“I had the pleasure of working with Craig at hello products for 10+ years. Craig is simply put, one of the most creative minds out there. He has the ability to find white spaces and to create brands that folks want to join. What makes Craig truly unique is his genuinely friendly approach to consumer products. He is a master at writing witty copy and is committed to creating products that are friendly for all people and the planet. I feel very lucky to have seen Craig in action for so many years, from the time hello was just an idea, to taking it onto the shelf in lightning fast speed. Craig has an infectious energy about him and knows how to inspire a team. Working with Craig was a blast. ”
Craig Dubitsky
Montclair, New Jersey, United States
17K followers
500+ connections
About
Specialties: Pizza Athlete. Proven ability to identify meaningful "white space"…
Activity
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To try happy® is to be happy. #letscoffee
To try happy® is to be happy. #letscoffee
Shared by Craig Dubitsky
Experience
Education
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University of Rochester
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I originally attended UR because I am wildly passionate about music (Eastman School of Music is the bomb). As a student on the River Campus, I opened a dorm-based, University sanctioned "restaurant" opened 7 nights a week, I started a trucking company helping students transport their goods at the start and end of the school year, a carpeting business delivering custom-cut carpet for dorm rooms, and I co-founded the UR chapter of ACE--the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs (now called…
I originally attended UR because I am wildly passionate about music (Eastman School of Music is the bomb). As a student on the River Campus, I opened a dorm-based, University sanctioned "restaurant" opened 7 nights a week, I started a trucking company helping students transport their goods at the start and end of the school year, a carpeting business delivering custom-cut carpet for dorm rooms, and I co-founded the UR chapter of ACE--the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs (now called CEO--Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization). Oh yeah, and I majored in Economics, I skipped more classes than I should have, I took a bunch of awesome music courses (didn't skip those), I rented a portable hot tub and had it delivered outside of my dorm room, was bestowed a nickname that's been with me ever since, made friends of a lifetime, and the best part--I met my best friend there who is now my wife. I'm as lucky as I am happy.
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Patents
Honors & Awards
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Legendary Champion of Change
GMDC
Champions of Change recognizes leaders employed in general merchandise; health, beauty and wellness; nonfoods; and retail technology solutions sectors in the retailer, wholesaler, supplier, vendor and service provider communities who consistently demonstrated superior results between March 1, 2019, and March 1, 2020, in two categories: Emerging and Legendary Champions.
What defines a Legendary Champion?
Recognizes established, senior-level business leaders. These industry…Champions of Change recognizes leaders employed in general merchandise; health, beauty and wellness; nonfoods; and retail technology solutions sectors in the retailer, wholesaler, supplier, vendor and service provider communities who consistently demonstrated superior results between March 1, 2019, and March 1, 2020, in two categories: Emerging and Legendary Champions.
What defines a Legendary Champion?
Recognizes established, senior-level business leaders. These industry professionals consistently demonstrate outstanding leadership, dynamic vision, inventive strategic direction and innovative solution-building, while providing exemplary inspiration for a new generation of up-and-coming leaders. -
Juror, Innovation By Design Awards
Fast Company
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Panelist: Building a Conscious Brand
GroceryShop
GroceryShop is the Leading Event for Grocery & CPG Innovators, with 3,000+ attendees from 1,000+ companies and 30+ countries. Exciting to chat about building a conscious brand with awesome peeps from Kroger, Soylent, and RILA. :-)
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Panelist: The Future of Personal Care
Beauty and Money Conference
CONNECTING INDEPENDENT BEAUTY BRANDS WITH STRATEGIC BUYERS, FINANCIAL BUYERS, RETAILERS & BRAND MENTORS.
