News

Except for the professional organizers among us - long may they sort - packing our belongings is a daunting task.

There are the emotional minefields: whether to keep or toss photos from a relationship gone wrong. And then there are the mind-numbing details: wrapping glassware, culling coats and finding boxes.

Ah, boxes: the liquor store cast-offs, the cardboard models that buckle at a load of books, the mismatched shapes and sizes that topple when you stack them.

Then there's a Frogbox, a reusable, plastic box with sturdy sides and fold-down top that can swallow books, cutlery or clothing and that is, naturally, bright green.

Vancouver-based Frogbox Inc. - the company and its product share the name - was launched in April of 2008, after founder Doug Burgoyne and a silent partner studied the moving supplies industry and concluded there was an opening for them to hop in. (Mr. Burgoyne calculates the market for residential moving boxes alone is worth an estimated $5-billion a year in North America.)

Frogbox rents sturdy plastic boxes - similar to ones commonly used in the commercial moving sector - for residential moves, delivering the stacking boxes to customers who book online.

The company made its first delivery in June of 2009 and has since expanded to Seattle, where Mr. Burgoyne sought out as his United States connection a businessman who was running a thriving 1-800-Got-Junk? franchise. For Mr. Burgoyne, 1-800-Got-Junk? is a business touchstone, a shining example of concept, branding and execution that proves even a simple idea can have legs.

"For me, the actual 'aha' moment was realizing that you could move with these boxes and it would be more convenient, just as affordable and arguably cheaper, and it's environmentally friendly," Mr. Burgoyne says.

Frogbox pitches its plastic boxes as a better environmental choice than widely used cardboard boxes, saying its containers can be used up to 400 times compared with less than a dozen moves before their cardboard cousins pack it in. Companies offering plastic moving boxes have popped up in other cities, including New York and San Francisco, and it's not too difficult - or expensive - to copy the concept.

Mr. Burgoyne, however, takes comfort from the example of 1-800-Got-Junk?, which has managed to expand even as imitators are putting their own clean-up crews and trucks on the road.

"To actually do it right and make any money at it, you have to spend a fair bit of money on marketing," Mr. Burgoyne says of the reusable moving box approach. "And you have to have the logistics down."

Frogbox plans to launch in Toronto in 2010 and is also looking at Portland and San Francisco. It's also looking at Calgary. The simplicity of the business model - leasing out the same assets repeatedly - means that it's relatively simple to turn a profit. But in Frogbox's start-up phase, money is being plowed back into advertising and expansion.

So far, the company has been internally financed - Mr. Burgoyne would not disclose start-up costs - but it may seek additional capital or investors to expand.

Asked what's caught him most by surprise in his new venture, Mr. Burgoyne cites the support he's received from other, sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs. Customers as well appear to have bought in to the company's reduce-reuse-recycle approach.

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INSIDE THE BOX

Do I smell French fries?Frogbox trucks in Vancouver are powered by waste-generated biodiesel fuel, reflecting concerns that growing use of biofuels could threaten food production.

How can I pay for that?

Drivers carry handheld, wireless payment terminals and customers can pay by cash or credit card. Bookings are made online, and there are no deposits.

Why are you so jumpy?

Frogbox donates 1 per cent of gross revenues to frog habitat restoration projects.

Will you pack for me?

Frogbox is not a moving company, but regularly refers customers to moving companies and professional organizers.