09.10.07
A Wholly Successful Whole Foods Day
Introducing Anna’s EsSCENTials soaps at the Whole Foods store in Louisville was definitely worth the effort. Behind me is an entire section of shelving devoted to bar soaps.
Finally … the grand opening … the introductory presentation … the hallelujah moment (for me) at the Louisville Whole Foods store.
On Saturday, my really great friend Veronica and I drove to “the city.” (How many friends do you have who would spend the day hawking soap in a grocery store aisle with you, just for fun?) Whole Foods in Louisville is located next to one of the largest and best known malls — a great location. To get ready for the trip I had sprung for new tires on the car — an event long overdue — and an oil change. So we zipped into town in record time and arrived ready to play. I delivered their first order, and my talented carpenter-friend Stuart had constructed a new and very nifty shelf for display purposes. Across the front of the shelf I put the company name.
When we arrived, the Whole Body Department manager, Catherine, was waiting for us and directed us to a round table set up at the end of the aisle next to a very lavish array of soaps. In fact, it was top to bottom, about four feet wide, maybe 10 or 12 shelves packed with soaps. Displays were very attractive and, drat, almost all were priced below my own price, which is modest for an olive oil soap. But every other soap they carry is a national brand. None of the others were local or from a small soapmaker.
Smaller is Better!
So naturally, after setting up our table, I began investigating what I’m competing against. Whole Foods has its own brand, made in France, with two sizes, priced at $2.49 and $3.99. Others were priced between 99 cents (small, clear so-called “glycerine” soaps) and about $5.29 for a slightly smaller but somewhat better quality soap. I read labels, looking for another soap that I felt might be an equal in quality, but honestly, there were none. Without exception, they used less expensive oils, perfumes and other indicators that sales and not quality is their company priority.
It reinforced for me that the dynamic is, truly, if we are looking for quality in our purchases, whether personal products or foodstuffs, it really pays to look for smaller, local producers. That’s not a guarantee, but it does suggest a good place to start.
Lemons and Lemonade
Anyway, after scoping out the territory, I figured the main things I need to emphasize in face-to-face meetings with potential customers are that I am a local soapmaker, I’ve been at this a while, and my product is top of the line. I have to say, that worked well.
I should have, but didn’t think of it until too late, prepared a special flyer announcing who I am and that I’m just getting started with Whole Foods. What I did take was a flyer I’ve worked on for years asking the question, “Does using a great bar of soap matter?” The front of the flyer shows thumbnail photos of 16 soaps along with a two-paragraph answer to that question. The back is a bio of me and the philosophy of Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare.
I took one other small flyer I developed some years ago with the headline, “Do you know what is in your soap? Probably not!” In that flyer I researched the actual ingredients in three popular commercial moisturizing bars and printed them. You have to call the customer service department of the manufacturer to get that list. And of course, the conclusion to that flyer is that there is an alternative, and handcrafted soap is good for your skin.
We also took a prop — a very realistic looking starfish — which was a point of interest for the table especially for the children, and a big sign with the company name on it. I make small, travel-sized soaps, so I took a basket full of those to give away as samples. Naturally, we ended up having to dole these out to people who seemed really interested, because shoppers would come along and take a handful given the option.
You can’t see our starfish very well, but it’s between the display shelf and the extra bars we placed at the front of the table so people could pick them up and smell them. For a small table, this setup worked pretty well, with our literature on the sides.
One nice and surprising result was that we handed out the brochure to shoppers who were not necessarily looking for soap, and several read it as they walked away, came back by the table and bought a bar. I have to look at that flyer again. Something in there works! Also I noticed when someone came to buy bar soap and was looking at Whole Foods’ excellent displays, they were very open to talking to me and almost invariably walked away with one of my soaps.
Overall, I wish I’d had more giveaways. I think it would have been worth it. People need to put a face with the product, and they responded very well when I told them I am a local soapmaker, followed by a description of the ingredients and what they’re good for. I also told each of them I appreciate their support as I try to build a market in Whole Foods.
I’m not sure how the soap will do in the long term, given the price difference. But the department manager was excited that we actually sold 20 bars in the 4-1/2 hours we were there, and truly, that was not trying very hard. I was mostly trying to take things in and scope the situation out.
My next step is to get more shelves built, prepare a mailing or e-mail approach to other stores in the area such as Ohio and Indiana, and to do a mailing to my current customers who live in the Louisville area and ask them to go in and buy some soap.
Veronica Gayle (left), great friend that she is, spent more than half a day with me getting the word out that Anna’s EsSCENTials has arrived at the Louisville Whole Foods store.
High and Low Points of the Day
There were definitely some hilarious encounters, and I hope to describe these with some sensitivity. Insulting anyone is not my intention here. But when you deal with the public …. well, it helps to have a sense of humor.
One of my favorite people was a gentleman who did not purchase soap at all. When he walked by in the aisle, Veronica greeted him with a flyer and told him he needed to check out our new soaps at Whole Foods. It was apparent he wasn’t interested, which was fine, and he shook his head and said he didn’t think he should buy any. He said he’s an Irish Spring guy himself, and he’s 85 years old and has enough trouble fighting off the women using that! We all had a good laugh and he continued on his merry shopping way.
Then there was the little “Spring Summer Moon” child who looked to be all of 18 and just a bit spacey in her long skirt and hippie garb. She wanted the samples, so she floated up with the look of someone who had a real interest, engaged in a bit of conversation and made off with a handful of travel soaps. (We were trying to limit them to one per customer by then.) When it was clear she really had no interest except in the free stuff, she wandered off. About 15 minutes later I happened to be standing in the aisle behind the table when she wheeled her cart up from the other side where she couldn’t see me standing there. Her hand was poised mid-air to grab another handful when she saw me and stopped. I smiled at her like any good sales person or truly compassionate human being (and I’ll leave it to you which one it might be). I told her we were trying to limit it to one sample per person, and she made the, “Oh, of course” sounds as she wandered off to the next aisle for their giveaways.
And finally there was the guy pushing the cart who was patiently waiting for his wife to make her purchases. Again Veronica was the contact, and over the course of a half hour or so, she had a long and fairly involved conversation with him that focused on the effects of additives I put in my soap. That reminded me of something we’ve talked about in the Platinum 10 sessions I’ve attended. I intend to give more thought to putting something on the label that identifies an activity or emotion attached to that soap. That would be a shorthand way for people to get the message of what the soap is especially good for.
Things to Remember — Make a Splash
All in all, it was an informative and enjoyable day. It’s always nice to be where people are already convinced there is a reason to shop for better quality than what they find in commercial chain stores. I do like Whole Foods’ marketing model of encouraging local vendors and trying to purchase locally as much as possible.
But what I have to remember is next time I do a show like this, I must wear my softest, squishiest shoes. One vendor wore a suit and high heels. No … not a good idea! I didn’t do that … at least I had on rubber-bottomed sandals. But when I got home that night my legs and back were very very very tired. Floors are polished concrete. I wished for a chair and next time will take my own. And I will remember to bring more literature and giveaways. When you have only so long to introduce yourself, you just need to make a great big splash.