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Best Places to Work
Inc. Magazine
Excited for hello to be recognized as one of the Best Places to Work!
https://www.inc.com/best-workplaces-2019.html -
Guest Lecturer
Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Brown University
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Keynote Speaker
AMA: American Marketing Association International Collegiate Conference
Entrepreneurship Essentials: Audacious Brand Design to Transform Categories, Consumers and the World
Design can and should be an obsession in business and in life. Learn how this former collegiate entrepreneur puts his values into practice by elevating the everyday and disrupting the familiar with creative brand building insights. Craig shares his best practices from advising such brand icons as method, eos, and seventh generation. With hello products, Craig reveals how to turn…Entrepreneurship Essentials: Audacious Brand Design to Transform Categories, Consumers and the World
Design can and should be an obsession in business and in life. Learn how this former collegiate entrepreneur puts his values into practice by elevating the everyday and disrupting the familiar with creative brand building insights. Craig shares his best practices from advising such brand icons as method, eos, and seventh generation. With hello products, Craig reveals how to turn commodities into desirables, and a $40B category on its head. -
Hall of Fame Inductee
CEO: Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization
For nearly 34 years, CEO, which has its global headquarters in The University of Tampa’s Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, has recognized an outstanding entrepreneur for playing their part as a role model to future generations, inspiring students and up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Completely blown away to have been inducted into the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization's Hall of Fame alongside such legendary entrepreneurs Steve Wozniak (Apple) Gordon Segal (Crate and Barrel), Rhonda Kallman…
For nearly 34 years, CEO, which has its global headquarters in The University of Tampa’s Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, has recognized an outstanding entrepreneur for playing their part as a role model to future generations, inspiring students and up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Completely blown away to have been inducted into the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization's Hall of Fame alongside such legendary entrepreneurs Steve Wozniak (Apple) Gordon Segal (Crate and Barrel), Rhonda Kallman (Boston Beer/Sam Adams), Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines), Bill Porter (e*trade). The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to “inform, support and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial and to seek opportunity through enterprise creation.” From its inception in 1984, the organization has grown to approximately 8,000 members, representing nearly 250 college- and university-based chapters.
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Presenter
Goldman Sachs Global Consumer Staples Forum
Was invited to share our story/POV at this year's annual Consumer Forum, along with the good folks from Harry's. The title of the segment where we both presented: "The death of the Mega Brand. Meet the small but mighty disrupters who are encumbering the incumbents." I like to say we are disruptive because we are delivering delight.
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SPEAKER
FEI: Front End of Innovation Conference
Presented during the Chief Innovation Officer Forum at FEI, the leading innovation conference in the US. The session was titled, "Emotional Innovation: How hello is disrupting a $30B daily use category by asking the right questions and delivering delight". I ate some fluoride free toothpaste (please, don't do that at home, I'm a professional), talked about the power of emotion to influence everything (from design to brand to UX to the design of toothpaste tubes), and of course, made some new…
Presented during the Chief Innovation Officer Forum at FEI, the leading innovation conference in the US. The session was titled, "Emotional Innovation: How hello is disrupting a $30B daily use category by asking the right questions and delivering delight". I ate some fluoride free toothpaste (please, don't do that at home, I'm a professional), talked about the power of emotion to influence everything (from design to brand to UX to the design of toothpaste tubes), and of course, made some new friends.
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Executive in Residence
VCU School of Business/VCU Brandcenter
Honored and thrilled out of my mind to spend time with the brilliant, entrepreneurial, wildly creative students and faculty at VCU. The quality and caliber of the thinking and creative solutions they shared with me was only equalled by the spirit of the practitioners themselves. Put another way...EPIC!!!
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER
GCEC 2016: Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers
As an active entrepreneur while I was in college, it was an incredible honor for me to be asked to keynote at this year's GCEC event, hosted at my alma mater, the University of Rochester. The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) is the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging…
As an active entrepreneur while I was in college, it was an incredible honor for me to be asked to keynote at this year's GCEC event, hosted at my alma mater, the University of Rochester. The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) is the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening, and celebrating the role of universities in teaching the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
The GCEC current membership totals 225+ university-based entrepreneurship centers ranging in age from well-established and nationally ranked to new and emerging centers. -
Innovation Leader of the Year, 1st Runner-Up
Innocos
Honored to be nominated for this global award, for the recognition of our team's effort, and to be in such outstanding company!
