Press

Alice.com Raises $3.6 Million in Funding to Focus on Consumer Channel

Leading E-Commerce Marketplace Surpasses More Than One Million Customer Accounts and Increases Brand Storefronts by 200%

Middleton, WI – January 31, 2012

Alice.com, leading e-commerce site and retail marketplace for household essentials, today announced that it has received $3.6 million in funding from a group of Spanish investors. Alice.com will use this latest round of funding to enhance its consumer offerings through site advancements and new features, maintaining a superior service that helps consumers manage household essential purchases conveniently, easily and affordably.

The investment comes on the heels of the e-commerce site’s merger with Spanish company Koto.com in 2011, and the launch of Alice.es in October 2011, which expanded Alice.com’s groundbreaking direct-to-consumer marketplace to an international European audience. This current round brings the total amount raised by Alice.com to $18.2 million.

“Over the past several months we have experienced significant momentum and promising sales numbers as more consumers realize they can shop for household essentials online. This round of funding allows us to accelerate our growth and propel us forward as the leading, retail marketplace for household essentials,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO and co-founder at Alice.com. “2012 will be a big year for us as we focus on enhancing our customer benefits, and create new and exciting opportunities for our CPG partners.”

Alice.com gives consumers an efficient way to shop for all of their favorite household essentials in one place, and has seen more than one million customer accounts created in two years. The e-commerce marketplace is now home to more than 600 manufacturers and thousands of household brands – from large household names, to smaller niche brands.

In addition to its consumer channel, Alice.com’s unique retail model partners with manufacturers to provide e-commerce services to the consumer and allow consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands to work more directly with their end consumer online. In the past year, Alice.com has experienced a 200% increase in the number of direct-to-consumer online storefronts the platform powers for CPG brands. More than 300 brands, including Kellogg’s, Slim-Fast, BIC, Seventh Generation, 3M, Ecover and Solo Cup now have the ability to reach consumers, build loyalty and personalize relationships in a highly targeted way. Alice.com offers a host of benefits for online shoppers and CPG brands. Customers can manage their household essentials and eliminate the store strip with convenient purchase reminders, the ability to easily find and choose from thousands of products, a suite of budgeting and planning tools, and digital coupons to save money, all without leaving their home. CPG partners receive comprehensive analytics and reporting solutions, giving brands a holistic view of consumers’ shopping and buying behaviors. With this insight, brands can better apply advertising spend, drive sales growth, share consumer and promotional insights with retail partners, and implement overall direct-to-consumer strategies on the Alice platform. For more information visit http://www.alice.com.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an online retail marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

 

Alice.com Announces the Everyday Insights Data Program to Offer a Unique View into Household Spending

Leading Household Essentials Shopping Site Kicks Off Monthly Data Program with Release of National Toilet Paper Spending Data and Infographic

MIDDLETON, Wis. – January 18, 2012

With its intimate knowledge of how much money Americans are spending on household products, e-commerce site Alice.com (http://www.alice.com), today launches a data program to provide an in-depth look into national household purchase trends. Alice.com’s “Everyday Insights” data program will take a regular look at how much its users are spending for all their household needs – from cleaning supplies to baby must-haves to pantry fillers.

To kick off the program Alice.com took a look at how much its users spend on the most essential of the household essentials – toilet paper. The report includes a list and accompanying infographic of the 25 American cities that spent the most, and the five cities that spent the least, on toilet paper throughout 2011 (http://blog.alice.com/toilet-paper-infographic/).

“At Alice.com we strive to provide the best variety of household essentials at a great price, and with our new Everyday Insights data program, we are dedicated to gaining deeper insight into the products our users love and how they are incorporating them into their lives,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO of Alice.com. “With Alice.com, people get a one-stop-online-shop that makes it easy and affordable to manage their everyday household supplies, saving time and money with free shipping, competitive prices and instant coupons – not to mention eliminating a trip to the store for those unreasonably large packages of toilet paper.”

To compile its first set of data, Alice.com analyzed its toilet paper sales in 330 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (2005 MSA). The rankings are based on the average amount of money spent by users per toilet paper order from Alice.com’s “Toilet Paper” category. The sales time period includes orders on Alice.com’s e-commerce platform between December 15, 2010 and December 15, 2011. As a basis of comparison, Alice.com calculated the national average spent per toilet paper order, which is $12.40.

The top 25 cities with the most spend per toilet paper order are:

City – Average amount spent on toilet paper per order

  • Fayetteville, NC – $21.82
  • Stamford--Norwalk, CT – $20.82
  • Santa Cruz--Watsonville, CA – $20.42
  • Bridgeport, CT – $19.63
  • Boise City, ID – $19.46
  • Erie, PA – $19.20
  • Vallejo--Fairfield--Napa, CA – $19.14
  • Provo--Orem, UT – $18.16
  • Manchester, NH – $18.05
  • Appleton--Oshkosh--Neenah, WI – $18.02
  • Ventura, CA – $17.50
  • Nassau--Suffolk, NY – $17.23
  • Bergen--Passaic, NJ – $16.34
  • Oakland, CA – $16.15
  • Reading, PA – $16.13
  • West Palm Beach--Boca Raton, FL – $16.08
  • Canton--Massillon, OH – $15.99
  • Newburgh, NY—PA – $15.92
  • El Paso, TX – $15.71
  • Racine, WI – $15.51
  • Portland--Vancouver, OR—WA – $15.47
  • Fort Walton Beach, FL – $15.47
  • Hartford, CT – $15.45
  • Santa Barbara--Santa Maria--Lompoc, CA – $15.42
  • Dutchess County, NY – $15.39


Bottom 5 cities with the least spent per toilet paper order:

  • Auburn--Opelika, AL – $9.00
  • Springfield, IL – $8.89
  • Portland, ME – $8.84
  • Salem, OR – $8.80
  • Odessa--Midland, TX – $7.84


Future data sets and infographics will be posted monthly on Alice.com’s “The Everyday” blog (http://blog.alice.com/household-infographics/). If there are any requests for specific household product spending data to gain deeper insight and a broader understanding of what consumers are buying, how much they are spending and what cities buy most frequently, please visit the infographic section on “The Everyday” blog or email rebecca@alice.com to submit a request.

