Local product getting national rollout through major retailer
Created out of necessity, Owner of the KUVU Lori Gicante wanted her storage accessory product to be manufactured close to home.
“It’s completely manufactured in Ontario, everything is from Ontario, from material to packaging to bags.”
The KUVU is described as a home organization tool, that loops around items like Christmas lights and extension cords and allows them to be hung on the wall.
“I was cleaning up the garage,” says Gicante about her inspiration for the product.
“I found I just couldn’t get rid of all the stuff that we had, hang up the kids sports equipment, snowboards, hockey sticks.”
But she also wanted a more environmentally friendly solution.
“We were looking at recycled plastic or rubber, and our materials person suggested tires and people loved it.”
Recently the product was picked up by one of the Country’s top chains.
“We have just gotten into Canadian tire, so we’re very excited about that. That was a number one for us, we always wanted that; a Canadian company with a Canadian brand.”
That distribution could lead to larger orders, which may take the packing of the product from the family doing it themselves on their dining room table something more robust.
“So when we get to the point where we’re doing this everyday, which would be great, we will be working with a third party to do that,” says Ryan Gicante.
But any expansion would help other local companies grow as well.
“One manufacturer, and one company doing boxes, another London company doing bags, and another London company doing our signage. If we grow then we’re going to have another mold made and the factory will be busier doing that, and hopefully the box company, and the bag company and the signage company will be busier making more.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.