This blog celebrates people with the guts to take risks, figure it out along the way, and do the hard work. Laura Sinton, CEO of FreshTape®, an exciting new product that reseals and keeps food fresh, right in the bag, has a must-tell story.
Laura’s six-figure position at a Fortune 500 company got squeezed out in a merger, rendering her jobless a couple years ago. In the aftermath, she grieved the loss, and worried she wouldn’t find another high-level position in corporate America. Then her friend, Liz, annoyed she’d broken another bag clip mentioned, “Someone should invent a tape that could reseal your bags, so your food wouldn’t turn to cardboard in less than an hour.”
That night, Laura couldn’t sleep. In the morning she called Liz and said, “We should be the ones to make a tape that will reseal bags to keep food fresh. And we’ll make it cute, so people can organize their kitchens in style.”
Laura and her brother, her long-time business partner, Chuck, formed an LLC they call ACME Inventions (being huge fans of Loony Tunes and the Road Runner cartoons). Then Laura set about working with chemical engineers to develop a food-grade product that would seal food bags over and over without tearing them (the adhesive in regular tape, like masking and cello, exposes food to toxic chemicals). They also experimented to find just the right durable plastic that could be printed with a variety of awesome patterns.
In 18 months – thousands of hours and lots of Laura’s, Liz’s and Chuck’s, cash later – FreshTape® was born. It’s FDA safety compliant,
BPA and phthalate free, recyclable, made in America, totally cool to look at, and best of all, it works! Even in the fridge and the freezer!
Bravo, Laura! Bravo!
(My food has never been fresher. I’m totally addicted to the stuff.)
Laura began seriously marketing in January. At trade shows, Freshtape® has been hailed “the next Post It Notes or Zip Lock Bags.” Early this month, out of thousands of new products, FreshTape® won a coveted “Retailers’ Choice Award” from the National Hardware Retailer’s Association. Already, 178 stores carry it across the country. As of July, Sur la Table will stock Freshtape® in over 100 stores in 27 states, and ACME Inventions is currently negotiating with a major Canadian chain.
The next challenge will be to raise funds to meet the demand for production. Shark Tank asked ACME Inventions to apply to appear on the show, but they’re still waiting to hear.
No doubt, Laura will make the most of this hurdle the way she has with all the others along this journey.
Big things are headed her way.
Soon.
I can feel it.
Go Laura!
If you, or someone you know, is a bad ass and you think your story will inspire the rest of us, send an email to trish@write-to-win.com, and I’ll get the word out!
