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Success Stories: Shore Buddies, LLC
Shore Buddies is a local venture that truly pivoted during the pandemic, adjusting from 90% of revenue coming from brick-and-mortar locations to 80% coming from e-commerce. Company creator and owner Malte Niebelschuetz worked with The Brink SBDC on a business plan, and funds garnered through the SBDC freed up cash for business development and growth, he shares.
Shore Buddies is a toy brand that creates stuffed animals from recycled plastic bottles. Their mission is to save marine life by preventing plastic from entering the ocean and hurting marine life or sea birds. Inspired by clothing produced from recyclable soda bottles, Malte founded the company in 2014. Beyond selling stuffed animals, Shore Buddies supports ocean-minded nonprofit organizations which have programs fostering the sustainability habit from an early age. By 2020, Shore Buddies had saved over 500,000 plastic bottles from entering the oceans.
Malte attended SBDC training, networking, and funding events to build his knowledge and grow, from office hours to the San Diego Angel Conference E-Track.
The Brink SBDC says it enjoys working with Malte and Shore Buddies in their continued efforts to save the ocean and make sustainability a second language through play, one toy at a time.
(Shore Buddies also achieved Toy of the Year 2021 Finalist status, only beaten by Baby Yoda.)
Areas of Assistance
2 jobs created
80% sales increase since 2020
E-commerce pivot
Economic Impact
$100,000 capital investment for inventory funding
Location
San Diego, CA 92169
“We are excited to pivot a business and almost double our overall revenue in times of a global pandemic. Our advisors went the extra mile to find help and resources at a time when we felt it was over, and made things happen.”
