In this time of reflection and looking forward to better days in the year ahead, we can’t help but feel sincere gratitude for your business and for inspiring us to work harder to achieve our mission. Because of you, in 2020 we made huge strides towards cleaner, healthier living. We feel the impact of your business daily, and for that we are humbled. Your investment in Xtrema is more than an investment in sustainable cookware - it’s about leading a healthier lifestyle; it’s about shared community values and being present with family and friends; and it’s about the purity of cooking wholesome, nutritious foods.
It’s hard to complain about the challenges that we faced as a business in 2020 - we have our health and our families, and those are the most important things. However, there is no denying that supply chains and transportation logistics took a toll on our ability to keep products in stock and get products shipped out in a timely manner. That said, we still managed to ship thousands of products to gracious customers in more than 18 countries. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the past year:
- By the end of the year Studio production was up more 100%. This means that despite supply chain, transportation and logistics challenges we should be able to keep up with worldwide demand for our best selling products.
- We increased staffing in the Studio and put into place additional testing and production protocols to improve the performance of our cookware.
- We relocated our corporate office to Charlotte, North Carolina to take advantage of the young diverse talent pool that exists in the area.
- In a project that’s taken more than two years to finalize, we made significant strides towards announcing new stovetop and bakeware product lines in 2021.
The Forever Pan
Xtrema Pure Ceramic Cookware is cookware that you will use for the rest of your life. Our cookware is built to last forever, and last it does. Today we still use the same prototypes that we received before the company was officially launched. And they look and perform as good as new.
Other cookware products last 1-5 years before the coating degrades or the cook surface starts to stick or flake. The glazing we use is fired at 2,500 degrees, so it can withstand extreme temperatures and thousands of hours of use. Financially it’s expensive to buy new cookware every 2-3 years. But the environmental impact is far more damaging. Millions of tons of metal pots and pans are sitting in dump sites all across the globe releasing toxic chemicals into the environment. Buying one pan for life is much kinder on the environment than purchasing “disposable cookware.”
Truly Eco-Friendly Cookware
Xtrema Ceramic Cookware are sustainable products made of all natural materials from the earth. Composed of clay and other natural ingredients, Xtrema Cookware does not involve the destruction of natural resources. Xtrema is environmentally healthier than other products that use metals which are harder to mine and more harmful to the environment.
No Nasty Byproducts
The manufacturing process is vastly cleaner than producing metal cookware. Xtrema Cookware is handcrafted and fired in a clean-burning natural gas kiln. We value the health of our customers and the safety of the environment by utilizing a clean manufacturing process to produce an all natural product we believe is the healthiest on the planet.
Extra Safety Measures
We take extra steps to ensure that our workers are safe and the products that come out of our studio are non-toxic. For example, the kilns we use have some of the most advanced filtration systems available, so the emissions are negligible when compared with manufacturing traditional cookware. Also, our dedicated ceramics Studio is cleaned and inspected regularly to ensure 100% compliance with FDA and Prop. 65 regulations. Our staff are not required to wear special protective gear (aside from what’s required for COVID health protocols) because the materials that they handle are all natural and non toxic. This is why we call our facilities a Studio - because our manufacturing looks and feels much more like a ceramics studio than a factory or a plant
Jobs
Xtrema supports upwards of 50 families globally, including our own. From our Studio to the warehouse to the backoffice, we help hard working families put clean, healthy food on the table every week. We are the epitome of a small, family run American business, founded with humble Christian values. It is just as important that we provide a steady paycheck to our family as it is to provide for our warehouse staff. We believe that doing good business translates into doing good for humanity, and we achieve nothing by taking shortcuts or short changing those who support us. It is incredibly rewarding to see the Xtrema ecosystem grow and provide meaningful jobs for families on multiple continents.
Giving Back
We recognize that others need our help, and we are always looking for ways to give back. This is why we support Cure International every month. Our financial contributions to Cure International help to build hospitals in some of the most underserved parts of the world. Cure is a Christian organization that we have supported for decades, and our financial assistance to help Cure expand their work is one of the more meaningful things that we do on a regular basis. And your support of Xtrema helps us be more generous and provide more support to Cure International for their extremely important work.
Small, Family Run Business
We’re a family - our immediate family, and you, our extended family. When you buy Xtrema products, you can be sure that you are using the same cookware that we’ve been using in our family for decades. And you are helping an American, family owned and operated small business. With so much in the news today about Goliath companies dominating online retail and squeezing small brands to the brink of extinction, we believe wholeheartedly in supporting small businesses with ambitious goals. It is one of the main reasons that we’ve decided not to sell on Amazon and similar marketplaces. An investment in Xtrema is a vote for small business; it’s a vote for independence and equality in online retailing; and it’s a vote for family values. We appreciate you keeping us in business all of these years, and in the years to come!
