The significant proportion of plastic waste observed on their modest campus sparked the duo to explore alternatives. Their rationale was if excessive plastic consumption was an issue at a 2,000+ student college, the problem must be even more prevalent at larger universities.
The corporation provides plant-based, compostable cups named Earth Cups. Resembling clear plastic in appearance and function, these cups are constructed entirely of a corn and sugar resin known as polylactic acid, or PLA. In an industrial compost facility, Earth Cups decompose into soil within a mere 90 days.
During the nascent stages of the company, Hirshland came across one of Earth Brands’ social media posts. Subsequently, she reached out to Medvedev and Frelinghuysen and promptly became the first official hire at Earth Brands.
Hirshland’s inaugural year in this role unfurled solely online due to the pandemic. As a matter of fact, it took a full year before she was able to meet the co-founders in person. Nevertheless, even from a distance, Hirshland has established a legacy through her accomplishments and contributions to the company’s expansion.
Miss Hirshland has advanced in her position as Head of Growth over the past 2½ years—an illustrious title befitting the scale of her responsibilities,” Frelinghuysen remarked. “We jest that Lucy is the linchpin that secures everything, but it’s no exaggeration – it’s the truth.
In 2022, Earth Brands secured its initial seed funding of £4 million from investor Mark Cuban, one of the “sharks” from “Shark Tank,” and Wyc Grousbeck, the proprietor of the Boston Celtics. More recently, the company concluded their series A funding, amassing an additional £4M from a handful of angel investors and venture capital firms.
Reflecting the youth of its creators, Earth Brands’ target demographic is college students. Through a grassroots marketing strategy, Earth Brands seeks to incite a youth movement to eschew plastic consumption.
One of Hirshland’s first initiatives was to help inaugurate an ambassador program, which has expanded to over 5,000 student participants across 200 college campuses. These ambassadors work towards advocating the company’s mission through social media and word of mouth. Additionally, ambassadors receive referral codes entitling them to discounts on all orders and enabling them to earn commissions.
Social media has played a pivotal role in fostering the brand among college students. Hirshland articulated, “The benefit with cups is that they have a propensity of being incorporated into images,” Hirshland conveyed. Subsequently, ambassadors assist in submitting photos featuring Earth Cups for the company to use as marketing content, facilitating its propagation from one campus to another.
To manage expansion within individual universities, Earth Brands appoints campus managers to formulate strategies and enlist more supporters for the Earth Brands’ mission. Blair Belford, a third-year student at the College of Arts & Sciences, takes on the role of campus manager at UVA.
“I believe that at large gatherings such as fraternity parties, the passive visibility of our cups promotes a sustainable mission and encourages individuals to embrace environmental consciousness,” Belford noted. “It’s a simple and effective approach to inducing a significant number of people to adopt a sustainable practice.”
By monitoring plastic consumption at social gatherings, Earth Brands found that individual fraternities utilise nearly 10,000 plastic cups per semester. To encourage fraternities to transition to sustainable Earth Cups, the brand proffers a membership program through which groups benefit from bulk ordering discounts.
In his capacity as social chair of his fraternity, Belford exclusively supplies Earth Cups at Pi Kappa Alpha events.
Beyond the scope of work on college campuses, Miss Hirshland has fostered Earth Brands’ partnerships with established entities such as Princeton University, Boston’s TD Garden arena, the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Tatte Bakery, Blank Street Coffee, and more locally, Bold Rock and Corner Juice.
At the same time as being a full-time student studying global sustainability and cognitive science, Miss Hirshland stated her frequent real-time alignment between what she learns in the classroom and her contributions to Earth Brands.
“Certainly, there are some topics I learn about that I can apply to my work, or I can share my insights from Earth Brands with my classmates,” Miss Hirshland conveyed.
Even though she emphasises that her time with Earth Brands does not seem like work, managing 40 hours of work on top of her academic obligations necessitates smart time management, she explained.
“I have gotten better at finding equilibrium,” Miss Hirshland stated. “The thing about a startup is that there is always so much to do. I could work every day until midnight, but I have learned that maintaining a work-life balance and relishing my college experience is vital.”
Upon her graduation, Miss Hirshland intends to persist with her involvement with Earth Brands.
“To be honest, it’s been really empowering,” Miss Hirshland affirmed. “I feel that now that I’ve gained this experience, I’ve realised how much I relish the fast-paced startup culture and the ability to observe my direct impact on the company.”
“It has been an amazing opportunity to have at such a tender age.”
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