Big news out of Chico this week as Klean Kanteen marks two decades of success as a leader in the sustainable water bottle and food container industry with a new partnership that will propel the business into its next 20 years.
The Think Better Group with financial support from the ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund is joining forces with Michelle Kalberer and Jeff Cresswell, sibling owners of Klean Kanteen, to increase the local company’s market share globally and expand business operations locally.
Klean Kanteen products are sold in 52 countries but face “massive competition from big conglomerates” — this, combined with setbacks from the COVID pandemic as well as wars and inflation had Kalberer and Cresswell taking a serious look at the future.
“We’ve done so many great things in the first 20 years, but we never fully recovered from COVID internationally,” said Kalberer. “We just have not been able to bounce back from what we were pre-COVID.”
Kalberer said that she and her brother took a “hard look at how to continue to grow and do amazing things for the next 20 years,” and a partnership seemed the best way to move forward. When they found the Think Better Group, they found the perfect partner, said Kalberer.
“We were attracted to them because they only invest in sustainable businesses that are comitted to bettering the planet and grow those businesses under their umbrella,” said Kalberer. “They are a family- and employee-owned business, not a big conglomerate, so they invest in other like-minded small businesses.”
Funding for the Think Better Group’s partnership investment with Klean Kanteen came from the ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund, one of the largest private impact funds in the Netherlands that invests in companies that have a positive impact on climate and society.
Kalberer said that Klean Kanteen, Think Better and the other businesses under its purview have “an amazing synergy” when it comes to mitigating plastic pollution.
“They have a lot of connections internationally,” said Kalberer. “And a global reputation for excellence in bringing sustainable brands to into the international and U.S. markets.”
Under the new partnership, the Chico-based company will have the opportunity to be a “catalyst” for bringing other Think Better business brands into the United States.
Klean Kanteen’s 50,000 square foot warehouse will serve as a “mini third-party logistics facility” from which other Think Better brands will be distributed. The initial products that will be dispersed from the local facility include wetsuits made from recycled plastic water bottles and two brands of eco-friendly diapers.
Currently, Klean Kanteen employs 54 people, but with the addition of other products to house and ship, Kalberer said more staff will be needed.
“Jeff and I make all our decisions around the people, brand and community,” said Kalberer. “I am really excited about what the partnership can do for all three. With our facility serving as hub for other brands, it will bring new jobs to the community. We’re so excited about that.”
Right now, Kalberer said, Klean Kanteen is focused on getting the warehouse in its “most efficient state and assessing how much space we have for bringing in the other brands,” which she said could be by the end of this year.
“The biggest question we keep getting about this new partnership is ‘will things change?’” she said. “We are the same; we just have a new partner. Jeff and I are still here, and the culture and brand will stay the same. We are just using the partnership to improve our global distribution and our facility to enhance the community.”
Reach Kyra Gottesman at kgottesman@chicoer.com.