Helping Others Help Themselves
Part of giving back is also helping those who need assistance getting back on their feet and giving them the freedom to live fulfilled lives. By partnering with Horizon Goodwill Industries, we have taken the pledge to lift up our warehouse employees and empower them to succeed at the next chapter in their lives.
Most people associate Goodwill with their retail locations. But did you know that they provide complete warehousing and ecommerce fulfillment services? Working with Horizon Goodwill allows us to use our business to create opportunities and help people “realize and achieve their full potential through the dignity and power of work.” Visiting our warehouse is always one of the highlights of our business. It’s amazing to see what Horizon Goodwill has done for their staff, people who are regularly cast aside in society for not being smart enough or motivated enough to be successful. And yet we see such an amazing group of caring and driven people working hard to achieve a common goal. Every online order from xtrema.com is shipped by someone employed by Horizon Goodwill Industries - so every order helps uplift someone by providing them meaningful work.
Donations In Kind
Every wonder what happens when you return a used cookware item? We make sure that the item is sanitized and then sold at a significant discount through Goodwill Industries. The proceeds from these donations support Goodwill and their ongoing efforts to eliminate barriers to opportunities and strengthen communities in need.
At face value Xtrema is a luxury product - it is created with the highest level of expertise and craftsmanship, and it is not inexpensive. But Xtrema makes products that everyone should have the benefit of using, because everyone deserves to live clean and healthy. So by contributing returned merchandise to our partners at Goodwill, we are able to fulfill at least some of his goal of getting Xtrema into the kitchens of those who need it most.
Leadership, Mission, Vision & Values
As a faith-based family, we have a strong ethical grounding that informs our mission, vision and values. We lead by example everyday, from how we treat our employees as valued members of our family, to rewarding those who help us build a better company.
The Founder of Xtrema, Rich Bergstrom, is an expert in ceramics with a 20+ year history with Corning, a global leader in materials science. Rich always believed that there was a better way to make safe, healthy cookware. Little did he know at the time that he would actually need Xtrema to help reduce the symptoms of Chronic Lyme Disease. We are leaders in ceramics innovation, healthy cookware and social entrepreneurship. These values - of taking care of others - stem from the top of the organization and permeate through everything that we do.
Clean Living
We all strive to live healthier, happier and longer lives. It’s all part of the clean living movement. We’ve cultivated a community of like-minded people who know first hand the benefits of better mental and physical health. Take Aimee Harris Niedosik for instance - she’s a mother, a wife, and a colleague who’s battled Autoimmune Disease for years. Her search for answers came out of necessity to detox everything from her household cleaners to the cookware that she uses. And then there’s Jessica Rose who’s always looking for new and creative ways to promote health and beauty.
So choosing non toxic cookware is one part of a larger lifestyle change that benefits mental and physical health. We applaud each and every one of you who have personally battled obesity or chronic health issues or depression. This is what the clean living movement is all about: supporting and uplifting one another, and helping your neighbor with positive life changing solutions.
A True Passion with a Purpose
Making ceramic cookware is not just a job, it’s a way of life for us. This has become our purpose and one that we cherish dearly. There is nothing more intimate than cooking for good friends and family - and we do this in the most wholesome way possible. Making the sustainable cookware is the hard part - using it, now that’s the fun part!
So what started with a passion inspired a whole new purpose: to build the healthiest, most sustainable cookware on the planet. We believe that we’re fulfilling our purpose everyday. And it’s because of you that we have the opportunity to run this business with our family. We are forever grateful to you for motivating us in ways that we never thought possible. And we promise to continue to innovate and expand our business so that we can share our passion and purpose with more of you in the future.
Cooking, Eating and Living the Right Way
Did you know that cooking slow and low is actually better for you? The food is tastier and the nutrients are more bioavailable. Cooking is also communal - we love nothing more than long days around the grill or cooking and chatting away in the kitchen. Indeed, the foods that we prepare and how we prepare them have a meaningful impact on our health and wellness. And we believe wholeheartedly that cooking with Xtrema pure ceramic cookware is intrinsically better for you.
Beyond the health benefits of cooking with all natural foods in all natural pots and pans, owning an Xtrema product means that you’ve directly or indirectly adopted this idea of clean living. In one way or another, we’re all searching deeper connections, happiness and more time. Let’s be clear, Xtrema is not the Holy Grail. But if cooking with Xtrema means we can facilitate better relationships with our friends and family, be happier and live longer - then sign us up today!
We can’t thank you enough for your support, business, comments, critiques, and everything else that keeps us on our toes and striving to make Xtrema better. Your purchase is a catalyst for so much good in the world - it's a nod to environmental sustainability, to creating jobs and supporting small businesses, to helping others uplift themselves through meaningful work, and to leading a life focused to physical and mental wellness. Our deepest gratitude for being by our side and pushing us deliver the world's healthiest and most sustainable cookware.
