Marigold: Launch keynote

This is the Plover Goods launch keynote for Marigold, a solar charger for people who spend their days outside. It starts with a problem every hiker knows: the phone dies exactly where the view is best. Over the next few minutes we show the product, how it works, what it costs and when you can get one.

In our survey of 2,000 day hikers, 61% had lost phone power on a trip. A dead phone is a lost map, a lost photo and a long walk back. Power banks help, but only until they run flat too.

Meet Marigold, the charger that runs on sunlight. It folds from four panels to the size of a paperback, and in 90 minutes of direct sun it fills a phone from empty. Everything else in this keynote explains how that works, what it costs and when you can have one.

Using Marigold takes three moves. Unfold it: four panels open flat in one motion. Aim it: a green light tells you when the sun is right. Then forget it: clip it to your pack and keep walking while it charges.

Three numbers carry the idea. In direct sun, 90 minutes takes a phone from empty to full. The built-in battery stores 3 full phone charges for the shade and the night. And folded, Marigold weighs 240 grams, light enough to forget it is in your pack.

A power bank has to be charged from a wall before every trip, is dead weight once it runs out, and is one more thing to remember. Marigold charges itself wherever there is daylight, stores three full phone charges for the shade, and weighs 240 grams. Stop charging your charger.

We put Marigold in the packs of 100 beta testers and asked one question: would you buy it? 90 said yes, which is nine in ten. The dots show all 100 testers, one dot for every five, so each dot stands for five real people with a real hike behind them.

Imogen Pryce tested Marigold in the Scottish Highlands. In her words: I hiked a whole weekend on one phone and never once checked the battery. She is one of the 90 beta testers who said they would buy it, and she said it better than any chart could.

Preorders open on November 3, and the first units ship on December 1. Marigold reaches stores in February 2027, and Marigold Plus follows in the second quarter of 2027. Spacing on the timeline follows the real calendar, so the longer gaps are real waiting time, not decoration.

Marigold launches at $129, and the sun is free. That is the launch price for the first month on sale, before it moves to its regular $149. For people who want more stored charge, Marigold Plus is $169 and stores six phone charges.

Marigold stores three phone charges, weighs 240 grams, costs $129 at launch and ships December 1. Marigold Plus stores six phone charges, weighs 380 grams, costs $169 and ships in the second quarter of 2027.

Stay out until the sun goes down. Preorders for Marigold open November 3 at the launch price of $129, and the first units ship December 1. Thank you for coming outside with us, and thank you to everyone at Plover Goods who built this.