Alice.com offers a host of benefits for online shoppers and CPG brands. Customers receive free shipping, convenient purchase reminders, the ability to easily find and order products from more than 600 participating brands, save money with digital coupons, and fill up their shopping cart with household essentials all in one place. CPG partners receive comprehensive analytics and reporting solutions, giving brands a holistic view of consumers’ shopping and buying behaviors. With this insight, brands can better apply advertising spend, drive sales growth, share consumer and promotional insights with retail partners, and implement overall direct-to-consumer strategies on the Alice platform.

For more information visit http://www.alice.com.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

 

Annie’s Selects Alice.com to Power Its E-Commerce Storefronts

Organic Food Company Increases Online Sales 204% Since Implementing the Leading CPG E-Commerce Platform

Middleton, WI – September 21, 2011

Alice.com, the leading e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials, today announced that Annie’s, the premier values-led company offering delicious, all-natural and organic pasta meals, snacks, dressing and condiments, is utilizing Alice.com’s industry leading direct-to consumer platform as the foundation for its online storefronts on Annies.com and Facebook. Alice.com is providing Annie’s with a complete e-commerce experience and tools to engage directly with new and existing customers.

“We are thrilled to add Annie’s to our growing list of CPG brands,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO of Alice.com. “Their remarkable growth over the past several years, and passion and dedication for making quality, honest food makes it a natural fit for the Alice.com community. We’re pleased to be providing Annie’s with the tools to connect with consumers everywhere, and offering their full range of products and promotions online.”

Annie’s chose Alice.com for its ability to provide broad product selection, robust customer data and free shipping for customers. The organic food company began integrating Alice.com’s e-commerce solutions in May 2011, and has since:

  • Improved customer satisfaction with product selection and reduced shipping costs
  • Added the ability to ship glass packaged products, such as salad dressing and olive oil. Products packaged in glass represent half of Annie’s e-commerce sales
  • Driven consumers to products that are either not carried in their local market or not easily found at a store in their area
  • Improved online sales of popular products: olive oils, fruit snacks and granola bars

“At Annie’s, we view ecommerce as an important compliment to sales thru brick and mortar outlets. Alice.com was the logical choice to host our ‘company store’,” said Robyn Young, senior brand manager for Annie’s. “Their sophisticated platform is an ideal solution to help us engage and learn from our customers, and to use those insights to drive growth online.”

Through Alice.com, Annie’s customers receive free shipping, the ability to easily find and order the entire range of Annie’s products online, save money with digital and printable coupons and fill up the rest of their shopping cart with other household essentials all in one place with a simple click of a mouse.

In addition to e-commerce sales tools, Alice.com provides its CPG partners with comprehensive analytics and reporting solutions, giving brands a holistic view of consumers’ shopping and buying behaviors. With this insight, brands can better apply advertising spend, drive sales growth, share consumer and promotional insights with retail partners, and implement overall direct to consumer strategies online.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

About Annie's

Annie’s was co-founded in 1989 by Annie Withey, an organic farmer, wife, and mother of two. Annie started with the intention of making all-natural macaroni and cheese. However, the company gained a lot of popularity and Annie’s currently does a lot more than that. Annie’s brings you a wide range of comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese, snacks, and cereal--all made with straight-from-nature, simple, and organic ingredients with no icky additives or pesky preservatives. All their products taste great--delight yourself with their delicious products now! The company is driven by a team of folks who are passionate about three things--food, people, and the planet. People at Annie’s always strive for the motto: “Eat Responsibly. Act Responsibly”.

 

Alice.com Powers More Than 100 Ecommerce Storefronts for Top CPG Brands

Brands Including Solo Cup Company, Kellogg’s, 3M and Ecover Now Offer a Wide Variety of Products Online Through Alice.com’s Platform

Middleton, WI – August 24, 2011

Alice.com, the leading e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials, today announced it is powering more than 100 storefronts for some of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands with the recent addition of Solo Cup Company, Kellogg’s, 3M and Ecover. These brands will utilize Alice.com’s industry leading direct-to consumer platform to power their online storefronts and engage in a host of direct interactions with end consumers on their websites and on Facebook.

“We're thrilled to have reached this milestone where our platform is now helping some of the biggest, well-known brands, along with some up and coming CPG’s to engage directly with their customers in a streamlined yet powerful way,” said Mark McGuire, president of Alice.com. “Establishing a direct relationship with each customer is a big strategic priority right now for CPG brands, and our platform truly empowers them to build loyalty like never before - while also equipping them with the measurement, analytics and reporting tools necessary for success.”

Solo Cup, Kellogg’s, 3M and Ecover join more than 100 existing brands that are using Alice.com to power their online storefront and provide mainstream shopping experiences for their customers, additional to the traditional store trip for a diverse online basket of CPG goods. Below are some of the featured products that can be found on new Alice.com powered storefronts:

  • Solo Cup — Convenience tableware, including paper and plastic cups, plates and bowls, for special occasions and everyday use
  • Kellogg’s — breakfast cereals including Raisin Bran, Smart Start and Apple Jacks, Nutri-Grain bars, FiberPlus Bars, and Pop Tarts
  • 3M — Scotch-Brite® Cleaners, Sponges, Pads, Floor Care
  • Ecover – green cleaners that pack a punch - made with powerful plant and minerals ingredients - including such products as phosphate-free Auto Dish Tablets, Fabric Softener, Toilet Cleaner and Hand Soap.

