Reedley's Luffa Gardens shows off popular products at World Ag Expo
TULARE, Calif. (KFSN) -- The second day of the World Ag Expo drew thousands of people to the International Agri-Center in Tulare.
Some of them came specifically to watch a presentation by a local company whose success story is rooted in the power of social media.
It's been several months since ABC digital media brand Localish profiled Luffa Gardens.
WATCH: Localish: Secretly Awesome: Luffa Gardens
The viral video has now been viewed 23 million times.
And on Wednesday, it was shown again at the World Ag Expo.
As Nathan Pauls, his daughter, and her friend showed their products, and did a demonstration on how to clean a luffa sponge-a cucumber-like vegetable that grows on vines.
Pauls and his wife Sherri grow the luffas at their ranch in Reedley.
They sell them at the Clovis Farmer's Market.
But now, they also ship them to customers around the world.
They make luffa soaps too.
"It is (still) settling in because we had never ever, ever dreamed that anything like this would happen," Nathan said. "When we first started growing the sponges, we had no clue how people just didn't know about them."
The luffas are natural and biodegradable-used primarily in the shower and kitchen.
But they're very labor intensive.
And Pauls is still working to determine the additional help he'll need in order to keep up with the high demand for his popular products.
He expects to open a shop eventually, and put Luffa Gardens products into other stores too.
"Much to my wife's chagrin, we have luffa stuff, soap stuff all over our house and so I look forward to getting our home back her," Nathan said. "We are also putting up greenhouses which we're really excited about-be able to grow year-round."
By the way, Luffa Gardens says luffas can be cleaned in the dishwasher or washing machine, but they say never put them in the dryer.
WATCH: Localish: Secretly Awesome: Luffa Gardens Revisted
