Small business that makes environmentally friendly products wins first Startup Appalachian Pitch Competition

The Skeeterlog (Photo by Tree of the Field)

Tree of the Field, a Kentucky company that produces environmentally friendly products, won the first-ever Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition on Sept. 5.

The contest was held in conjunction with the 2019 Shaping Our Appalachian Region Summit, and was presented by SOAR, the USDA Rural Development, and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development's Innovation Office, according to the press release.

The company's products include a campfire-building kit, an ink pen with a viable tree seed in its biodegradable barrel (so you can plant it when you're done with it), and an all-natural "Skeeterlog" loaded with essential oils that, when tossed onto your campfire, will repel insects.

Owner Robin Richmond Mason of Berea said she plans to use the $5,000 prize for new packaging for her products. She said winning the prize validates her decision to own and manufacture her products in Eastern Kentucky: "We are creating jobs and a highly effective, all natural, mosquito repellent. Winning the pitch affirms that others are beginning to catch a glimpse of what the production of environmentally sustainable products that meet real human needs, can mean for our region."

A-1 Implements took home the $2,500 second prize for its Hemp Hawk, a device that helps alleviate and control weeds in hemp fields.

Jared Arnett, executive director of SOAR, said all the small businesses that competed were winners: "They are taking risks and not only creating their future but blazing a trail for others to do so throughout Appalachia Kentucky."