“With so many of our customers now shopping online, our new storefront delivers an easy way for them to look for and buy their favorite everyday Solo products and find those items that may not be readily available in their local stores,” said Chris Klem, Director of Marketing for Solo’s Consumer business. “Working with Alice.com, we were able to build a stress-free, uncomplicated e-commerce experience that helps us build ROI and differentiate ourselves in the noisy e-commerce space.”

Alice.com offers a host of benefits for online shoppers via its direct to consumer marketplace, including free shipping, automatic coupons, and convenient reordering tools. Through its shared industry checkout, Alice.com allows customers to add their choice of thousands of household products from more than 400 brands participating on the platform. Alice.com also recently announced a merger with Spanish company Koto.com, introducing its unique e-commerce model to European shoppers.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

About Solo Cup

Solo Cup Company is a $1.6 billion company exclusively focused on the manufacture of single-use products used to serve food and beverages for the consumer/retail, foodservice and international markets. Solo has broad product offering available in paper, plastic, foam, post-consumer recycled content and annually renewable materials. Solo create brand name products under the Solo®, Sweetheart®, Creative Carryouts® and Bare® by Solo® names. The company was established in 1936 and has a global presence with facilities in Canada, Europe, Mexico, Panama and the United States. To learn more about the company, visit www.solocup.com.

About Kellogg Company

For more than 100 years, consumers have counted on Kellogg for great-tasting, high-quality and nutritious foods. Kellogg Company, with 2010 sales of more than $12 billion, is the world's leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. Kellogg Company's beloved brands, which are manufactured in 18 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries, include Kellogg's®, Keebler®, Pop-Tarts®, Eggo®, Cheez-It®, All-Bran®, Mini-Wheats®, Nutri-Grain®, Rice Krispies®, Special K®, Chips Deluxe®, Famous Amos®, Sandies®, Austin®, Club®, Murray®, Kashi®, Bear Naked®, Morningstar Farms®, Gardenburger® and Stretch Island®. For more information on the Kellogg Company, including our corporate responsibility initiatives, visit www.kelloggcompany.com.

About 3M

3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $27 billion in sales, 3M employs about 80,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

About Ecover

Now over thirty years old, Ecover is a pioneering manufacturer of sustainable cleaning products. Founded in 1980, Ecover set out to make cleaners that were both effective and less harmful to the environment. Three decades later, Ecover is still leading the way, trailblazing their category with such innovations as their two Eco-Factories, a spot on the UN Roll of Honour, and most recently, the release of their 100% PlantPlastic bottles. Made from 100% sugar cane, and also 100% sustainable and recyclable, these bottles have changed the way they define full circle sustainability.

 

Alice.com Expands to Europe: Merger with Koto.com Launches Online Marketplace for Household Essentials Abroad

Expansion will provide global CPG manufacturers platform to engage international audiences, while giving consumers a whole new way to shop online and save money on all their household needs

Middleton, WI – July 13, 2011

Alice.com, an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials, today announced its merger with European company Koto.com, a Spanish company, expanding its groundbreaking direct-to-consumer online retail model to an international European audience. Spain will be the first country to launch in this worldwide expansion as the newly branded Alice.es allowing consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers to reach online shoppers in both the United States and Europe with a complete end-to-end e-commerce solution. Alice.com will continue its international growth with similar sites launching in Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013.

CPG manufacturers seeking to reach and expand their global audience will be able to employ Alice.com’s industry leading e-commerce platform to establish direct consumer relationships on their branded websites as well as the Facebook platform in both the U.S. and European markets. The expansion will enable CPG brands to leverage the Alice.com retail experience to provide a convenient shopping experience for their consumers, allowing them to skip the trip to the store in favor of getting all their favorite household brands in one place, with the benefit of competitive prices, free shipping, instant coupons, and automatic product reordering.

“Creating a direct relationship with the end consumer is a big initiative for CPG manufacturers not only in the U.S., but also globally,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO of Alice.com. “Joining forces with Koto.com means we can now offer CPG brands a single, unified platform, with all the tools in place to engage consumers in both the U.S. and internationally.”

To assist in the expansion of Alice.com’s geographic footprint, the Koto.com team will integrate with the Alice.com team, bringing significant knowledge and insight of the European online CPG market. Alice.com will establish an office in Madrid, Spain to strengthen their Spanish presence, while the corporate headquarters will remain in Middleton, WI.

“Alice.com has built an unparalleled online shopping experience, and a truly innovative direct-to-consumer model allowing brands to engage with customers like never before - we are thrilled to be able to leverage their platform and e-commerce tools for the European market,” said Ignacio Somalo, former CEO of Koto.com and new European president of Alice.com.

The entire Alice.com e-commerce suite of products and services will be available for CPG brands in Europe, beginning with Spain in Q3 of 2011. Consumers will be able to access all offers in Spain at alice.com and alice.es.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

 

Alice.com Opens the Door To F-Commerce For CPG Manufacturers; Facebook Storefronts Are Free On Alice's E-Commerce Platform

Alice.com Rolling out Facebook Storefronts to its More than 350 CPG Manufacturer Customers; Storefronts Already Live on Facebook include Annie’s Homegrown, Summit Brands and Replenish

Middleton, WI – February 2, 2011

Today Alice.com, an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials, announced that it will provide CPG manufacturers with complimentary Facebook commerce integration as part of its e-commerce suite of products and services. Facebook Storefronts powered by Alice.com bring online ordering, free shipping, a coupons tab, product sampling offers and more to consumers through manufacturer’s Facebook pages.

“We are really pleased to offer CPG manufacturers yet another way to build one-on-one relationships with their end customers,” said Brian Wiegand, co-founder and CEO of Alice.com. “More than 350 manufacturers are currently using the Alice.com platform to go direct to consumer, and giving them complimentary Facebook commerce tools is a great new way for them to nurture their customer relationships in a place immensely popular with consumers.”

