The Grommet Launches Wholesale Ecommerce Platform As Part of the White House Maker Faire

Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 18, 2014

The Grommet, the unique product launch platform for the world's most innovative, new-to-market products is announcing the launch of The Grommet Wholesale, a digitally enabled way for brick-and-mortar stores to stock their shelves. The Grommet is announcing this endeavor at the White House's first-ever Maker Faire as a response to President Obama's call to action for young people to be makers of things, not just consumers of things. The Grommet, a key player in the Maker Movement since 2008, is part of the White House Maker Faire to highlight that Makers and Main Street need a supportive home to insure that U.S. small businesses and the retail sector can survive and thrive.

The Grommet Wholesale is the first curated, online B2B e-commerce platform for discovery and sales of products by independent Makers. The platform allows retailers to stock their shelves with tested, curated and proven-to-sell products with the same ease that a customer experiences when shopping for herself online – the shop owner clicks the wholesale items she wants and pays at checkout.
This new business model will bolster Main Street brick-and-mortar retail by providing a digital marketing and sales bridge between the world's best product Makers and the $4 trillion retail business reach that they need to penetrate in order to be successful.

For more information on the White House Maker Faire and the National Day of Making, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/makerfaire and follow #NationofMakers on Twitter.

The Obama Administration recognizes that the Maker Movement represents a huge opportunity for the United States economy. The White House Maker Faire is a chance for The President to bring together Makers with community, retail and technology leaders to hear more about the Administration's call to action to support "A Nation of Makers", the idea that American innovation needs to be able to find a market in order to thrive. Platforms for B2B e-commerce, like The Grommet Wholesale, will fundamentally change how creators, consumers and retailers interact.

To show its steadfast support for "A Nation of Makers", The Grommet has tasked itself with a lofty goal. Within five years, The Grommet wants to ensure that 10% of all products flowing through U.S. retail are originating from independent small-scale Makers, who create vibrant jobs and innovative products in every corner of the country. The Grommet believes that its Wholesale Platform will have a profound impact on making this goal a reality.

This is a natural next step in The Grommet co-Founders, Jules Pieri and Joanne Domeniconi's founding mission to support small business and level the playing field for Makers and their products. "The Grommet Wholesale provides a critical missing resource to build sustainable Maker businesses, by creating a more convenient, organized, and curated platform from which retailers can source the newest and most imaginative products for their stores. Makers are changing the face of product innovation and we have to make it easier for them to get to Main Street," said Jules Pieri, CEO of The Grommet.

Fifty-seven percent of adult Americans identify themselves as Makers, and they are seizing unprecedented access to rapid prototyping, crowd funding, hacker spaces, and small-run manufacturing resources to form a vibrant, new American industrial renaissance. But still, 75% of new-to-market products fail and even the most unique and inspired products can struggle. The Grommet is creating a powerful and trusted platform to launch innovative, worthy products, into the market. "The Maker Movement is creating the brilliant products; we just help them succeed by creating understanding, connections, amplification and ultimately sales," said Joanne Domeniconi, co-Founder and Chief Discovery Officer of the Grommet

To date, The Grommet has launched over 2,000 products and has earned America's respect as a trusted authority on new-to-market products across twenty different consumer categories. The Grommet grew 450% in 2013 and its community of one in 200 Americans can create real sales momentum for these new businesses within one hour of a product's launch to these loyal supporters. It has proven the power of telling the stories of Makers to show that products from real people and their ideas. These ideas, whether made in a garage or by a 3D printer or a local factory are essential to positively affect U.S. manufacturing, consumer product innovation, and to create Maker and Retailer access to economic opportunity.

About The Grommet:

Founded in 2008, The Grommet is a curated online marketplace and Product Launch Platform for underdiscovered products that is reshaping the way people fundamentally launch, discover, share, influence, and buy products online. Its mission is rooted in the philosophy of Citizen Commerce™, a movement that enables product purchases that express powerful contemporary values around sustainability, quality, technology, and social enterprise. Since its founding, The Grommet has grown into a trusted and influential source for launching new products, having been among the very first to discover Fitbit, Soda Stream and Bananagrams, and building them into household names. To learn more about The Grommet's products and mission visit the website at http://www.thegrommet.com and CEO Jules Pieri's blog at http://jules.thegrommet.com/.

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