fulFILL: A delivery service for household products without wasteful packaging by fulFILL

Hello Judges. Thank you for your insightful comments. Please see our responses below and our edits within the proposal. Judge 1: 1. Business plan. The "Proposal Cost" section has been significantly reinforced with the inclusion of our year one and year two cash flows and more detail on cost projections. There seems to have been miscommunication on the costs in the original proposal. The plastic container - not the delivery service - was estimated to be $1 (assuming we are purchasing in bulk from a distributor). With further research we have since increased the projected cost of the container to $1.20. The cost of the delivery is shown in the "Auto", "Insurance", and "Wages" categories. These numbers are, of course, estimates since we do not yet know the exact number of customers, their location, or frequency of ordering. However, we will only be delivering to high-density buildings such as dorms, apartment buildings, and sororities/fraternities. Deliveries outside of a 5 mile radius would deem the delivery service impractical. For the first few years, our deliveries will remain in central Ann Arbor--all within a 1 mile radius. Our most recent cost projections are showing a net profit, albeit small, in the first few years. These numbers are run with a lower-than-average price per ounce making it possible for us to offer an affordable service to our customers. However, there are many challenges with this, including suppliers' prices and delivery costs. We anticipate engaging in contracts with suppliers and securing discounted products due to bulk ordering, but will know more once those discussions are in progress. (See “Social Impact” and “Proposal Cost” sections for updates) 2. Holistic approach. We too have had many discussions about offering only sustainable products and determined that if we wanted to 1) make the largest waste reduction possible and 2) involve the lower-income community, we need to start with products consumers are familiar with and trust. Many social enterprises fail because they are unable to activate behavior change. Since our business model inherently asks customers to change their behavior, we want to avoid asking them to change their products as well. We do plan on offering as many sustainable products as possible that we can price competitively after incorporating our delivery costs. Regarding “eco-packaging”, we have researched the topic and determined that since we want our customers to reuse the container as long as possible, we cannot use biodegradable or compostable containers. Furthermore, several studies have shown that bio-based plastics may actually have a larger environmental footprint than conventional plastics. We will purchase a container that is safe for multiple uses and does not contain any restricted chemicals, but that can also be properly disposed of through traditional recycling channels. (See “Facilitating Behavioral Change” and “Social Impact” sections for updates) 3. Policy. We agree, consumers are highly unlikely to wait 3 days to receive their personal care products. For this reason we will deliver 3 days per week on a regular schedule to familiarize our customers with reorder times. We also have conducted a survey, and will continue to collect data, on purchasing frequency so that we may send reminder emails to our customers when their products might be running low. Over time, customers will become accustomed to this system and will recognize that they can easily go online to reorder when their toothpaste is running low. There are currently several refill stores popping up in the U.S. and several successful models in Europe. While we believe the refill concept is feasible without government incentives, we have added a few suggestions as to changes in legislation that would support our business model. Chief among them is to increase the current deposit on beverage bottles and cans to 50 cents and extend this deposit to all containers. Despite Michgian’s 10 cent incentive to recycle bottles and cans, the trash recovery rate in this state is still far below the national average (20% compared to 35%), indicating that a dime is not enough to encourage behavior change. With this increased deposit, it will be easier for services like fulFILL to encourage reusing rather than re-purchasing containers. (See “Policy Ideas to Help Support fulFILL” and “How it Works” sections for updates) Judge 2: Not completely clear whether reusing bottles will increase or decrease the cost of providing bulk goods to households. We would request further clarification on this comment. We are not delivering “bulk” goods to households. We are delivering typical sizes (e.g. 12 oz. of shampoo, 32 oz. of multi-purpose cleaner, etc.). Containers and packaging account anywhere from 10%-40% of the cost of a product. By purchasing in larger sizes (e.g. 5 gallons) and refilling existing containers, fulFILL can reduce the cost to the consumer.