LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sales are booming for an unlikely source, a tucked-away, monastery-owned online ink and toner business called MonksInk (MonksInk.com), located in the desert of southern California. Launched in 2011, the monk e-business has tripled its customer base and more than tripled sales revenue over the past year, with sales doubling in the last six months. Corporate customers span from the skyscrapers of New York City, Chicago and San Francisco, to dioceses and schools nationwide. But the snow-balling success has not altered the enterprising monks' focus. These monks are serious about integrating their Benedictine charism and standard of customer service that treats each customer "as though welcoming Christ himself," with high-quality ink and toner cartridges.
"We liked the idea of selling these products," says Fr. Joseph Brennan, prior of the order, who has been at the monastery nearly 20 years. "We needed to do something a little different. Every monastery has something unique about them. For example, a monastery in Louisiana makes soap. Some make jellies and jams. The Camaldolese make amazing fruitcake. But our monastery never developed anything like that. Until now, we only produced ceramics, and even these were designed by a brother monk in Belgium. We really needed to do something different. MonksInk was a good fit."
"We began using Monk's Ink to save money as our ink and toner expenses were becoming astronomical," says Donna Alvaro, office manager at Holy Family parish in Syracuse, NY. "Being a church, and knowing that the different orders of religious must be self-sustaining, we wanted to support their monastery. Our experience with Monks Ink has been very positive, especially in customer service, speed of delivery and response to any questions."
Karen Walker of Catholic Business Journal concurs. "Not only did we save money, but I was shocked to find the products shipped and delivered to our office in less than two days. Their service is phenomenal."
True to their charism, the monks practice in their business what they live daily in their monastic routine.
"Both monks and lay Benedictine oblates are involved in MonksInk, so they understand our charism well," underscores Fr. Joseph. "Whatever we do must be a service and meaningful for others. In our case, this includes serving corporate America with ink and toner cartridges!"
To learn more go to MonksInk.com.
About MonksInk and St. Andrew's Abbey: MonksInk was founded in 2011 by the Benedictine monks at St. Andrew's Abbey with the help and guidance of one of their local oblates. Originally founded in China in 1929, this monastic community was expelled by the communists in 1952. In 1955 the community relocated to Valyermo, nestled quietly in the San Gabriel foothills of the California high desert, 90 minutes northeast of Los Angeles, where they have been welcoming guests from all walks of life for more than 50 years. For more information, go to www.MonksInk.com
Karen Walker Walker & Associates 949.370.1442