Winner: John Morgan, Senior Scientist, Open Innovation, Amway
1st Runner-up: Craig Dubitsky, Founder & CEO, Hello Products LLC
2nd Runner-up: Abdullah Sahin, CEO, Agrio Kozmetik ve Tarım ltd.şti
Selecting the top award for Packaging Innovation Leadership was a true challenge as the final three finalists were of the highest caliber and all…Honored to be nominated for this global award, for the recognition of our team's effort, and to be in such outstanding company!
Winner: John Morgan, Senior Scientist, Open Innovation, Amway
1st Runner-up: Craig Dubitsky, Founder & CEO, Hello Products LLC
2nd Runner-up: Abdullah Sahin, CEO, Agrio Kozmetik ve Tarım ltd.şti
Selecting the top award for Packaging Innovation Leadership was a true challenge as the final three finalists were of the highest caliber and all presented some exciting packaging concepts within their distinct categories.
Very high commendation goes to Craig Dubitsky, a serious and highly successful entrepreneur, for the Hello line of oral products as well as to Abdullah Sahin of Univita, a subsidiary of Agrio, for the most, innovative, single-hand “snappable” sachet.
You can read all about it here if you'd like: http://innocossummit.com/winners-of-innocos-2016-innovation-leader-of-the-year-announced/ -
SPEAKER
ADVERTISING AGE 2016 BRAND SUMMIT
Talked brand, design, and emotional innovation before a big room of brilliant marketers. Then I chowed-down on some of our fluoride-free toothpaste, and dropped the mic.
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SPEAKER
TOM TOM FOUNDERS FESTIVAL
Love me some fellow founders! A real honor and privilege to address this awesome crowd of entrepreneurial peeps in lovely Charlottesville at the premier gathering of founders in the US. Stop reading this blurb, and book your spot for next year's event. http://tomtomfest.com/2016-recap/
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Winner, Beauty, Personal Care and Cosmetic Products Design Category
A'Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award and Competition is the world's largest design competition awarding best designs, design concepts and products & services. 18,000 Registrations, 4.500 Submissions, 141 Nationalities, 80 Categories, 30 Judges, 259 Winners, and our naturally friendly hello toothpastes were announced as winner in the Beauty, Personal Care and Cosmetic Products Design Category. Yowza!
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Guest Lecturer
School of Visual Arts (SVA NYC): Masters in Branding Graduate Program
One of my idols, Dan Formosa, PhD (co-founder of SmartDesign, one of the geniuses behind OXO's GoodGrips products, and a founder of this program at SVA) invited me to chat about brand, design, entrepreneurship, and naturally friendly oral care with his brilliant students. Lifted directly their website, "The Masters in Branding Program allows students to create frameworks to guide brand, design and business development, critically evaluate brand, business, marketing and design strategies and…
One of my idols, Dan Formosa, PhD (co-founder of SmartDesign, one of the geniuses behind OXO's GoodGrips products, and a founder of this program at SVA) invited me to chat about brand, design, entrepreneurship, and naturally friendly oral care with his brilliant students. Lifted directly their website, "The Masters in Branding Program allows students to create frameworks to guide brand, design and business development, critically evaluate brand, business, marketing and design strategies and master the intellectual link between leadership and creativity." What a treat to share the hello story with such active learners and doers!
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SPEAKER
University of Rochester/Simon School of Business/Ain Center for Entrepreneurship
Honored and flattered to come back to the River Campus to chat up innovation, design, and entrepreneurship during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Meliora!
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Brand Packaging Magazine's Packaging That Sells Conference
Delighted to have been asked back to PTS, this time to deliver the opening keynote presentation to kick off this leading package design conference.
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SPEAKER
VisionCritical Summit
Awesome hang at Navy Pier in Chicago talking disruption, love, design, oral care, and how to elevate the everyday.
