Starting A Consumer Product Business? Here Are 5 Essential Considerations You Should Know.
Starting a consumer product business takes much more than meets the eye. Just ask the team at PawPurity, a natural-only ecommerce pet product company.
“When we first started, the only thing we knew is we had a good product,” said PawPurity Marketing Director, Lisa Davis. “It wasn’t until we started digging in that we were challenged by things that could not have presented themselves before we got knee deep in moving our business forward. Any research that can be done beforehand is key.”
PawPurity did this well, which is yet another reason why Porter PR & Marketing is excited about representing them. The company sells plant- and food-based pet products that outrank other “natural” products on the market. Unlike most other products that call themselves natural, they truly are. Everything down to each product’s preservatives is 100% natural. The other thing this company knew was it wanted everything it sold to be eco-friendly and made in the USA, right down to the packaging.
#1 THE LOGO
“Starting with the logo, it had to be young, attention getting for pet owners and scream natural. It also had to be evident that the company cares about the products and packaging being earth friendly,” said Davies. “It must be memorable and make the customer feel they are purchasing something that is good for them and their pet. It has to look good on small and large bag packaging, boxes, gift cards, online and as a url tab.
#2. COMPETITIVE RESEARCH
After much research, the findings indicated there are no companies that go to the extent PawPurity does to ensure its products are 100% pure and do not contain toxins, harmful chemicals, pesticides or preservatives that could have potentially adverse affects. This is the company’s main value proposition.
#3 LABELING & PACKAGING
The company chose green for it’s labeling and packaging. What it didn’t expect was the team’s steep learning curve about the different kind of packaging and their implications. For example, what keeps out light rays that could degrade the product? What size containers should be used? Does the color of the container make a difference in decomposing the product?
“There is much to think about,” said Davies. “Starting a business like this takes dedication, persistence and a total belief that the products are superior to any other and will make life better for its customers.”
Following is a list of things you definitely want to consider before starting a customer product business. These issues must be dealt with before even before any marketing takes place.
Who is your market?
What do you want people to think of when they see your products on the shelves?
What containers will work with your products. What container materials will keep your product safe from degrading. What sizes do you want to start with?
What do you want your logo to say about your company? Will it work when used on product giveaways, for booths at trade shows on tee shirts etc.
By law, what is required on the label?
What kind of stock do you want to use for the labels? If it’s a liquid, vinyl usually works best, but is expensive.
What size boxes will you need?
Once you get your containers and labeling, do you have a digital scale for weighing?
#4. PRICING
How are you going to determine the pricing? If your product is a liquid or cream, it would be fluid ounces. You will need to determine how much it cost per ounce and how much everything else costs including the container, boxing, protective padding etc.
#5. SHIPPING
Do you have mailing accounts with the big 3: USPS, UPS, FedEx? If you don’t, you need to set these up, as you will get discounted rates. And, since Covid-19 there has been much more purchase made online and delivered by mail so shipping rates skyrocketed. Which brings up the subject, are you going to offer free shipping or let your customers pay?
Porter PR & Marketing and the PawPurity team hope this helps those wanting to start a consumer product business. Stay tuned and we will let you know how we are marketing PawPurity and share its success stories.
Porter PR & Marketing has been helping ecommerce start-ups for more than 20 years. Learn more about us to see if we can help you with your marketing. Please reach out to us if you have questions.