Alice.com’s online marketplace is a unique retail channel that provides a new way for consumers to shop for household essentials online, while giving CPG manufacturers a direct channel to reach shoppers through e-commerce and interactive marketing services, translating to lower prices, and the ability to build loyalty and personalize relationships.

“Annie’s is always looking at ways to meet our consumers’ needs, both with our product offerings and innovative programs,” said Aimee Sands, Marketing Director, Annie’s. “Our new Alice.com-powered storefront makes it even more convenient for our fans to connect with Annie’s.”

Alice.com provides participating manufacturers with advanced reports and analysis tools, now extended to include respective f-commerce pages, to provide insight on customers’ behavior across all respective online brand properties. By connecting brands on one platform, manufacturers contribute to and can learn from each other through collective data, ultimately resulting in a more personalized and valuable shopping experience for consumers.

To learn more about the Facebook Storefronts powered by Alice.com, visit http://www.alice.com/facebookstorefronts.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

 

BIC Launches E-Commerce Store Powered by Alice.com

BIC Online Store Offers Wide Variety of BIC Stationery and Shaver Essentials Through the Alice.com Platform

Shelton, CT, January 12, 2011

BIC Consumer Products USA (BICWorldUSA.com) today announced the launch of its online store, powered by Alice.com, an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials. Through its new online retail website, BIC will now sell more than 100 stationery and shaver products direct to U.S. consumers. BIC’s collaboration with Alice.com creates a host of consumer benefits at the new BIC store, including free shipping, automatic coupons, convenient reordering tools and a shared industry checkout that enables customers shopping for BIC products to add their choice of thousands of household products from over 300 manufacturers participating on the Alice.com platform.

“By using the Alice.com platform, we can streamline our e-commerce operations and provide customers with a better brand experience. And with Alice’s advanced reports and analysis tools, we have better insight into our end customer than ever before,” said Darryl Arnette, Vice President of Sales, BIC Consumer Products USA. “We are excited to provide this unique online shopping experience and convenience to consumers as an extension of BIC’s ‘More For Your Money’ promise.”

“We are extremely pleased to be able to assist a recognized, household name like BIC to better connect with and learn from its customers online,” said Mark McGuire, president of Alice.com. “Although what we are doing makes e-commerce more efficient for CPG manufacturers, connecting brands on one platform where they can learn from each other ultimately results in a better shopping experience and more value for customers.”

Alice.com is a unique retail channel that provides a new way to shop for household essentials online, while giving CPG manufacturers a direct channel to reach shoppers through e-commerce and interactive marketing services, translating to lower prices, and the ability to build loyalty and personalize relationships.

About BIC Consumer Products USA

BIC Consumer Products USA (BICWorldUSA.com) is a leading distributor of stationery products and shavers. Since its founding more than 50 years ago, BIC has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, affordable products. Through this unwavering dedication, BIC has become one of the most recognized brands in the world today.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an e-commerce platform and online market place for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

 

New Hefty® Brand Online Store Sells Direct to Consumers

Powered by Alice.com, retail channel offers over 40 products with free delivery

Lake Forest, IL, December 13, 2010

Pactiv Corporation (NYSE: PTV), announces that Hefty® brand products are now available through a new online store, www.Hefty.Alice.com. The site is powered by Alice.com, an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials.

Through the new Hefty® store, over 40 trusted products can be ordered with just a few clicks and delivered to your doorstep, including Hefty® tall kitchen and trash bags; Hefty® OneZip® storage and freezer bags; Hefty® tableware products including plates, bowls, and cups; and popular Zoo Pals® children's tableware. By becoming a partner in Alice.com’s online marketplace, the Hefty® brand product store can leverage benefits such as free shipping, live customer service chat and telephone support, convenient reordering tools, and checkout.

"Quality, convenience, and time-savers are important for busy families," says John Schwab, senior vice president and general manager, Hefty Consumer Products. "While Hefty® brand products are available at major retailers nationwide… we’re pleased to offer this as an additional convenient option with competitive prices and free home delivery."

Alice.com provides an Internet retail platform with a shared infrastructure that provides hundreds of consumer packaged goods companies an efficient means to sell their products online. Increasingly, consumers are making product choices influenced by social media and Internet research, which is directly followed by an online purchase.

"Our business is to make it simple for CPG companies to sell their products online," said Mark McGuire, president of Alice.com. "We are extremely pleased to help Hefty create their own branded channel that offers consumers an excellent online purchase experience with competitive prices and free shipping."

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct-to-consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.alice.com.

About the Hefty® brand

The Hefty® brand is one of the nation’s most widely-recognized brands, with quality products including drawstring closure waste bags (Ultra Flex® and Cinch Sak® bags), food storage bags with slider closures (Hefty® OneZip® bags), disposable tableware (Hefty® Everyday™ plates, bowls, and cups) and disposable cookware (EZ Foil® pans). For more information about Hefty® brand products, visit www.hefty.com.

About Pactiv

Pactiv Corporation is a leader in the consumer and foodservice/food packaging markets it serves. Pactiv’s Hefty® brand products include waste bags, slider storage bags, disposable tableware, and foil cookware. Pactiv’s foodservice/food packaging business offers one of the broadest lines in the industry, providing food packaging for the supermarket, packer/processor, institutional, foodservice, and restaurant industries. Pactiv is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Reynolds Group Holdings Limited. For more information, visit www.pactiv.com.

 

Dale Nitschke Joins Alice.com Board of Directors
Middleton, WI, July 13, 2010

Alice.com today announced that Dale Nitschke, CEO of Ovative/Group and former President of Target.com, was elected to Alice’s board of directors. A retail industry veteran with extensive digital experience, Dale spent 23 years at Target Corporation including 8 1/2 years as President of Target.com where he built their organization and business from start-up stage to more than $1 billion in sales. In his current role as CEO of Ovative/Group, Dale enables brands to leverage consumer information within digital platforms to create personalized consumer experiences that deliver new, high margin revenue streams via the emerging digitally-connected world.

