HSN Celebrates Entrepreneurs in August As Part Of American Dream

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – August 7, 2017 – Leading entertainment and lifestyle retailer, HSN, an operating segment of HSN, Inc. (NYSE: HSNI), will be celebrating entrepreneurs throughout the month of August as part of its American Dreams initiative – a program designed to tap into the joy and excitement of discovering new entrepreneurs, while collaborating with strategic partners to find, educate and train inventors as they bring their products to fruition. As part of this month-long celebration, it will be marking an incredible milestone for Kavita Shukla, entrepreneur behind FreshPaper, as she prepares to become the only American Dreams entrepreneur during the month to have a dedicated Today’s Special – where the majority of HSN programming will feature her product, FreshPaper.

FreshPaper – a natural produce saver sheet infused with organic spices that keep​ fruits and veggies fresh longer – started as Kavita’s middle school science project based on her grandma’s home remedy. Kavita introduced it to her community at a local farmer’s market, where she was encouraged with the positive feedback she received. From this experience, she realized her simple idea might help make healthy eating more affordable in her community, but she never imagined that within a few years, a grassroots movement would take FreshPaper to farmers, families and retailers across the globe.

Since her launch on HSN in September 2016, Kavita has sold one million sheets of FreshPaper! ​Kavita has often said that one of the greatest barriers to starting her company was that she didn’t know of many women role models who were CEOs or inventors, and didn’t believe that it was possible for someone like her to bring her idea to the world. On August 7, during her appearance on HSN, Kavita will launch the FRESHVOICES campaign in partnership with HSN, Women and the World, and Vital Voices to highlight the stories of women entrepreneurs. FRESHVOICES aims to change perceptions through storytelling to inspire more women innovators to take the next step with their ideas.

“It’s been a dream come true for me to now be able to share my story and our mission with millions of households on HSN,” said Shukla.  “I am so excited to have the opportunity to ‘pay it forward.’ Together with HSN, Vital Voices, and Women in the World, we’re launching FRESHVOICES — an unprecedented campaign highlighting the incredible stories of trailblazing women entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of women innovators to take the next step with their ideas.”

As a part of the FRESHVOICES  campaign, for each FreshPaper Today’s Special package sold, Kavita will be making an in-kind FreshPaper donation to Vital Voices to support women entrepreneurs. In addition, one HSN viewer will win the chance to attend the 2018 Women in the World Summit at Lincoln Center in NYC and walk the red carpet with Kavita – just 5 years after Kavita first received a critical grant for her small social enterprise at the star-studded event.

Kavita Shukla will appear on HSN on Monday, August 7, for her first-ever Today’s Special featuring FreshPaper. Tune in beginning at 12 a.m. on August 7 to shop the FreshPaper assortment.

For more information about HSN’s American Dreams initiative, please visit www.hsn.com and search “American Dreams,” and join the conversation @HSN on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

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