From a cutting board that will stay put to a stackable strawberry grower, Architec Brands develops innovative kitchen-related products out of the company’s downtown Delray Beach office.
President and CEO Jenna Sellers Miller never intended to operate the business that her mother, Kathleen Sellers, founded 35 years ago. Sellers invented and patented the Super Saucer, a plastic plate for a house plant, to prevent floor staining. The product sold in Home Depot and other stores for 17 years before the patent expired.
Miller majored in psychology at the University of North Carolina and began her career as an assistant agent for the Wilhelmina modeling agency in Los Angeles. But then her mother suffered a traumatic brain injury that left her in a coma. So in 1999, Miller came back home to South Florida, where she grew up, to help run her mother’s business, Plastec. In 2000, she opened a new division, Architec Brands.
“She’s such a clever lady,” Miller says of her mother, who has recovered but now is retired.
Today, Miller leads a team of 13 — mostly women — who design and market the products from their Delray Beach office.
Architec works to develop simple ideas that appeal to niche markets, such as those who want eco-friendly or recycled products, grow their own food, or love to bake. Brands developed under the Architec umbrella are: EcoSmart, HomeGrown Gourmet, and TSP (Totally Sweet Products).
Why so many brands?
“We can have mixing bowls in all the brands. As a small company, that lets us get bigger quickly,” she said.
The flagship product is The Gripper, a plastic polymer cutting board — smooth on one side and “feet” on the other to grip a surface, making it useful even on a moving boat.
EcoSmart, which includes bowls, serving spoons, trays and cutting boards made from eco-friendly and recycled materials, is the company’s largest selling line. Miller attributes the products’ acceptance to their being made in the U.S. and being made from recycled products.
The products are sold at retailers including Target; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Dillard’s and Costco; and at specialty kitchen and cooking stores across the country, including Sur La Table, which has stores throughout South Florida.
“I love their products,” said Eden Brown, co-owner of Isle Cook Key West, a kitchenware and tableware store. “We’ve carried a number of them since we opened two years ago. I love their price points — they’re very reasonable.”
Brown said the top-selling items are the EcoSmart bamboo measuring cups and serving spoons, which sell for $12.99 and $5.99, respectively. She also likes Architec’s cookie dough scoop, three sizes of spoons with holes in the middle, for $6.99. “You push out the dough with your finger. It’s very low-tech and ingenious,” she said.
Her husband and store co-owner Bill Brown said Architec’s products among the shop’s best sellers. “They’re very colorful and good quality,” he said.
Architec had about $10 million in 2016 sales, and expects that to grow to $12 million this year based on business already booked, Miller said.
Miller has developed a five-year plan for growing the business, which is enabling her to add the sales and other personnel she needs. Last year she turned to Bonaventure Equity in Jupiter for advice in growing the company by potentially taking on a new investor.
But Ross O’Brien, founder and CEO of the boutique advisory firm, said Architec was in a good position to expand without selling equity.
“They had grown a nice business. They took care of their customers, had great innovative products, and marketed them well. Why would Target work with a company in Delray Beach? Because they speak their language and give them value,” he said.
Instead of selling equity, O’Brien helped craft Architec’s first acquisition of Brazilian wood cutting board maker Madeira Housewares in Jupiter, which gave Architec entry into Williams-Sonoma stores.
Jason Norcross, who was co-owner of Madeira, said he decided to sell his business to Architec because he believes Miller can take the products forward. Norcross originally met her at a trade show and realized they had much in common. Norcross also grew up in South Florida and has been in business with a parent — his father.
“Jenna is pretty amazing. She was born to do what she does. She is super creative,” Norcross said. “She’s fresh, fun, hip and trendy.”
mpounds@sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6650, twitter: @marciabiz
