When University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School student Jimmy Ayash walks past supermarket shelves stacked with toilet paper, his thoughts turn to Mother Nature—and to the millions of trees sacrificed for a single-use product.
Believing there had to be a better way, Ayash co-created Kong Rolls, a toilet paper brand made entirely from bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource.
“From looking at a lot of data, I found that 56 million trees are cut down just for U.S. consumption every single year,” said Ayash, 21, who somehow finds time to major in finance, accounting, and management while taking on consumer goods titans such as Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark.
“On top of that, the majority of those trees come from Canada’s boreal forest,” said the Connecticut native, a junior scheduled to graduate in December 2026. “That’s really important because it’s the largest carbon sink in North America. Think about all the animals that live there—they’re losing their habitat. Companies are cutting down these trees every single day on a massive scale.”
Breaking into a century-old, multibillion-dollar industry wasn’t easy. Ayash and his business partner, Carlos Polo, a student at Miami Dade College, began by studying the U.S. toilet paper market, valued at $56 billion in 2024, according to SkyQuest Industry Consulting.
After months of research, the pair decided to invest their savings.
“I’ve worked my whole life, and Carlos and I put all of our savings into this project, which we’re really proud of,” Ayash said. “Collectively, we put in around $55,000.”
They launched Kong Rolls in July 2024.
“Right now, we’re not profitable—it’s probably going to be like that for the next two and a half years,” Ayash said. “The thing we’re focusing on right now is innovation and building a community.”
The bamboo used for Kong Rolls is sourced from China and shipped to El Salvador, where the paper is manufactured without PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances)—the so-called “forever chemicals” often used in manufacturing. BPA (bisphenol A), another chemical associated with health risks, is also banned from the company’s production process.
Once manufactured, septic-safe Kong Rolls—each with 350 sheets of soft, three-ply paper—are shipped to a warehouse in Doral, Florida, before reaching online customers. The products are sold in packs of six, 12, 24, or 48 rolls, with free shipping and prices ranging from $14 to $68. Subscribers receive discounted rates.
Ayash, who recently received a full-tuition scholarship from social media influencer and Miami Herbert alumna Alix Earle, credits Ricardo Lago, a lecturer in the Department of Economics, as a mentor. He remains undeterred by the competition.
“We’re going up against the big dogs here, but you have to try your best and keep going—and you don’t stop,” Ayash said. “If you really try your hardest, how can you lose? That’s the mindset you have to keep when you’re trying to build something for yourself.”
