Just about every business has a byproduct of some sort. Next time you think about the next product line look at what is being thrown in the trash. Time and time again you hear stories about how one company turned their trash into a pile of money. One of my favorite examples is Kingsford Charcoal. After all, it is grilling season now and people are lighting briquettes like nobody’s business. Here is an excerpt from the Kingsford Wiki page:

Kingsford is a brand of charcoal used for grilling, along with related products. The brand is owned by The Clorox Company.

The Kingsford Company was formed by Henry Ford and E.G. Kingsford during the early 1920s. Charcoal was developed from Ford Motor Company’s factory wastes (wood scraps). The Kingsford Company was formed when E.G. Kingsford, a relative of Ford’s, brokered the site selection for Ford’s new charcoal manufacturing plant. The company, originally called Ford Charcoal, was renamed in E.G.’s honor.

Today The Kingsford Products Company remains the leading manufacturer of charcoal in the U.S., enjoying 80 percent market share. More than 1 million tons of wood scraps are converted into charcoal briquets every year, making Kingsford the pacesetter in the charcoal industry.

Pretty cool to be able to take your scrap wood and turn that into a $350 million a year business! Who knew there was so much money in making, selling and marketing charcoal?

When looking for your next great marketing idea take a look around your trash bin at the office and see what it is your are scrapping that could be re-proceeded and turned into money. Talk about being “green” – more like making green from your trash heap.

Of course this doesn’t stop with physical objects, how could you transform your extra processing power or rack space into a product people need or want. It doesn’t cost you much to convert the things you already have into additional revenue generating sources.

No related posts.