2023: A Year in Review
Well, the sun is setting on another year. If you’re like us at Starter King, you’re probably wondering how 2023 is already over. Nonetheless, we had an amazing year in 2023 and we want to thank all of you for your continued support of our small business.
Starter King was created almost a decade ago to solve several problems: the waste issues of the food-grade wax paper coating facility where Starter King lives and the underwhelming performance of most firestarters. Since Starter King’s inception, a lot has changed, particularly in 2023.
A short year ago, Starter King was just getting back into stores again after a stint for several years. The product came back to market better than ever and received a lot of great reviews and attention. We didn’t even have a website or any recent social media presence in the beginning of 2023. Since starting both, we have seen growth and everyone loves that they can buy our product online.
In 2023, even our product changed a lot. Starter King went from being a solid 6in bar, to being a 6in bar with a groove/score down the middle, to being 3in bars with a groove down the middle. All of those changes were quickly adopted to improve the customer experience. We pride ourselves on constant reflection and push to improve our product and process.
Starter King has also received a lot of equipment upgrades this year. While we can’t go into much detail here, there are some exciting things coming in 2024 that will improve the performance and user experience of our product. We are excited to share those with you when we can!
Oh, and there was that whole Lowe’s thing. What an unforgettable day. A true shark tank like pitch environment that ended up with Starter King winning the whole event. We have been working hard to get our product ready for Lowe’s and 2024 is the year!! We anticipate a late summer release date in Lowe’s stores; we will be sure to keep you all updated as we know more.
In the meantime, Starter King will always be available at starterking.us AND as of this week, we are officially launching Starter King on Lowes.com so head on over and take a look! While it may seem counterintuitive, buying Starter King from Lowes.com and leaving a review on their website is a huge deal for us. Doing this will help prove that Starter King needs to be in stores. Here are the Standard Pack and Jumbo Pack on Lowes.com
Beyond our product evolution and company changes, we have also had the opportunity to work with some amazing creators this past year. First, we worked with Will Levatino, also known as Clams. He runs a YouTube channel called Cooking with Clams where he leans on his experience as a professional chef to teach ways to utilize bycatch and underutilized species or cuts of fish. Truly a class act and a phenomenal creator. Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@CookingWithClams
Will “Clams” Levatino
Additionally, we have had the chance to work with Connor and Amelia from Living Large Camping. They are full time campers living in their truck camper and traveling around the US. On their channel, they share their adventures, experiences, and tips. They are growing fast and we are so happy to have met them. They are great people following their passion. Check out their channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingLargeCamping
Conner and Amelia with their 4-legged adventure buddy Barkley
We are grateful for both channels' support and their passion towards Starter King. If you’re interested in seeing what they had to say about Starter King, you can find the videos where they use our product here: https://bio.site/kingofstarters
All of that is a long winded way to say we are so grateful for your support in making 2023 a success. We are so excited for 2024 and we hope you are too. It is going to be a great year and we look forward to showing you what we have to offer for the year. From our team at Starter King, we wish you a Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Starter King
