In the bag, hopefully
An Indiana, Pa., entrepreneur heads to Bentonville, Ark., to pitch storage product to Walmart
Len Kensey had built a career as a special projects manager for a large oil and gas company. Traveling to production sites in Colorado, Oklahoma and states across the country, the Indiana, Pa., resident often found himself returning home to a refrigerator full of unidentifiable leftovers.
“When I would come back home, there would be these mysterious containers,” said Mr. Kensey, who described often throwing away packages of rotten food — container included — for fear of releasing the putrid material inside.
To better organize the zippered storage bags he was using, Mr. Kensey placed dividers in a box, creating smaller compartments for each bag. This did not adequately solve the problem. Then he got a better idea.
“I get up in the morning, and I’m just 10 steps from my bed, and it just hit me,” he said.
The solution — which he quickly prototyped with a sheet of plastic and a band saw — was to hang the bags vertically. Zip n’ Store was born.
The brand’s flagship product is still based on this concept: Zip-sealed bags filled with food are hung from a piece of sturdy plastic that is attached to the underside of a refrigerator shelf with adhesive strips. The bags are held in slots, which prevent the thicker zipper section from sliding through, thus holding up the entire bag.
Metal drawer slides allow the assembly to move in and out, providing easier access to the products stored within. Although the invention is primarily aimed at improving refrigerator organization, it also may save some space.
On Wednesday, Mr. Kensey is scheduled to pitch the product at Walmart’s fifth annual Open Call event in Bentonville, Ark., during which entrepreneurs try to convince the discount retail giant to carry their goods in its stores across the country. The program is part of Walmart’s broader 2013 commitment to spend an additional $250 billion over 10 years on products produced in the United States.
Zip n’ Store was founded in 2016, and started operations with a fundraising
campaign on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. The product, which is manufactured in Solon, Ohio, raised just over $150,000 during August and September 2016, and, according to Mr. Kensey, the company has made approximately $180,000 in sales since then.
In the United States, Zip n’ Store is currently sold only on Amazon. The basic refrigerator shelf version is available for $34.95, while a cabinet version sells for $29.95 and a refrigerator door model is offered for $19.95.
Mr. Kensey signed an exclusive distribution deal with King Pac Industrial, a Thai plastic bag manufacturer, to begin selling the product in 10 countries in Europe and Asia.
The company is tackling a pretty competitive consumer food storage market. SC Johnson, the parent company of Ziploc as well as many other products, for instance, has yearly sales of $10 billion. It doesn’t break out numbers for the storage products.
Mr. Kensey has ambitions that his company may eventually be in a position to make a deal with larger manufacturers. Zip n’ Store is “a win win for fridge makers and customers,” he said. For now, he sees pending patents as the company’s best defense against potential competition.
“Someone’s going to try to knock it off, [but] we have pretty strong patents,” Mr. Kensey said. “When you have a good product, you want to hit it and get it out as fast as possible.”
Zip n’ Store has produced an “As Seen On TV” video. The ad will begin to air on television stations nationwide next weekend, according to Mr. Kensey.
“That’s going to be a major game changer ... and I think it’s going to drive sales,” he said. According to the Electronic Retailing Association, an industry trade group, the global direct-to-consumer market has sales of $350 billion.
Mr. Kensey’s invention is only one of many products which will be pitched at the Wednesday event. A Walmart press release described more than 450 businesses hailing from 46 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, with products ranging from kiwi-flavored snacks to baby wipes.
Including Zip n’ Store, 16 of those businesses hail from Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh-based Little’s Skin Care, which produces a line of balms and creams for babies, and Erie-based reCAP Mason Jars, which produces a range of new caps and accessories which expand the range of uses of mason jars.
Business owners must apply to participate in Open Call through the Walmart website. Applications are reviewed by a team of buyers and invitations extended to the most promising products.
Mr. Kensey’s pitch for Zip n’ Store during a 30minute meeting will be competing against more than 700 other products, since some businesses will be pitching more than one product.
Last year, about one-fifth of the businesses making pitches received deals. “We want [inventors] to tell us what differentiates their products,” said the Walmart spokesperson. “During the pitch, we’re hoping to find out why each of the brands are special.”
Regardless of the outcome, Mr. Kensey plans to see Open Call as a positive experience. “This is a battle, kind of like as a warrior, I’ve prepared for. I’m ready,” he said. “Yes or no, yea or nay, this is something I’m excited to share with Walmart.”