Whole Foods? How 'Bout "Whole Country"?

The GreenBox continues its inexorable march across the Untied States! We’ve added two more Whole Foods regions to the GreenBox family.

In the South Region, 20 Whole Foods Market locations will be using the GreenBox to serve customers at their take-away brick-oven pizza counters; meanwhile, in the Florida Region, 16 stores are welcoming the GreenBox with open arms.

And don’t forget that the GreenBox is already being used at 30 Whole Foods Market locations in the Rocky Mountain Region.

Add it all up, and what do you get? Something that feels a lot like a "movement". Specifically, a movement away from old, inferior pizza packaging and towards something new and innovative - our GreenBox. It’s a movement that we’re thrilled to be making with Whole Foods Markets.

Stay tuned as always for more good news…and I apologize for not being my usual bitter, cynical self lately; things have just been going too darn well…

XO,

The GreenBox Intern

The World Is Flat: The GreenBox Going Global!

Ok, folks…try to keep up with me here.

There’s been a flurry of activity surrounding the GreenBox over the past couple of months, and I understand if you’re feeling overwhelmed; Whole Foods...the Fox Pizza Bus...Beatrice’s Inferno...The New York Pizza Department...Pi Pizzeria...Arturo’s…the list of small businesses, chains, and national corporations using the GreenBox is growing every day. I recommend that you get a Moleskin notebook (favored by both Hemingway and Picasso) and try to keep a running tally of GreenBox conquests as we continue to pop up all over the United States.

Did I say the United States? Pardon me; I misspoke. I meant ‘the world”. In the latest bit of good news concerning the GreenBox, we are now working with Central American manufacturing giant SigmaQ.

I recently spoke via email with the head of R&D at SigmaQ, the charming and worldly Leo Braun, about his attraction to the GreenBox and his vision for the future of the product in Central America. As is the case with all the relationships we have developed around the GreenBox, Mr. Braun was positively effusive in his affection for and belief in the product.

Under the auspices of the SigmaQ empire, the GreenBox will be manufactured in three Central American locations: Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Mr. Braun shared his thoughts on the product and its potential around the world:

“I have been in the packaging business for more than 30 years, mostly in production and Research & Development activities. I have always considered myself practical in regards to design; for me, a product has to be sober and functional. The Green Box is an advantageous design for the pizza consumer; all pizza boxes should work like this! It is a simple idea with a minimum of extra cost that is of maximum benefit to the consumer. If I personally had the choice to decide what box my pizza comes in, I would most certainly choose the Green Box. And I’m sure that my customers will feel the same way. Nobody is going to refuse to use a product that is simply better than the one they are used to.”

Thanks, Leo – we couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

Be sure to check out SigmaQ’s website. And if you’re reading this in Central America, keep your eyes peeled – you should be seeing the GreenBox very soon.

The New Pi Pizzeria GreenBox Is Turning Heads!

When's the last time you heard someone describe a pizza box as "sexy"? Unless you run with a very odd crowd, you've probably never heard that word applied to food packaging of any kind. But that's the only way to describe the GreenBox now being carried by the (decidedly sexy) Pi Pizzeria.

Take a gander at that box. Drink it in. Don't be surprised or disturbed if you start to feel...certain feelings. It's OK; we're all friends here. There's nothing wrong with being attracted to a pizza box - as long as it's the GreenBox, of course. (As for those hopelessly outdated standard pizza boxes, I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those - I have standards).

We gotta hand it to the folks at Pi Pizzeria; that GreenBox is just plain pretty. I wouldn't be surprised to see a group of St. Louis construction workers whistling and cat-calling as a Pi Pizzeria GreenBox breezes by them on the street. "Hey! Babe! Where ya goin'?? I just wanna talk to ya!"

Don't be embarassed; feel free to return again and again to check out that pic! And check out Pi Pizzera - the only pizza restaurant we've come across that has been personally touted by the President of the United States (also known as the Leader of the Free World). That's a heck of an endorsement...and that's a heck of a good-looking GreenBox.

Things are getting exciting, folks...

Arizona-Based Chain NYPD Is Going Green(Box)!!!

Good news for desert-dwellers who love pizza as much as they love Mother Earth!

Arizona-based chain New York Pizza Department (NYPD) is introducing the GreenBox in all 10 of its locations. Rich Stark, CEO of NYPD Pizza, shares his thoughts on the decision:

“We were immediately sold when we heard about the GreenBox. We can’t wait to introduce it to our guests and we hope that we can pioneer its use in the Valley.”

As do we, Rick! And we share his confidence; in our experience, once consumers experience the GreenBox firsthand, they don’t look back. Teaming up with NYPD is another huge step towards making the GreenBox the industry standard.

