Disrupting a Billion Dollar Industry | Toni Desrosiers, Abeego Founder & CEO

This episode of The Leadership Standard podcast with host Gair Maxwell features an inspiring conversation with Toni Desrosiers—a Canadian entrepreneur who disrupted the billion-dollar plastic wrap industry by inventing the first reusable beeswax food wrap: Abeego.

Becoming the trailblazer of a global movement, Toni has been featured on Dragon’s Den, won the 2018 TELUS Trailblazer Award, had Abeego named the Best Reusable Food Wrap by America’s Test Kitchen, named a Woman of Influence, and so much more.

Those 14 years ago, Toni Desrosiers was looking for a natural way to store her food and ended up discovering a way to disrupt the fully mature, billion-dollar industry of plastic wrap. Through extensive experimentation (and looking to lemon peels, cheese rinds, and onion skins for inspiration) she developed Abeego, the sustainable food wrap on a mission to “Keep Food Alive” by protecting it from air, light, and moisture while allowing it to breathe. The self-adhesive wrap can last over a year with proper care (hand-washed with cold water).

🔔EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS🔔

0:00 An introduction to Toni Desrosiers, Abeego Founder & CEO

7:33 The difficulty of disrupting a billion-dollar industry & sticking to your gut

10:41 Why she made the intentional decision NOT to patent her invention

13:59 How she had to “Kill Her Darlings” and what this can do for business

18:02 How having a “typical male’s name” has given her the upper hand in some business scenarios (like Dragon’s Den!)

22:47 What advice she would give to other women on their entrepreneurial journey

30:49 Why Abeego is a B Corp certified company implementing socially and environmentally responsible practices into every aspect of business

23:35 Her definition of leadership

ABOUT ABEEGO

ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP STANDARD PODCAST
The Leadership Standard, hosted by TEC Canada speaker and branding expert Gair Maxwell, features in-depth conversations with subject matter experts all across the business spectrum.

Featuring thought leadership and actionable insights to challenge your assumptions – and inspiring stories of business triumphs, struggles, and perseverance that provide a motivational push – every episode of The Leadership Standard is a revealing discussion about the life of business and the business of life.

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