How can you use Amazon’s reach as a core part of starting a food business?
Madeline Haydon from Seattle, Washington was lactose intolerant but loved coffee. The choices for creamers for her coffee was filled with sugars and things she didn’t want in her cup of morning joe.
nutpods was born out of founder Madeline Haydon‘s impatience for a wholesome dairy-free creamer that had the richness and creaminess of half & half. For years, she waited for a company, any company, to develop this type of product – without carrageenan or the “usual suspects” of titanium dioxide, mono and diglycerides, hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils. Carefully crafted to be wholesomely delicious and developed to give you the freedom to choose your sweetness level, enjoy the rich creaminess that comes from MCT-rich coconuts and the balanced taste with heart-healthy almonds. All free from GMOs, soy, dairy, gluten and artificial flavors/colors.
Nuts to Marketing
She launched her product with a Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $30K in one month from 500 people. As important as the money was to help get the business off the ground, she also used it as market validation that she wasn’t the only person searching for a healthier non-dairy creamer that was free of many of the ingredients commonly found in these products.
With those funds and that starter audience, she found a copacker to commercialize the product and put the product on Amazon. She carefully made sure that her images and story were compelling on her Amazon product page and she encouraged social media followers to write reviews and help get the word out. After two years in the market, her company exceeded five-million dollars in revenue, and she continues to grow through retail packages at grocery chains and health food stores, along with her online business.
Marketing Lesson to Swirl in your Coffee
- Solve a problem that others share. Is it more than just you who wants to buy it?
- Tested the size of your niche through Kickstarter –ask people to only donate if you would buy this product
- Find an expert to help you launched on Amazon to get nationwide distribution. It is a direct way to reach millions of consumers. Madeline had $10K in revenue her first month. She started with a great product – set up listing correctly – get the word out through other means like social media and events. A-9 algorithm on Amazon – info you can research about top sellers, how products are names – optimize your product listing. Learn how A9 algorithm values reviews. Consider hiring an A9 specialist to assist you. It is like hiring an SEO expert for your website.
- Detail page is critical on Amazon – images must easily blow up, lifestyle photography and user reviews are extremely important. Often the first-place consumers start to search for a product is Amazon. More than half of all product-related shopping searches start on Amazon
- Need to create an opportunity for sharing. Don’t forget your social media followers who you can request write a review of your product on Amazon.
- Online – you need a unique product on Amazon that you manufacture that isn’t a price battle. If you are me to the product than you’ll soon be fighting a race to the bottom of pricing.
- Start slow and be strategic. Madeline started with 500 loyal followers.
- Amazon buyer is unique. They tend to be loyal and often on mobile. Need to make it easy to find and see on mobile. Make it easy to buy, and FAQ is
I know a little bit about starting a food business from a home kitchen. If you want some other lessons about jumpstarting a food business, read this post
Are you thinking of starting or growing a small food business? I have the expertise to help you set the table. Call me at 919 720 0995 or jeffslater@themarketingsage.com
Photo courtesy of nutpods