“Throughout his career, Dale has been a tremendous leader in evolving the retail industry to meet the emerging opportunities of the digital space, and we look forward to benefiting from his insights and experience as a member of Alice.com’s board,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO of Alice.com. “Like Alice, Dale is focused on bringing value back to the consumer, and we welcome his contribution as we continue to deliver a new way for consumers to buy CPG goods online.”

“Alice has brought an incredibly disruptive model to the CPG market that is changing the way we shop,” said Dale Nitschke, CEO of Ovative/Group. “I’m excited to join this dynamic team, and look forward to working closely with its leadership during this next phase of growth and success.”

About Alice.com

Alice.com provides eCommerce and interactive marketing services exclusively to the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. The company’s eCommerce platform allows CPG manufacturers to sell direct to consumer online through a unique online service that provides always free shipping, automatic coupons, and a reorder tool that makes it easy for consumers to avoid the chore of running out to the store. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

 

BUY.COM® LAUNCHES NEW “HOUSEHOLD ESSENTIALS” STORE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ALICE.COM

New Store Saves Shoppers Time – No More Trips to the Store for Everyday Essentials

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. and MIDDLETON, Wis., June 23, 2010

Buy.com, The Internet Superstore™, today launched its new “Household Essentials” store, giving shoppers a convenient, budget-friendly way to stock up on everyday basics. As part of the company’s goal to deliver savings and eliminate trips to the store, Buy.com has partnered with leading consumer goods provider Alice.com, the latest partner to join the company’s growing Marketplace of third-party sellers.

Buy.com’s “Household Essentials” store and the Alice.com service provide consumers with a convenient and cost-effective way to buy their household essentials online. The first and only online marketplace for household essentials, Alice.com makes it easy for consumers to buy direct from manufacturers with free shipping and competitive prices.

Buy.com customers now can enjoy discounted savings and the convenience of shopping from home for up to 8,000 essentials including toothpaste, pet food, baby formula and paper towels. Additionally, with the purchase of any six items via the Alice.com selection, customers will enjoy free shipping, direct from the manufacturer to their doorstep.

“Consumers have become comfortable shopping online for big-ticket items such as digital cameras and TVs, but everyone needs the basics,” said Neel Grover, CEO and president of Buy.com. “In fact, household basics are the most time-consuming part of shopping, and it’s been traditionally cost-prohibitive to buy them online. The new store and partnership with Alice.com adds a great level of ease for customers who need to shop online, especially with free shipping, to get more done in their busy lives.”

Buy.com’s introduction of the “Household Essentials” store and partnership with Alice.com demonstrates its continued growth as a multi-category marketplace platform. In the past year, Buy.com has added thousands of brand-name products to core categories, including pet supplies, musical instruments, health and beauty, toys and baby goods, and more.

Alice.com joins Buy.com’s marketplace of brand-name retail sellers such as Tiger Direct, J&R Electronics, Tilly’s, Ice.com and more, offering competitive pricing on millions of products.

“Buy.com and the team at Alice.com are both committed to helping consumers shop smarter,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO of Alice.com. “We’re excited to provide Buy.com customers with an easy way to avoid the chore of household shopping at the store and give them extra time for the more important things in life.”

To view Buy.com’s full catalog of home essentials, please visit www.buy.com/alice.

About Buy.com

With more than 14 million customers, Buy.com is a leading retail marketplace, focused on providing its customers with a great shopping experience and a broad selection of retail goods at everyday low prices. Buy.com offers millions of products in a range of categories, including consumer electronics, computer hardware and software, cell phones, books, music, DVDs, games, toys, bags, fragrance, home and outdoor, baby, jewelry, shoes, apparel and sporting goods. Founded in June 1997, Buy.com is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California. Japan’s leading Internet company, Rakuten, recently announced a definitive agreement to acquire Buy.com. Together, the two companies represent one of the world’s largest online retail marketplaces, offering consumers more than 60 million products from close to 35,000 merchants around the globe.

Buy.com® and The Internet Superstore™ are trademarks of Buy.com Inc.

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an online marketplace for household essentials. The company enables CPG manufacturers to sell direct to consumer through a unique online service that provides always free shipping, automatic coupons, and a host of other benefits that makes it easy for consumers to avoid the chore of shopping at the store. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

 

Alice.com and EXPO Announce Video Review Syndication Partnership

EXPO’s CPG Related Videos Appear on Alice.com’s Marketplace

New York, NY – March 24, 2010

EXPO, the first video-based community specifically created for consumers to share their unbiased opinions about the products they buy, and Alice.com, a retail marketplace for household essentials that enables leading manufacturers to sell direct to consumer, have joined forces to provide Alice.com shoppers with access to the world’s largest library of product-related videos.

Consumers shopping on the Alice.com marketplace now have easy access to hundreds of EXPO’s short, unbiased consumer videos, enabling shoppers to quickly find the best products based on their needs. Alice.com is the first eCommerce site selling Consumer Packaged Goods to partner with EXPO to directly integrate product videos into its shopping experience.

In each EXPO video, real people create their own product reviews and consumer reports, and share their unbiased opinions. The videos are integrated on the Alice.com product pages, including, for example, at this link for Dove Body Mist.

"At Alice, we work hard to empower consumers with a wide range of unbiased information that helps them find the best products for their needs," said Brian Wiegand, CEO of Alice.com, "That’s why we’re so excited to open up the voice of real consumers on our product pages through our new EXPO video partnership."

"The availability of video on commerce websites has been shown to drive higher conversions and shopper loyalty," said Bill Hildebolt, President of EXPO. "Our videos integrated on a cutting edge site like Alice.com creates a compelling customer experience, so they are able to choose better products for their families."

