The Lomi composter online campaign has raised more than $3 million for the product.
Image Credit: Pela
April 22, 2021 - 6:30 AM
A Kelowna-based company has raised more than $3 million on Indiegogo for a small kitchen-counter composter that turns waste directly into fertilizer.
Pela is known for its compostable phone cases and sunglasses but launched an online campaign April 21 for its Lomi composters and surpassed its fundraising goal of $62,493 within two minutes of the campaign launch.
The composter uses heat, abrasion, and oxygen to speed up the breakdown of organic waste into smaller fragments - similar to how earthworms break down and mix plant tissue into soil, according to Pela. The end result is fertilizer that can be used to enrich soil for plant growth.
In seven minutes, Pela sold out of its 1,000 super early-bird composters and has since raised more than $3 million in 10 hours, according to the Indiegogo site.
Before the company decided to mass produce the composters, it wanted to test if their audience and community wanted to support it as well as create conversations around the composter and gather feedback on how people use it, said Kate Wilson, vice president of brand marketing with Pela.
“This allowed us to really gauge the interest, figure out how many should we produce and how much effort we should put behind this to ensure we don’t have any unnecessary waste,” Wilson said.
The price ranges on the Lomi depend on how early you buy it. The Indiegogo special Lomi, which are currently the cheapest option with only 15 left on April 21, sells for $474. Pre-orders of the product will be delivered in December.
READ MORE: Kelowna's Pela is expanding its green reach
“We’re thrilled to see the amount of support we’ve received and we wanted to be realistic about our goals,” Wilson said, adding Pela has been sending information about the new product for months and letting people know about it prior.
The money raised online will go towards mass development of the composters. The Lomi is manufactured in China with their own Pela employees, she said.
Originally built for the average apartment dweller, Pela has seen a wide array of people interested in the composters, from families to people who have backyard compost but in the winter don’t know what to do for compost, Wilson said.
This is the first time Pela has launched an online fundraiser in this way and due to its success they’ll be launching new innovations on the platform in the future.
Earth Day is April 22 and more information on Lomi can be found on Indiegogo.
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