For our part, ECOvention is thrilled to be supplying the GreenBox to the New York Pizza Department and their hungry (and eco-conscious!) fans in Arizona. Quoth CEO William Walsh, “We are thrilled to see NYPD Pizza become the first pizzeria chain in the nation to transition to the GreenBox. Furthermore, we are proud to be working with a company that shares our mission to promote innovative and responsible food packaging.”

Whether you’re from Arizona or not, feel free to show NYPD some love. And if you are an AZ local, get ready to experience their delicious pies in a whole new way – in a GreenBox!

For more information about NYPD Pizza, visit www.aznypdpizza.com or follow them on Twitter: @NYPD_Pizza and Facebook: New York Pizza Department.

More Passionate Testimonials from Satisfied Customers!!!

I’ve said it a million times: the truly amazing thing about the GreenBox is the way it inspires the people who use it. To be honest, we haven’t had to worry much about publicity or marketing for one simple reason: the people who use the GreenBox quickly become almost evangelical about their experience. Once they’ve gotten a taste of how the box works, how it makes life easier and improves the health of the planet, people are suddenly moved to extol the benefits of the product all on their own - I swear, we don't pay 'em! Something about this nifty pizza box really seems to loosen people’s tongues. We feel there is no greater testament to the viability of the product than this tendency it has to effortlessly get people talking.

More often than not, GreenBox customers take it upon themselves to promote the product, dutifully spreading the word and winning converts in their local communities and nationwide. It's not every new product that generates that kind of self-sustaining publicity, and we here at ECOvention could not be more thankful to the folks who truly love the GreenBox and who use all sorts of outlets (print media, social networking sites, blogs, etc.) to make their feelings know to the world at large.

Case in point: this fantastic video produced by Arturo’s Osteria and Pizzeria in Maplewood, New Jersey. Dan Richer, the owner and chef at Arturo’s, was one of the very first person in the nation to latch on to the GreenBox and really fall in love with it – and you can feel the love in this video!

The video is posted below, but you can also access it here, on the beautifully maintained website for Arturo’s. If you’re in New Jersey, you must stop by and sample their amazing wood-fired pies; in fact, if you’re in the tri-state area, their pizza is well worth a day trip. Stop by their site and show them some love!



XO

The GreenBox Intern (The Old One)

P.S. Credit goes to YoungIntern (Emani) for finding this video on the Wild West of the internet - the rest of us had missed this one until today!

Sustainable Directions Internship

For the past month, I have been interning at ECOvention, LLC through a program by Triskeles called "Sustainable Directions". About thirty kids from Urban Assembly schools were set up at different small sustainable businesses to learn about how the "Triple Bottom Line" affects most businesses. "The Triple Bottom Line" is a term based on People, Planet, and Prosperity/Profit. Through weekly seminars we, the interns, discussed different values one should have as a working adult.

At ECOvention I've learned a lot! This included both business and inter-office relations - it's been a valuable experience to see how people can work together effectively for a product they all really believe in. I loved my first intern experience and luckily for me it doesn't have to end now - they've asked me to stick around as long as I can! Apparently, Sean (OldIntern) suffered a nervous breakdown while trying to change the GreenBox user name on Facebook, so I have to step in and handle those kinds of things from now on...

At the Culminating Celebration, in groups of six we presented our own "Triple Bottom Line Projects" with plans for sustainable businesses and thanked out work cites! William Walsh, Jennifer Wright, and Ned Kensing came to show support. Sean, on the other hand, was weird as usual: he complains about being left out of everything, but I invited him, and he didn't show up! He claims he tried to send me a Facebook message about it, but it triggered his PTSD and he blacked out. Like I said, I've learned a lot about working with..."interesting" personalities. I hope OldIntern gets the professional help he so clearly needs.

Still, the night was as enjoyable as this whole month with ECOvention has been, and I am so glad I was given the chance to stick around and learn more!

The GreenBox Takes A Ride on the Fox Pizza Bus!

Have you ever strolled into a food parlor and greedily eaten a bunch of samples? Has the store owner looked at you with an attitude because of this? Well, have no fear, moochers! At the LA Street Foods Fest you are welcome to taste as many samples as you like and you won't be given guilt-inducing looks by vendors. At this event there are more than 60 providers with their best dishes.

Among the group on July 24th was the incredible Fox Pizza Bus. And guess what they were using to deliver their delicious and unique creations? You guessed it: the GreenBox! They received great reviews about the product throughout the day! Though they're extremely busy as usual (and deservedly so) they were generous enough to share these photos with us here the GreenBox blog. So take a moment to toast the GreenBox on it's red-carpet day in Los Angeles. (In the photos is the marketing director for The Fox Pizza Bus, Jordan Hieshetter.)