Conscious CPG voices: HeyBamboo brings sustainability and inspiration to Newtopia Now

How are “Conscious CPG” companies positioning themselves in today’s fast-changing consumer market—and how are they turning to the Newtopia Now as a vital new resource to advance their brand among key buyers and decision makers?

We asked the founders and leaders of 10 emerging brands who are exhibiting their innovations (many of them for the very first time) at Newtopia Now what are the factors driving their decisions today. Coming from diverse backgrounds, these entrepreneurs all shared at least one thing in common—that gathering with peers, contemporaries, buyers, influencers, mentors, business leaders and others in an intimate setting is critical to learning about the marketplace, building relationships, and growing your business and brand. Enjoy our conversation with HeyBamboo's Joslyn Faust below.

HeyBamboo - Joslyn Faust, Founder and CEO

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Joslyn Faust worked in tech marketing for 20 years, yet she always harbored the entrepreneurial spirit to launch a company. When the toilet paper shortage hit during the Covid pandemic, Faust began looking into the impact of toilet paper manufacturing, along with the bleach and chemicals often used in the process. Seeing an opportunity from what she found out, in 2023, Joslyn launched HeyBamboo to provide sustainable, unbleached toilet paper made from 100% bamboo. With the motto, “Sustainable to the Core,” no plastic is ever used in the packaging.

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Read HeyBamboo's story in Joslyn Faust's own words:

Initially, I was looking to get something better for my family just as a consumer. I noticed there were not a lot of unbleached toilet paper brands. Also, they were all wrapped in plastic or tiny or expensive. I couldn’t find an option that was soft, felt great, was a good value and had all the qualities for conscious consumers so they don’t have to give up something for sustainability. For something that has such a big impact, there were not a lot of sustainable toilet paper options.

Once I had the inspiration, it took a lot longer than I expected it to. I asked myself, ‘What does sustainability look like in toilet paper? I designed HeyBamboo from the ground up—the toilet paper is made from 100% renewable bamboo, plus the core and wrap are made of bamboo, too. I talked with a number of suppliers to see if they could manufacture to my design specs: could they work with unbleached paper, use soy-based inks, recycled cardboard in the shipping case, etc. As such, it took me a while to find the right supplier, but we did.

We’ve been in business about a year now, and it’s going well. Everyone who tries HeyBamboo really likes it. We believe our packaging and branding and the product itself really stand out, and it’s a good value. The challenge for us is to encourage discovery. Currently we only sell online. We hope that by participating in Newtopia Now, we can start having meaningful conversations with brick-and-mortar retail buyers.

At Newtopia Now, we look forward to participating in a more intimate show that focuses on the conversations. I also love that Newtopia Now is about representation. As a female minority founder, that is important. The show, with its focus on sustainability and wellness, is very welcoming to me as an emerging, mission-based brand.

Find Hey Bamboo in Booth 646 in Represent.

Newtopia Now, New Hope Network's new trade show, is set for Aug. 25-28 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. For more information and to register, click here.