From the Madison-based health care software giant Epic Systems Corp. to the Milwaukee wine subscription box startup BrightCellars, Christie Yau has worked for several well-known Wisconsin technology companies.
Now, as the founder of sustainable toilet paper subscription startup Honeycomb Luxury, Yau is building a successful company of her own.
Yau started Honeycomb Luxury in 2019 and received the first order that September. The timing was fortuitous, given the pandemic-fueled toilet paper frenzy that would soon follow.
"As soon as March 2020 hit, we exploded," Yau said. "It's certainly been helped by the pandemic but we've seen sales continue to go up even now that the toilet paper crisis kind of died out."
Honeycomb Luxury, which has three employees including Yau, is on pace to hit $1 million in revenue this year, Yau said. The company, which has customers in every U.S. state, hasn't raised outside capital because it's profitable and Yau reinvests in the business, she said.
Originally from the Detroit area, Yau attended the University of Michigan and moved to Wisconsin after college to work for Epic. After a few years, she left to follow her interest in entrepreneurship by starting her first company, Isthmus Bubble Soccer, and interning at Wisconsin-based startup accelerator operator gener8tor Management LLC.
Yau then began working for gener8tor portfolio company BrightCellars, where she spent more than four years in operations and customer acquisition roles. During that time, she sold Isthmus Bubble Soccer to Badger State Knockerball.
Her experience at BrightCellars left Yau wanting to start her own e-commerce business. But after dealing with the regulatory and logistical complications of shipping wine, she sought a product that would be lightweight and unfragile.
That, combined with her desire to be more eco-conscious, led Yau to the bamboo toilet paper business. Bamboo regrows within weeks compared with the years it takes trees to regrow, Yau said, making bamboo a more sustainable option.
Honeycomb Luxury's products are made in China, where many bamboo manufacturers are based, Yau said. She worked with manufacturers to test samples, aiming for a product that was softer than competitors.
"I was motivated by the eco-friendly piece but not enough to be willing to put up with a toilet paper that was uncomfortable," Yau said.
Honeycomb Luxury sells 24-roll boxes for $60. Orders automatically renew after eight, 12 or 16 weeks but customers can skip or change their order frequency.
Looking ahead, the company is interested in scaling through partnerships with larger, traditional Wisconsin-based toilet paper brands and is prototyping other eco-friendly products like paper towels, Yau said.
