Better Place Forests Announces Strategic Acquisition of Butterfly.co to Bridge Nature and Digital Memorials, Expanding End-of-Life Solutions

San Francisco, CA (October 3, 2024) – Better Place Forests, creator of America’s first Memorial Forests and a pioneer in nature-based end-of-life services, today announced its acquisition of Butterfly.co, a leading digital memorial and obituary platform. This acquisition is a critical next step in an expansion journey as Better Place realizes its vision of offering comprehensive end-of-life experiences by connecting physical memorial forest sites with the limitless reach of digital tributes.

Better Place Forests, known for its meaningful Forest Memorial ceremonies, has long been committed to creating sustainable end-of-life practices. The integration of Butterfly’s digital capabilities, which allow families to create and share digital memorials, offers a bridge between nature and technology, addressing the evolving needs of modern families.

“We are excited to welcome Butterfly into the Better Place family. This acquisition allows us to bridge the natural and digital worlds, ensuring that memories can live on in the physical beauty of our forests and in the digital space where they can be preserved across generations,” said Adam Tibbs, CEO of Better Place Forests.

“Joining Better Place was a natural fit,” said Butterfly CEO, Pankaj Shah. “Better Place is creating the future of end-of-life care: beautiful places online and in the real world for families to honor the people they love.”

The acquisition enables Better Place to expand its reach exponentially by offering families both a meaningful in-person experience in its forests and the ease of a digital memorial that can be accessed online globally. The combined offering strengthens Better Place’s position as a leader in end-of-life services, providing families a spectrum of solutions that acknowledge the need to blend traditional and digital memorial experiences.

The Butterfly platform, soon to be rebranded as Better Place Memories, builds community by allowing family and friends to create a digital memorial page where they can share stories, photos, and videos to celebrate and remember their loved ones long after a traditional memorial service.

This acquisition is a crucial part of Better Place’s long-term strategy to offer comprehensive end-of-life services, by combining environmental stewardship and innovative digital tools.

“We’re not just expanding our services; we’re evolving to meet the emotional and practical needs of families in an increasingly digital world,” added Tibbs. “Our goal is to create a lasting legacy for families —one that lives on in both the forest and the cloud.”