVERSION
RATE
Stores
20%
25%
Distributors
30%
40%
mM
Website
10%
15%
• Less
than
1%
of
target
consumers
are
currently
using
produce
and
bulk
bags.
• Bag
awareness
is
increasing
with
bag
bans
in
communiAes
across
the
country.
• Distributors
will
find
stores
more
recepAve
as
consumer
demand/interest
grows.
• Start-­‐up
capital
came
from
private
investor.

10. Sustainability
• mothering
Mother
evolved
from
over
20
years
of
sustainable
pracAces
in
the
home
of
founder
Sydney
MacInnis.
Those
pracAces
are
also
in
place
in
the
home-­‐based
office:
– Only
recycled
paper
purchased.
Limited
prinAng
of
file
copies-­‐-­‐when
required,
‘scrap’
paper
is
used
first.
– Natural
light
and
minimal
temp
control
most
days.
Low
flush
toilet.
Laptop
computers
with
energy
efficient
fax/printer.
LED
light
bulbs.
– Carpooling/biking
encouraged.
– Snacks
are
homemade
and
filtered
water
is
available
from
the
tap
in
glasses.
• Most
communicaAon
with
stores
is
by
email
and
phone.
We
work
to
restrict
store
visits
for
demos,
unless
there
is
a
specific
need.
The
Board
of
Advisor
call
was
through
teleconferencing.
• As
sales
volume
increases,
more
sustainable
organic
coCon
will
be
viable.

11. Current
Status
• mothering
Mother
has
been
in
business
since
2009.
– over
25,000
bags
sold!
– in
2
Whole
Foods
Market
regions.
– accredited
member
of
Green
America.
– awaiAng
cerAficaAon
as
a
NaAonally
recognized
Woman
Owned
Business.
• Growing
library
of
educaAonal
tools:
– over
20
food-­‐prep
videos,
and
more
evolving.
– 60+
vegetarian
and
vegan
recipes,
created
by
Sydney,
on
the
blog.
Increasingly
weekly.
• Free
screening
of
Bag
It
sponsored
by
mM
for
Earth
Day
2012.
• Sydney
is
a
vocal
advocate
for
bag
bans
throughout
lower
Westchester
County.
• Sydney
is
compleAng
her
first
book
in
a
series
from
mothering
Mother.
Each
will
focus
on
an
individual
lifestyle
choice
that
encourages
the
mM
values.
The
book
will
include
pracAcal
informaAon
interspersed
with
personal
stories
and
reflecAons.
• With
this
funding,
mothering
Mother
would
add
one
full
Ame
employee,
who
would
handle
social
media,
store
relaAons
and
markeAng
promoAons.
Store
display
and
promoAon
will
be
improved
with
the
help
of
a
markeAng
consultant.
If
resources
permit,
web
markeAng
would
also
be
addressed
to
bring
mM
to
the
forefront
of
reusable
opAons.