Innovation

Humble hive Homemade started with one woman who wanted to make the world a safer place for her newborn child. During her pregnancy, Lauren Craig became aware of the risks the products she was using posed to her body. Driven by the desire to make her family safer, she began experimenting with making all-natural versions of the cosmetic products she wanted to use, covering everything from deodorants to perfumes to skin care. As her sustainability journey grew to include moving to a self-built "tire house" and growing her own food, Lauren also sought to make her product more sustainable by including zero-waste packaging. She also began to look into supplier sources that were fair-trade and organic, and most of her ingredients are purchased from a small, family-owned farm in Oregon.

By filling a niche in the market by providing zero-waste products that are also fair-trade and use organic, all-natural ingredients, Humble hive Homemade accomplishes SDG 12. Lauren is not only able to reduce her company's impact on the environment, but also serve as an educator for her customers and inspire them to pursue more "intentional living" lifestyles.

Inspiration

Lauren was motivated to create this company when she became pregnant with her oldest son. Lauren and her husband started to become more mindful of their day-to-day choices and how they affected their health. They stopped using chemical cleaners and started to produce their own cleaners, toiletries, and cosmetics. The couple also started to eat organic foods and threw out the prepackaged and processed foods that they used to eat. Lauren says that her "family was the main motivator, and [she] wanted to make sure that those products they were using were safe for them." After her first son was born, the couple started researching where their food was coming from and realized that the products they consumed could be improved. After much consideration, the family purchased five acres of rural land to begin Humble hive Homemade “to make sure everyone had access to those products.”

For the zero-waste aspect, Lauren did not see a lot of other companies making zero-waste products. She wanted to be a catalyst for change by making her products zero-waste. It took a long time to source the right kind of packaging that could be compostable or reusable. To ship items out, Lauren shreds all of her household bills and junk mail to use as filler. Lauren is very “conscious of all of those things because there’s a ripple effect that occurs when individuals start making bigger changes.”

Overall impact

The innovation has a significant impact on the business, as it was the driver behind the creation of Humble hive Homemade. While in pursuit of a more sustainable, healthy lifestyle, Lauren realized that products that were zero-waste, organic, and fair-trade were difficult to find. Therefore, she decided to make her own, and gradually the innovation inspired her to create her own business. Lauren started making products in her own kitchen, and after great feedback from friends and family, she decided that she wanted to expand and educate people on the benefits of using all-natural, zero-waste products. Lauren’s motivation behind continuing to grow her business is the customer interactions she experiences day-to-day. When she is out at a farmers market demoing her products and teaching customers about the importance of regulating the ingredients they are using on their bodies, she can see the impact she is making in others' lives. By increasing the awareness and accessibility surrounding natural, fair-trade, zero-waste products, Humble hive Homemade is an important driver of these movements.

Business benefit

Humble hive Homemade's innovation benefits the business in terms of value creation, by creating a value that many people living in this new era strives for. Her value creation for everyone eventually benefits her business as more and more people consume Lauren's products in the world of artificial ingredients. Demand is most likely to rise along with revenues and profits. Unlike the existing body care products, Humble hive is able to create its own internal value chain from inviting non-traditional partners (both for-profit and nonprofit). Although Lauren’s cost is higher than that of the current market dominators, its own value chain enables Humble hive to be free of negotiating power from most suppliers and buyers that comes from any legal or contract-related issues. Also, Humble hive operates on an open innovation model, which enables the exchange of information triangularly between the suppliers, Humble hive, and its customers. These innovations prove Humble hive’s values of sustainability, opportunity, and embracing community. Humble hive is constantly looking for new ways to evolve their product and processing to benefit the environment, suppliers, and their customers and responsible production and consumption is just a small part of that.

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Social and environmental benefit

Despite being a small, one-person company, Humble hive Homemade has achieved an impressive goal of creating zero-waste, high-quality, and all-natural products that can be shared with the general public. Humble hive Homemade acts as a great example for all business and individuals who want to make a positive impact on society and the environment. The company is very open to customers and encourages them to make their own products so that they know exactly what is being put in them. Lauren wants to spread the wealth to others so that we can become a more health-conscious and environmentally friendly society for future generations.

Interview

Lauren Craig, Founder