About Alice.com

Alice.com provides eCommerce and interactive marketing services exclusively to the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. The company’s eCommerce platform allows CPG manufacturers to create branded storefronts that make it easy for the mainstream consumer to buy all of their household goods online. Co-founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire have an entrepreneurial track record that includes three previous start-up successes: Bizfilings.com (sold to Wolters-Kluwer in 2001), NameProtect.com (sold to Corporation Services Corporation in 2007), and Jellyfish.com (sold to Microsoft Corporation in 2007).

About EXPO

EXPO is the first video-based community specifically created for consumers to share their unbiased opinions about the products they buy. This fast-growing community has created the world's largest catalog of consumer insights with over 300,000 video product reviews covering everything from shampoo to cell phones to hybrid cars. EXPO provides marketers with a platform to safely navigate the new world of social media by engaging with consumers in an authentic conversation. EXPO's videos have been viewed over 30 million times and are available at www.expotv.com, retail websites, YouTube, Facebook, manufacturer sites and other consumer research destinations.

 

Alice.com Launches the 1st eCommerce Platform Optimized for the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry
Middleton, WI – January 12, 2010

Alice.com today announced that it is launching an eCommerce platform that enables Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers to create branded storefronts at their own web properties that drive incremental revenue and deliver a "learning lab" of consumer data and insights.

The Alice.com platform is a complete, end-to-end eCommerce solution that allows manufacturers to create storefronts that are fully customized in their own branded look and feel, yet share the Alice.com checkout and fulfillment process. This shared experience enables manufacturers to sell direct in a completely new way—one that allows consumers to purchase from multiple CPG manufacturers in a single shopping trip and receive one box of bundled goods direct to their door with free shipping.

"Manufacturer direct-to-consumer sales is a growing trend online," says Brian Wiegand, co-founder and CEO of Alice.com. "But to date, there hasn't been a workable eCommerce option for CPG manufacturers because consumers aren't willing to shop across dozens of different manufacturer sites in order to fill their shopping basket. That's why we are so excited to offer up this innovative solution that finally allows manufacturers to work together to sell to the mainstream shopper online."

"Selling online is a big part of our multi-channel strategy at Vaska," says Julia Fry, Founder and CEO of Vaska. "We were thrilled to have selected Alice.com to power our storefront and give our consumers all of the convenience of the Alice.com shopping experience, including free shipping whenever they buy a Vaska product."

A "Learning Lab" of Consumer and Marketing Insights

By selecting the Alice solution, manufacturers also have access to a suite of interactive marketing opportunities and a rich set of consumer data that allows them to better understand their customer, develop new products, and build their brand.

"Today's challenging retail landscape means that CPG manufacturers need to get closer to their customer and collaborate with their retail channels more than ever before," says Mark McGuire, co-founder and President of Alice.com. "The Alice.com solution unlocks a host of consumer insights and transactional data the manufacturer can share with their retail partners to drive more sales."

Alice.com is making its new eCommerce solution available to the 100+ Consumer Packaged Goods manufacturers that have joined the Alice.com platform. A number of manufacturers—ranging from Fortune 500 companies to smaller specialized brands—have already begun using the Alice.com solution to power their storefronts.

About Alice.com

Alice.com provides eCommerce and interactive marketing services exclusively to the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. The company’s eCommerce platform allows CPG manufacturers to create branded storefronts that make it easy for the mainstream consumer to buy all of their household goods online. Co-founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire have an entrepreneurial track record that includes three previous start-up successes: Bizfilings.com (sold to Wolters-Kluwer in 2001), NameProtect.com (sold to Corporation Services Corporation in 2007), and Jellyfish.com (sold to Microsoft Corporation in 2007).

 

GoodGuide and Alice.com Help Shoppers Find Out What’s Really in Their Shopping Basket

Alice.com’s shopping experience and GoodGuide’s health, environmental and social responsibility ratings lead to smarter product choices

San Francisco, CA and Middleton, WI – November 17, 2009

GoodGuide and Alice.com have joined forces to help consumers be even smarter when buying household essentials online. Shoppers choosing products on Alice.com can now see GoodGuide’s independent health, environmental and social responsibility ratings for everyday items such as cereal, cleaning products and baby shampoo. GoodGuide is also integrating links on its site to Alice.com providing consumers with an easy option to purchase products they have researched on GoodGuide.

Covering more than 62,000 products, GoodGuide ratings help shoppers with decisions such as choosing the healthier of two moisturizers, determining what’s in various all-purpose cleaners and learning whether organic product manufacturers have good social practices to go along with their healthy manufacturing processes.

“GoodGuide ratings influence consumer purchasing decisions,” said Dara O’Rourke, founder and CEO of GoodGuide. “Buyers are five to ten times more likely to make a purchase after reading GoodGuide ratings. Our goal is to make sure consumers can access our information wherever and whenever they shop so they are able to choose better products for their families. Alice.com’s unique new service is making it easy for consumers to buy all of their household essentials online and our ratings will enhance that experience.”

“Sustainability concerns have reached a tipping point in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) market, and the industry is doing some really exciting things to meet the growing demands of consumers for safe and healthy product choices,” said Brian Wiegand, co-founder and CEO of Alice.com. “But getting independent, scientifically-based information on products can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why we are so excited to team up with GoodGuide to make information about products transparent at the point of purchase when they need it most.”

About GoodGuide

GoodGuide helps consumers find safe, healthy, and socially responsible products and companies. GoodGuide currently offers detailed product information for personal care, household chemical, toy and food products on its website at www.goodguide.com, through its iPhone application and on online commerce websites. By making information about consumer products transparent, GoodGuide’s goal is to help people shop smarter and motivate companies to offer even better products. GoodGuide is an independent B Corporation, a new type of company which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

About Alice.com

Alice.com provides eCommerce and interactive marketing services exclusively to the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. The company’s eCommerce platform allows CPG manufacturers to create branded storefronts that make it easy for the mainstream consumer to buy all of their household goods online. Co-founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire have an entrepreneurial track record that includes three previous start-up successes: Bizfilings.com (sold to Wolters-Kluwer in 2001), NameProtect.com (sold to Corporation Services Corporation in 2007), and Jellyfish.com (sold to Microsoft Corporation in 2007).

