Investment firms backed by Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, and Ashton Kutcher's SOUNDWaves are just some of the backers dumping roughly $5 million in funding for the sustainable toilet paper and paper towel brand, Cloud Paper.
That's the Seattle-based company that's... er... wiping out forest-based paper products with its "tree-free" offerings.
The company uses bamboo to make its toilet paper and paper towels in a bid to reduce deforestation and offer consumers and businesses a more environmentally friendly way to clean up.
The pitch was enough to convince Bezos' Expedition Ventures, Benioff's Time Ventures, Kutcher's SOUNDWaves fund, along with Presight Capital and some individual investors to put additional cash into the company (we invested in a previous round too).
After launching a paper towel line in March of last year, Cloud Paper has grown very, very quickly. The company delivered 930% more rolls since its first capital raise and increased its direct to consumer business by 230% and its business-focused clientele by 400%. Revenues increased by 800% over the period, the company said, in a statement.
Corporate customers have always been at the heart of Cloud Paper's pitch. The company believes that enterprise customers who buy tons of paper towels and toilet paper in bulk represent a big market opportunity -- especially among the tech-forward companies that are looking for all sorts of ways to lower their emissions profile.
“Over this past year, we’ve seen and heard how much the environment means to our customers, and saving it through a small paper product switch is an easy way to make sustainability feel attainable for everyone,” said Ryan Fritsch, co-founder of Cloud Paper, in a statement. “We’re thrilled that Bezos Expeditions, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, Presight Capital, SOUNDWaves, and Jeff Wilke all believe in us and the movement we’re building around saving trees, one roll at a time.”
The company estimates that it saved 10,000 trees in 2021 alone, and received FSC certification last year, furthering its sustainable supply chain efforts.
“Cloud Paper is on a mission to transform the paper products industry to switch to tree-free products,” said Ashton Kutcher of SOUNDWaves, the new ESG-focused investment vehicle from Sound Ventures. “We want to be part of that mission and further cement our position in this space as Cloud Paper expands into retail and pursues an aggressive B2B strategy, alongside growing their DTC offering.”
Founded in 2019 by ex-Uber and Convoy employees (Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is also an investor), the company initially billed itself as a direct-to-consumer brand, but always intended to enter the business market. During the pandemic, toilet paper proved to be a much-needed essential item that customers clamored to purchase via their DTC site, the company said.
Additional investors in the company include Greycroft, our own FootPrint Coalition Ventures, Mark Cuban, Ashton Kutcher, and Guy Oseary’s SOUNDWaves, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ciara, Russell Wilson, and more.
Anyone who wants to see what bamboo TP can do for their tush and the planet should check out cloudpaper.co.