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CHALLENGERS TO WATCH 2015
eatbigfish
Recognized by global Challenger Brand consultancy eatbigfish as one of the 20 Challengers to Watch in 2015. It's our second consecutive inclusion on the list, and we're beyond fired-up to see hello mentioned alongside such incredible brands as Vice Media, Periscope, GoPro, Netflix, Waze, UnderArmour, and Shake Shack to name a few.
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SPEAKER: WORLD BEAUTY INNOVATION SUMMIT
InnoCos
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SPEAKER: Digital Storytelling Strategy Seminar
Columbia University School of the Arts/Columbia Business School
Storytelling has always been central to human experience – it's how we explain and make sense of the world. I had a fun time sharing the hello story, and how we're shifting the category away from traditional drivers like fear and shame to a place of friendliness.
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KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Kraft Foods: Masters of Marketing Symposium
"Unleashing Entrepreneurial Moxy in a Corporate World"
Invited by Kraft's EVP of Marketing to present before senior management, the 200 person+ marketing team, and Kraft's agencies of record (CP+B, Leo Burnett, Taxi, Mcgarry Bowen, Starcom Mediavest) at their annual meeting. -
2015 WORLDSTAR AWARD
World Packaging Organization
The WorldStar Competition is one of the major events of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) and is the pre-eminent international award in packaging. Hello was selected for a WorldStar out of an exceptional field of over 265 entries from 37 countries.
WorldStars are presented only to those packs which, having already won recognition in a national or regional competition, are compared by an expert panel of judges to similar packs from around the world. Awards are based on the judges'…The WorldStar Competition is one of the major events of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) and is the pre-eminent international award in packaging. Hello was selected for a WorldStar out of an exceptional field of over 265 entries from 37 countries.
WorldStars are presented only to those packs which, having already won recognition in a national or regional competition, are compared by an expert panel of judges to similar packs from around the world. Awards are based on the judges' consensus that a pack is superior in its category and market and better in its class in execution or innovation by comparison to others. The judging panel consists of country representatives from WPO and one representative from the International Packaging Press Organisation. -
CREATIVITY 50 2014: The Most Creative People of the Year
Advertising Age
Beyond flattered to be recognized by AdAge as one of the 50 Most Influential and Innovative Creative Thinkers and Doers of 2014. http://adage.com/article/creativity-50/creativity-50-2014-craig-dubitsky/296230/
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2015 TRENDS FORECAST
Landor
Landor’s experts from around the world analyzed innovations, changes, consumer behaviors, and attitudes from a multitude of industries and global locales, and emerged with unexpected insights for 2015.
Here's what they had to say about hello:
"In today’s world, you can’t sell without a story—and it better be authentic. Taking communications to the next decibel, brands will be pumping up their personality to engage with consumers on more human terms. We’re talking plain…Landor’s experts from around the world analyzed innovations, changes, consumer behaviors, and attitudes from a multitude of industries and global locales, and emerged with unexpected insights for 2015.
Here's what they had to say about hello:
"In today’s world, you can’t sell without a story—and it better be authentic. Taking communications to the next decibel, brands will be pumping up their personality to engage with consumers on more human terms. We’re talking plain, straightforward, hey-I’m-a-person-just-like-you honesty in communications. The oral care line Hello Products has rocked the hygiene market by making toothpaste and mouthwash sound utterly friendly and inviting."
Thanks, Landor! -
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: MASTERS OF MARKETING CONFERENCE
Association of National Advertisers
The signature event for brand marketers, creative agencies and media professionals. Chatted about hello, the power of simplicity, how to turn commodities into desirables, and how toothpaste can be made better and more beautiful through emotional relevancy, design and emotion. Oh, and I drank a bunch of mouthwash in front of 3,000 of the most talented marketers in the world. Fun times.
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SPEAKER
BRAND PACKAGING: Packaging That Sells Conference
Presented at the leading packaging design conference in the US.