 

Alice.com announces $6 million in funding and rapid growth

Newly Launched Service Averaging Over 1,000,000 Unique Visitors Each Month

Middleton, WI – November 10, 2009

Alice.com, the online platform that allows consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to sell direct to consumer, today announced that it has completed a $6 million round of funding. The latest funding comes from a group of private investors and brings the total amount raised by Alice.com to date to more than $10 million. The company will tap the funding to continue to manage its growth and onboard additional manufacturers onto its unique industry platform.

Since opening the Alice.com service to the public on June 23, 2009, the company has experienced rapid customer growth, and is currently averaging more than 1 million unique visitors to the service on a monthly basis. After setting up an account, consumers are able to select and save all of their household essentials, ordering just the items they need with the promise of always free shipping, automatic coupons, and a reminder system that makes it easy to avoid the chore of shopping at the store for goods like diapers, detergent and toilet paper. Instead of selling products as a traditional retailer, Alice.com provides an open platform for CPG manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, passing along significant cost savings and transforming mass-market advertising dollars into direct consumer value.

“We have been extremely pleased with the reception that the Alice.com platform has received in the marketplace from both consumers and manufacturers alike,” says Brian Wiegand, CEO. “Direct to consumer sales by manufacturers is a growing trend online, and the Alice.com platform is helping the CPG industry open up a direct channel to its mainstream consumer. It’s a win-win that brings great value to the end consumer, and critical consumer relationships and insights to the manufacturer.”

The site is available to consumers and Consumer Packaged Goods manufacturers now at www.alice.com.

 

Consumer Packaged Goods Manufacturers Take Control of Product Sampling Campaigns on Alice.com

Manufacturers selling through Alice.com platform can now execute their own sampling campaigns to maximize advertising accountability and consumer value

Middleton, WI – October 1, 2009

Alice.com today announced a first-of-its-kind digital sampling program that allows consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers to control the entire product sampling process—from defining a specific target audience to converting delivered samples into ongoing sales. The Alice.com sampling program is the first of many advertising programs to be launched within the Alice.com platform, and represents one of the ways in which CPG manufacturers are using Alice.com to directly connect with their end consumers and gain greater accountability from their advertising.

“Sampling has traditionally been a hit-or-miss use of our advertising dollars because of the difficulties in measuring who received a sample and whether the sample resulted in a sale,” said John Mullins, president and CEO of Sun & Earth, an all-natural, non-toxic cleaning products company. “Using the Alice.com platform, we can now leverage a rich set of data to pinpoint which consumers receive our samples, make it easy for those consumers to buy the product from us, and precisely measure whether the campaign is actually working. It’s a great way for us to treat our customers as individuals and make sure we are spending our advertising dollars wisely.”

Product samples under the program are specially packaged within Alice.com boxes and shipped free to the customer’s door as part of standard deliveries. “Both large and small manufacturers now have the ability to bring their product sample right into the homes of specific users,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO and co-founder of Alice.com. “The manufacturer gets an engaged user, and the consumer gets a new product that is directly relevant to his or her life. It’s a win-win that is dramatically better than the traditional method of blasting out a mountain of untargeted samples to an undefined audience and guessing whether the samples had any impact.”

“By using the Alice.com platform to deliver product samples, we’ve been able to eliminate the guesswork from our sampling efforts, and more directly connect with the consumers we want to reach in a way they find valuable,” said Jeff Carducci, national sales director of derma e, a maker of skin care products. “For the first time, we can confidently measure whether our samples are reaching the right people and result in increased sales and brand loyalty.”

Alice is celebrating the launch of its free sampling program with a special consumer campaign. Beginning now through October 31, consumers may find an iPod shuffle, Flip video camera, free movie rentals and more in their Alice box, in addition to targeted free product samples.

The sampling program is available to Consumer Packaged Goods manufacturers now at www.Alice.com.

 

Alice.com Chooses OHL as Supply Chain Partner

E-Commerce enterprise and 3PL to Keep Households Well Stocked

BRENTWOOD, TN - August 26, 2009

OHL was recently selected by e-commerce company Alice.com to provide e-fulfillment for the new company which is pioneering the online market for direct to consumer household essentials.

The Alice.com platform allows branded manufacturers to sell direct to consumers through a unique online service that combines the promise of always free shipping and competitive pricing within a unique reorder queue that makes it easy for consumers to avoid the chore of running to the store for household essentials. The company launched the first version of its service in late June of this year, and has already received tremendous response from the CPG industry and end consumers alike. Since launch, the company has added an average of more than one manufacturer per day to its unique platform.

"The warehouse and fulfillment capabilities we provide our manufacturer partners is an integral part of the Alice.com platform and value proposition," said Brian Wiegand, co-founder and CEO of Alice. "We were extremely pleased to choose OHL as our logistics partner to help ensure that all of our customers receive exactly what they need, right when they need it, and in excellent condition. OHL’s experience in direct to consumer operations provides the quality expertise and best of breed service that our customers and manufacturer partners expect."

OHL currently distributes over 33,000 direct to consumer orders per day on behalf of their customers. Their direct to consumer business grew over 21% last year, during which they distributed over $3B in retail merchandise, primarily in the consumer electronics, food and beverage and health and beauty categories.

"Alice.com has entered an essentially untapped market and we are excited about our relationship with them and the growth we have seen already," commented Bob Spieth, President of OHL’s Contract Logistics business unit. "OHL’s flexibility and deep experience in the direct to consumer marketplace allows us to meet Alice.com’s business requirements and respond to their rapid growth as they expand their direct to consumer model."

