Bottom lines | A conversation with Lyndsay and Doug Sanborn, co-owners of Ruby Moon Natural Laundry Wash in Casco
Photo/Carol Coultas
Lyndsay and Doug Sanborn
Ruby Moon Natural Laundry Wash
Founded: July 2010
Employees: 0
Startup costs: $500
Projected revenue, year one: $ 18,000-$20,000
Projected revenue, year two: $80,000-$100,000
Contact: 627-2250
7 Fieldcrest Drive, Casco
www.rubymoonlaundry.com
What is Ruby Moon Natural Laundry Wash?
We make all-natural and biodegradable laundry detergent, cloth diaper detergent and accessories. Our mission is to make affordable, gentle-on-the-Earth-and-your-skin quality products that offer consumers eco-friendly choices. Each item is handmade from sustainable ingredients. Ruby Moon Natural Laundry Wash is one of only a handful of companies nationwide that produces detergent specifically for cloth diapers. A nationwide movement toward more eco-friendly products has prompted a 30% increase in the cloth diapering industry since 2006.
We sell Ruby Moon products online and at more than 30 retail locations nationwide and in Canada. Currently, we ship between 600 and 800 pounds of detergent every month to retailers, including cloth diaper retail stores, diaper services, natural food stores, farm stands and specialty stores.
Why did you start the company?
We never thought we would be making laundry detergent. Our daughter, Ruby, was born with eczema made worse by commercial laundry detergent. I went online to find a detergent I could use that wouldn’t irritate her skin, but when I read the ingredients … they were exactly like the detergents that had caused so many problems. When I contacted the companies, they refused to tell me what exactly was in their products. I had a decision to make: Give up cloth diapering or make my own detergent. After months of research and lots of laundry, I came up with a detergent that is safe for babies, cloth diapers and the environment. I began sharing the detergent with other cloth-diapering mothers. They raved about it and encouraged me to go into business.
How do you market the company?
I began marketing the company by becoming part of the cloth-diapering community online. I joined cloth-diapering forums, connected with other women-owned businesses in the industry and built a large base of over 2,000 Facebook fans. I used to be a grassroots organizer for a nonprofit and I went about marketing my company the same way you would a campaign. You figure out what your territory looks like, who your stakeholders are, who has the power to make decisions and start knocking on doors.
One of our most successful marketing ventures has been our free samples program. Any cloth-diaper business can receive free samples of Ruby Moon detergent to put in orders they send to customers. That is hundreds of potential customers receiving our product with little investment from us.
How do you finance the company?
After our initial investment of $500, Ruby Moon has been self-sustaining and we have not had to finance any part of our company. In November 2010, we received $5,000 from the Libra Foundation that helped us purchase an industrial mixer, materials to build a work space and marketing materials.
What has been your biggest challenge?
We cannot find enough raw materials locally to meet the demand for our products. We purchase almost all of our materials from local stores at retail prices because we can’t find a supply company willing to deliver down the dirt road we live on. Fortunately, we are the recipients of a grant from the Maine Center for Enterprise Development. With their support, we are researching supply companies willing to work with small-scale businesses.
What has been successful about your business strategy?
We have a great product that speaks to many markets and we have been creative in financing our business and seeking grant funding. The MCED grant gives us upwards of $33,000 in in-kind services. The foundation has provided us with college interns and professionals with 20-plus years in operations management and chain supply.
What are your goals for Ruby Moon?
Our short-term goals are to overhaul our packaging, website and brand by the end of September. Long-term, we would love to create good paying, green manufacturing jobs with benefits. We want Ruby Moon to follow in the footsteps of Tom’s of Maine and Burt’s Bees.
New Ventures profiles young businesses 6-18 months old. Send suggestions and contact information to editorial@mainebiz.biz.
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