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SPEAKER: DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION: BUILDING A NEW STATUS QUO
CHICAGO IDEAS WEEK
From the products we use every day to the organizational structures at large corporations to the themes presented at technology and business conferences, it seems everything is being "disrupted" these days. In this solution-oriented Conversation, CIW talked about disruption through the eyes of industry innovators, and focused on how to transform spaces in need of reform, take on mainstream brands as a nimble startup, and redesign an existing product into a new form, one we never knew we always…
From the products we use every day to the organizational structures at large corporations to the themes presented at technology and business conferences, it seems everything is being "disrupted" these days. In this solution-oriented Conversation, CIW talked about disruption through the eyes of industry innovators, and focused on how to transform spaces in need of reform, take on mainstream brands as a nimble startup, and redesign an existing product into a new form, one we never knew we always needed.
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2014 RED DOT AWARD
Red Dot
Wildly flattered that hello is a recipient of the 2014 Red Dot Award: Communication Design, which recognizes the best of those who distinguish their business through the art of design. Selected from more than 16,000 entries across 70 countries, the win is a nod to hello’s distinctive packaging for its range of seriously friendly™ oral care products. Created in collaboration with BMW Group DesignworksUSA, hello’s uniquely gorgeous packaging and friendly approach to oral care is helping change…
Wildly flattered that hello is a recipient of the 2014 Red Dot Award: Communication Design, which recognizes the best of those who distinguish their business through the art of design. Selected from more than 16,000 entries across 70 countries, the win is a nod to hello’s distinctive packaging for its range of seriously friendly™ oral care products. Created in collaboration with BMW Group DesignworksUSA, hello’s uniquely gorgeous packaging and friendly approach to oral care is helping change the way the world smiles.
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100 MARKETING LEADERS
The Internationalist
Named to the annual 100 Marketing Leaders list by The Internationalist, the leading organization of it's kind that connects the people and ideas in international advertising, marketing and media through content, thought leadership, community and collaboration.
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2014 BRAND INNOVATOR
Brand Packaging Magazine
BRANDPACKAGING's annual award for creative thinkers and doers in the packaging and branding industry.
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Finalist, INTERNATIONAL PACKAGING DESIGN AWARDS (IPDA) 2014
HBA Global
HBA Global's annual award for the best in beauty and personal care packaging.
Finalist, Personal Care (Mass): hello mouthwash, toothpaste and breath spray
Finalist, Sampling/Travel Size Packaging: hello breath spray -
MOST AUDACIOUS COMPANY
Inc. Magazine
Inc. Magazine's annual award celebrating the 25 Companies That Are Changing the World.
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Finalist, IDEA 2014
IDSA: Industrial Designers Society of America
hello's oral care range was a 2014 IDEA finalist. (IDEA: International Design Excellence Awards).
IDSA is the voice of the industrial design profession, advancing the quality and positive impact of design. -
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ANA BRAND MASTERS CONFERENCE
Association of National Advertisers
Said hello to 1,800+ brilliant marketers, and talked about creating brands from scratch that make people smile.
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PACKAGE OF THE YEAR, "BEST OF SHOW"
National Association of Container Distributors (NACD)
hello mouthwash and toothpaste were named "Best of Show" by the NACD, the packing industry's highest honor.
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PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
National Association of Container Distributors (NACD)
hello breath spray named the "People's Choice" at the NACD's Packages of the Year Awards.
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GOOD DESIGN AWARD
The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies
GOOD DESIGN (TM) is the world’s most prestigious, recognized, and oldest Design Awards program organized annually by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies.
GOOD DESIGN covers the world's most important new consumer products designed and manufactured in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.
The trademarked awards were created in Chicago in 1950 by three…GOOD DESIGN (TM) is the world’s most prestigious, recognized, and oldest Design Awards program organized annually by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies.
GOOD DESIGN covers the world's most important new consumer products designed and manufactured in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.
The trademarked awards were created in Chicago in 1950 by three architects: Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr..
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