Sarah and Rachel Stanton are not your typical college students. The 21-year twin sisters have traded all-nighters at the club for sleepless nights in their basement. Why, you ask? It all started after being inspired while volunteering as urban gardeners with NET impact.
“There were these kids who would come over and we would teach them how to garden and everything we grew they could take home. We wanted to introduce the whole ‘organic fruit and vegetable way of eating’ to the local community,” Rachel shares.
It was through these practices that the sisters started taking note of the limited access to fruits and vegetables that some of the children of North Philadelphia have.
“In the morning when we’d walk to school we’d see these little kids walking to school and they would be eating chips and unhealthy food and even candy. So we looked into it and found out that all the corner stores that these kids have access to don’t offer fresh fruit, so we wanted to give kids a way to get more fresh fruit.”
The Stanton sisters did just that by teaming up with Philabundance and creating Fruitstrology; a one for one clothing line that donates a serving of fruit to a child in Philadelphia for every product sold.
The line, which currently features t-shirts and colored skinny jeans, encourages customers to identify with which fruit they are based on their personality. The brand offers nine Fruitstrology types, each one with a defining trait and a description of what that trait represents. Personality types range from the hard-headed coconut to the talkative grape. This, says Sarah, makes Fruitstrology an interactive brand, unlike any other.
“We’re like a social clothing brand. People want to be like ‘You’re a banana, you’re a strawberry.’ It’s almost like you’re joining a community of Fruitstrology, where you can connect with other people like you.”
But, before expanding any further, the girls will be competing in Temple’s Be Your Own Business Bowl for a chance to win $10,000 to put towards Fruitstrology. They have already advanced to the final three, after writing a 15 page comprehensive plan, which beat out about 40 other undergraduate students, and will present their final pitch to investors on Thursday. If they win, the sisters plan to use the money to start a Fruitstrology website.
Regardless, the duo plans to start selling Fruitstrology products across Temple’s campus in September 2013. They hope to hire campus representatives that are well versed in Fruitstrology to engage customers and help them find their perfect Fruitstrology personality.
The girls also plan to roll out accessories such as bracelets and scarfs in the future.
“We have a further vision,” Sarah says when referring to their future plans. “We try to stay focused, rather than going out and partying all the time.”
“It’s really a time management thing,” Rachel adds. “But we love what we’re doing.”