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Botanical PaperWorks grows from the ground up

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This article was published 08/03/2024 (598 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Entrepreneurship wasn’t on Heidi Reimer-Epp’s mind when she started her career. Having graduated from the Asper School of Business, Heidi was working in manufacturing and planning her wedding when the inspiration for her company came about.

Her mom, a teacher at the time, had been recycling her students’ waste paper into handmade paper.

“Kids would take a piece of paper, write something on it, and then throw it into the garbage,” says Reimer-Epp, adding that this predated the widespread recycling programs available today. “It pained her to see that waste.”

While the recycled paper made for beautiful keepsakes for the students, who would use it to write stories and poems, it was at Reimer-Epp’s wedding that people really took notice of her mom’s crafting skills.

“I’d asked my mom to do the wedding programs with her handmade paper and they were amazing,” Reimer-Epp says. “Everybody raved about them and wanted to know where we got them from.”

That initiated the conversation about a potential business, which Reimer-Epp and her mom launched in 1997.

“There were a lot of naysayers who thought it was a pretty crazy idea,” says Reimer-Epp, “but I think that galvanized me and made me determined to make it a success.”

From the handmade paper embedded with prairie flowers and grasses in the early days, to seed paper products that are sold in Canada, the U.S., Europe and the U.K., Botanical PaperWorks has grown exponentially since its inception in 1997.

“Our focus now is on plantable seed paper made from the paper waste of local businesses,” Reimer-Epp says. “We form it into sheets, embed it with seeds and then turn it into different products. When those products are planted, they grow into flowers or herbs or vegetables, and the paper composts away and leaves no waste behind, just the blooming plants.”

Reimer-Epp is solely at the helm as CEO, dedicated to not only the growth of her company but on creating a culture that is as sustainable as the products it produces.

Botanical PaperWorks offers flexible employment to its staff of about 50, so employees can work around their family and personal needs. It also provides support to employees where they need it.

“We had an employee who was in need of housing, so one of our managers worked alongside them to help secure a good and safe place for them to live,” Reimer-Epp says. “We employ a lot of newcomers to Canada, too, offering a variety of supports for their unique situations.”

Sustainability extends beyond the workplace culture, with Botanical PaperWorks giving back to organizations like Oceana Canada and PFLAG Canada, and organizing team litter clean-ups and recycling drives.

It’s also applicable in how the company operates, using sustainable packaging practices, measuring its greenhouse gas emissions, and recycling, repurposing, or composting its waste where possible.

By acting in alignment with its values and putting other essential business practices in place, such as diversifying across customer segments and geographic regions, continuous improvement, and assembling a strong team, the company has built a foundation that’s withstood hurdle after hurdle.

The COVID-19 pandemic might come to mind, but Reimer-Epp first experienced the challenge of pulling her business through a major world crisis when 9/11 happened.

“That morning, I’d gotten to the office early and I was sending out e-blasts for a promotion we were running when the planes hit,” Reimer-Epp says. “Suddenly, business and life as we knew it just stopped.”

Shipping was impacted, along with the demand for products like wedding invitations, given the wedding industry had all but come to a halt.

“We had to take a look at our needs and our issues and our desires for the short term, the mid-term and the long term,” says Reimer-Epp. “We knew that in the long term, we wanted to be a strong, thriving company and in the mid-term, sales would start up again, but in the short term, we had a cash flow crunch.”

The company laid off almost all its staff and sought bridge financing to help it along. Reimer-Epp also looked to customers she could do business with, turning her attention to distributors in the funeral industry, as funerals were still happening. She followed the same methodology when the pandemic struck, expanding her product offerings to include soap and later, candles.

“We were able to offer those as other zero-waste promotional products to the same customers that were buying our seed paper,” says Reimer-Epp.

Following an internal process improvement, Reimer-Epp hired her staff back after both 9/11 and the pandemic.

“You can’t do anything without a fantastic team,” says Reimer-Epp. “I have the opportunity to work with some really smart, wonderful people who share the same values I have with sustainability and community involvement, and so together we do this work.”

Reimer-Epp chooses to remain hands-on in her business, growing along with it.

“I’ve invested a lot in my own professional growth in order to evolve as a CEO, and then grown my team alongside me so we are all learning and evolving as the business needs change,” she says.

She stresses the importance of understanding all aspects of the business, while keeping a close eye on finances.

“I heard somebody say, ‘Revenue is vanity and profit is sanity,’ and I really ascribe to that,” Reimer-Epp says. “You could grow the top-line revenue, but if your bottom line isn’t healthy, then you’re just working harder and harder for nothing.”

It’s also necessary to understand what you need to be your best in your entrepreneurial journey.

“When you’re taking risks, it can be worry and second-guessing and fear,” Reimer-Epp says. “Guarding your creativity and your passion is very important, as is supporting your mental and your physical health, because entrepreneurship asks a lot of you.”

Looking to the future, Reimer-Epp plans to focus more on environment, social and governance, or ESG, reporting, as well as third-party certifications to reinforce her company’s commitment to sustainability and community.

“We’re finding that consumers are skeptical without that third-party certification,” says Reimer-Epp. “There’s a lot of greenwashing out there, and we don’t want to be a part of that.”

Reimer-Epp is eager to share her learnings in an upcoming WTC talk, having taken part in World Trade Centre Winnipeg’s programs and professional development opportunities over the years.

“They really champion local businesses,” Reimer-Epp says, “and I appreciate that because, with an entrepreneur-led company, you need those organizations that have your back.”

In her WTC Talk, Reimer-Epp will cover her company’s path to success in manufacturing and to becoming a leader in sustainability, along with her own experiences as an entrepreneur.

“Even after 27 years, I’m still learning,” she says. “I don’t think you’re every 100 per cent confident as an entrepreneur because everything’s always changing, and that’s just life. So, a big part of it is being very aware and responsive, flexible, creative, tenacious, and enjoying the ride.”

Catch Heidi Reimer-Epp, alongside fellow entrepreneur Catherine Metrycki of Callia, on March 20, 2024 from 4-6 p.m. at Torque Brewing. Advance registration is at wtcwinnipeg.com/events/wtc-talks-march.