About Alice.com

Alice.com is a new online retail platform that better connects manufacturers and consumers in the giant consumer packaged goods (CPG) market. The company is working on changing the way consumers shop for household essentials, giving them a convenient, cost-effective means to buy these products online. Co-founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire have an entrepreneur track record that includes three previous start-up successes: Bizfilings.com (sold to Wolters-Kluwer in 2001), NameProtect.com (sold to Corporation Services Corporation in 2007), and Jellyfish.com (sold to Microsoft Corporation in 2007).

 

Alice.com Launches New Service for Buying Household Essentials Online

First-of-its-kind industry platform allows Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers to sell directly to consumers

Middleton, WI – June 23, 2009

Alice.com today unveiled the public beta of its service that gives consumers a better way to buy household essentials online. The service combines always-free shipping and competitive pricing into a reorder queue that makes it easy to avoid the chore of running out to the store. Instead of offering goods as a traditional retailer, Alice.com provides an open platform for consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, passing along significant cost savings and transforming mass-market advertising dollars into direct consumer value.

“The vast majority of consumers don’t buy their household essentials online, and we set out to change that at Alice by taking a completely fresh approach to the CPG industry,” said Brian Wiegand, CEO and co-founder of Alice.com. “By eliminating the traditional retail layer, we allowed the companies that produce these goods to connect directly with the people who use them. The result is a neutral platform for CPG manufacturers to work together as an industry and channel their resources in exciting new ways for the consumer.”

Never Run Out of Toilet Paper Again

Alice.com gives consumers an easy, affordable way to manage their household essentials online. After creating a free account, consumers select and save all of their favorite products, ordering only the items they need. To ensure consumers never run out, Alice.com keeps track of items and reminds users when they are running low and need to reorder. Each shipment is bundled together in a single ‘Alice’ box, delivered directly to the consumer’s door. Supporting this customer value proposition is a unique model in which Alice.com makes no retail margin, and instead allows each manufacturer to control product assortment and pricing in its own direct sale to the end consumer.

“We are excited to participate on the Alice.com platform, and be a part of an entirely new and innovative approach to buying household goods,” said Saskia Foley, executive vice president of marketing & sales at Radius Toothbrush. “With Alice.com, we’re able to have a more direct relationship with our customers, and give them a great new option to purchase our products at affordable prices shipped free to their door.”

Online Advertising for the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

To fully leverage the power of its open platform, Alice.com also provides a host of new opportunities for CPG manufacturers to redesign their traditional advertising spending in new, highly targeted ways.

“The CPG industry spends billions of dollars each year trying to influence consumer behavior through traditional advertising, and much of that spending is wasted,” said Mark McGuire, president and co-founder of Alice.com. “In contrast to this ‘spray and pray’ approach, Alice allows manufacturers to connect directly with consumers through targeted couponing, sampling and loyalty programs. The result is more accountability for the advertiser and more value for the end consumer.”

The Alice.com beta Web site is launching with over 6,000 unique products from hundreds of different manufacturers. During its beta phase, the company is actively on-boarding manufacturers onto its direct platform, and plans a full consumer launch in the fall. The service is available now at www.Alice.com.

 

Alice.com announces $4.3 million in first round financing

Start-Up Creating Unique Retail Model for Household Essentials

November 11, 2008 | Madison, WI

Alice.com, the latest start-up from serial entrepreneurs Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire, today announced it has secured $4.3 million in first round funding. The round was led jointly by private equity angel funds Kegonsa Capital Partners (www.kegonsapartners.com) and DaneVest Tech Fund (www.danevestcapital.com).

Alice.com is developing a new online retail platform that better connects manufacturers and customers in the giant consumer packaged goods market. Complete details on Alice are not being disclosed until the company's public launch in the Spring of 2009. The company's offer will focus on non-food related household essentials with a business model that is inspired by two key themes: 1) consumers lack a convenient, cost effective way to buy household essentials online today; and, 2) consumer packaged goods companies need a fresh alternative to the big brand, bricks and mortar retailer model that is supported by traditional mass market advertising.

Alice is the fourth start-up from founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire, who most recently sold Jellyfish.com to Microsoft Corporation in September, 2007, which became the basis for Microsoft's Live Search cashback program. The pair left their roles at Microsoft in June, 2008, to found Alice.com.

"The sale of consumer staples like trash bags, toothpaste and bathroom tissue is a huge untapped eCommerce market that is ripe for innovation" said Brian Wiegand, CEO and Co-Founder of Alice. "We are thrilled to be leveraging the Internet to change the way consumers supply their homes with these consumer staples. I never thought I'd say the words toilet paper and Web 2.0 in the same sentence, but our team is working hard make this kind of combination the next great innovation online."

"Today's consumer doesn't watch 30 second television spots, and they expect ultimate choice, convenience, and personalization from their brands," said Mark McGuire, President and Co-Founder of Alice. "Alice will give packaged goods companies a new kind of efficient and open retail platform that will allow them to engage consumers in targeted, personalized ways and eliminate the waste and mass-market feel of traditional brick and mortar retail channels."

For more information on Alice, please sign up for e-mail updates at Alice.com. The founders are also documenting their start-up efforts at their blog, Flywheel (http://flywheelblog.com).

About Alice.com

Alice.com provides eCommerce and interactive marketing services exclusively to the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. The company’s eCommerce platform allows CPG manufacturers to create branded storefronts that make it easy for the mainstream consumer to buy all of their household goods online. Co-founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire have an entrepreneurial track record that includes three previous start-up successes: Bizfilings.com (sold to Wolters-Kluwer in 2001), NameProtect.com (sold to Corporation Services Corporation in 2007), and Jellyfish.com (sold to Microsoft Corporation in 2007).

Media Contact:

Rebecca Thorman
Alice.com Media Relations
608-662-1796
press@alice.com