In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:
Instant Biologics: Sowing the Seeds of Success at Retail

When it comes to plants, I’ve always had two brown thumbs. Whenever I bought one for my apartment, I had little success maintaining it, or keeping it alive. Feeding it was a hassle that involved mixing and measuring that often turned into a mess on my kitchen counter. It was simply time and effort I didn’t want to invest.

This all changed when I met Jeff Robbins and Ari Tenenbaum, Co-Founders of Instant Biologics. Their brand, Instant Plant Food, consists of tablets that dissolve in water and provide all the nutrients a plant needs for three months. A packet contains four tablets, enough to feed one plant for a year.

I am now the proud owner of a snake plant for which feeding is a piece of cake. And it’s thriving – much like Instant Biologics, which has landed business from a half-dozen large retail chains including Target and 1-800 Flowers (and is currently onboarding another half-dozen). This soaring growth can be credited to their RangeMe Premium membership, participation in several RangeMe summits and ECRM’s Lawn & Garden and Sustainable Products: General Merchandise sessions.

Instant Biologics's Instant Plant Food Instant Biologics's Instant Plant Food Instant Biologics's Instant Plant Food

The idea for the company sprouted when Robbins and Tenenbaum decided to shift their focus from …

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In: Dropshipping|Last Updated:
Ecommerce Strategy: How to Get It Right

Starting an ecommerce business is no easy task. From setting up your website to streamlining your supply chain, it seems there are hundreds of things to consider in the early days. And truthfully, there are.

But that’s not to say this always-on pace should continue forever. With the right strategies in place during launch, it should be much simpler to navigate the changing world of ecommerce in the future. In fact, the more you build up your strategies today, the more efficiently your business will run tomorrow.

The difference between success and failure in the industry has a lot to do with your ecommerce strategy. Prepare your brand for a successful launch by learning more about ecommerce strategies, what they can do, and how to design one of your own.

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What are ecommerce strategies?

Ecommerce strategies are interconnected plans that drive your business operations. There are three major ecommerce strategies to consider: product strategy, customer relationships, and corporate considerations. Each of these must work together to ensure the best possible outcomes for your brand.

Let’s explore these three major ecommerce strategies and their structure in greater detail.

Product strategy

Product …

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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

As retail costs balloon, certain products deflate.

Across retail categories, more manufacturers are making products smaller to offset rising costs, a practice called shrinkflation, or downsizing.

Retail costs keep climbing, as U.S. inflation hit its highest one-year price hike in more than 40 years in March 2022. Global supply chain disruption has made raw materials, labor, and freight more expensive. Costly omnichannel investments, product returns, and sustainability efforts also add financial pressure. 

That’s why consumer packaged goods (CPG) suppliers are now scrambling to cut back somewhere. Shrinkflation helps brands save some money—and keep prices stable—by slightly reducing the amount or weight of their goods.

Let’s examine what shrinkflation looks like and how it affects brands, retailers, and consumers.

Household staples shrink

Recently, several popular CPG brands exhibited signs of shrinkflation across the food and beverage, personal care, and pharmacy categories:

Doritos bags fell in weight from 9.75 ounces to 9.25, equivalent to five fewer chips, and parent Frito-Lay cited inflation  Aleve pain relief pills have decreased from 100 caplets per bottle to 90 Cottonelle toilet paper mega rolls shrank from 340 one-ply sheets per roll to 312  Gatorade bottles decreased in size from 32 fluid ounces to 28. The brand…
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In: Dropshipping|Last Updated:
Marketing vs. Advertising: How Do They Differ?

Most people believe that marketing and advertising are little more than synonyms. After all, they both engage customers, use data to make decisions, and attract new customers through creative strategies. 

But while this definition is partially true, it falls short in many ways.

Not only do marketing and advertising have entirely different approaches, goals, and budgets, they both have unique effects on their intended audience. For example, bad advertising could turn potential clients away from a brand. Bad marketing, on the other hand, may result in haphazard research that complicates future advertising decisions.

Let’s explore the similarities and differences between marketing and advertising, including a walkthrough of their definitions and formats.

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Defining marketing

Marketing comprises tactics that locate, engage, and retain customers. It’s sometimes considered an umbrella term that nests multiple business processes under a single department. For example, social media, content marketing, and market research all come under marketing.

Marketing takes a relational approach to customer retention. Rather than capturing one-time leads for a single sale, marketing works to nourish and retain relationships through strong brand interactions, a great customer experience, and positive customer service. 

Major types

…
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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:
Micro Health And Wellness Trends Consumers Are Melting For: How To Drive Sales This Summer

If you’re reading this wearing sweatpants, make-up free, with unbrushed hair, you’re not alone.

But with people starting to leave their homes more last year, the overall consumer health industry grew by 4% in 2021, according to Euromonitor International.

So, what’s driving sales of health and wellness products?

Multi-use products

Hybrid products mean consumers buy less but feel they’re getting more. Avon’s Anew Revival Serum has added AHAs; and Charlotte Tilbury’s Multi Miracle Glow Balm functions as a cleanser, overnight mask, and face and body balm/moisturizer. If only it did the laundry too.

Then there’s Olay’s 7-in-One Moisturizer which smooths fine lines and wrinkles, hydrates, evens skin tone, evens the skin’s texture, brightens, reduces age spots, and replenishes moisture. 

With inflation hitting everyone hard, manufacturers are focusing on adding value to their products.

Personalization

Today’s consumers don’t want a generic product, they want a product for them. 

According to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles Survey in 2021, 51% of respondents stated they want products and services that are uniquely tailored to them.

Companies doing a good job at homing in on each individual consumer include Roman (for men, offering personalized treatments for everything from hair loss to erectile …

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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

The global inflation crisis goes from bad to worse. War in Ukraine, lockdowns in China, and COVID-19-related supply chain disruption continue to cause problems, sending prices spiraling all around the world.

In the U.S., the annual inflation rate hit 8.6% in May, the highest level seen since 1981, prompting the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the third time this year, by 0.75 percentage points. In Europe, U.K. inflation is expected to hit 11% by autumn, while the eurozone has seen price rises hit 8.1%, the highest level seen since the launch of the euro. On the other side of the world, inflation is heading towards 7% in both Australia and New Zealand.

Consumer-facing businesses such as consumer packaged goods (CPG) suppliers and retailers are finding it difficult to cope with surging inflation. Their own costs are rising rapidly, with inflation running particularly high in staple ingredients – wheat prices, for example, have doubled this year. But they are nervous about passing on too much cost to customers, for whom a cost-of-living crisis is rapidly intensifying.

CPG businesses and retailers are already seeing consumers taking action in the face of soaring prices. In particular, we are seeing a …

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