We had a hunch it would find favor in your eyes but after appearing in Parents magazine Green-Lullaby’s Multibox has been selling like hot cakes (organic whole wheat hot cakes of course). Green-Lullaby has had the product on back-order as they replenish inventory and we have been trying hard to make buyers aware that their order will be delayed by up to a week or so.

It has been a pleasure dealing with the list of people who we have reached out to help explain the delay. It strengthens my belief that as long as people are informed they are willing to wait longer than they expected without holding a grudge. A genuine thank you to all of you who have been more than understanding about the delay.

While I am a beer enthusiast, and I enjoy a good whiskey periodically, I rarely drink liqueur.  And until 20 minutes ago, I had never actually bought a bottle.  So, what made me break down, and why do I feel great about doing so?  At the risk of shamelessly plugging what I love about Abe’s Market, it comes down to one thing – making a personal connection to the real person behind the products.

I was strolling through a local farmers market and, while munching on some fresh roasted almonds I had just bought, I stopped to chat with a liqueur maker and taste some of his fruit and chocolate concoctions.  While sipping samples, we discussed where he makes his product and a bit about how.  His passion for his craft was tangible.  I walked away a bit lighter in the wallet but with one bottle each of blueberry, white chocolate and dark chocolate liqueur.  I’ll enjoy sipping my new purchases, and I may even tell a few friends about the liqueur man at the farmers market.

We were honored to have Seth Goldman, founder and TeaEO of Honest Tea, as our guest for a Seller community webinar last week.  Seth shared his experience from starting and growing Honest Tea over the past 11 years to $50mil in sales. Share he did. Seth was candid and inspiring. He provided a slew of lessons and answered several questions from our community.

Joya of joyababy summed it up best ” Seth was very helpful and inspiring! Which for a fellow entrepreneur is fuel to keep going!! I could pick his brain all day, being in “the thick of it” as we speak”.

I will limit this post to highlighting three points that just scratch the surface of his insight:

1. Before raising money, leverage your suppliers -Seth was asked about how to go about raising outside capital. His first reaction was to emphasize partnering with your suppliers. He told the story of negotiating with his bottle supplier for extended terms so he could make it through his slow season. Smart cash management and a lean staff allowed Seth and team to raise only a minimal amount of outside capital.

2. Keep customer interaction in-house – Seth was personally out sampling at retailers in the early days and to this day will leverage his interns enthusiasm versus hiring outsiders. I remember getting the hard sell from grocery stores to use their sampling teams, it is far easier to sign on the dotted line and having their team do it than getting out there yourself. But the Honest Tea team can pitch their product with passion and that interaction is priceless.

3. Packaging sets expectations – Seth recommended the following excercise to determine if your design is having its designated effect. Put the package in front of people and ask them what they expect the product to taste like (obviously without actually sampling it). Brilliant idea. I have personally spent countless days refining packaging and have seen the same debate linger too long at other companies. This is is an intuitive way to get quick feedback.

We will be posting a link to Seth’s talk in each Seller’s dashboard. Thank you again Seth for your time, wisdom and encouragement.

Beyond offering a broad selection of fantastic natural products, we believe that two ideas are very powerful for Abe’s Market.  In many cases one of these ideas leads to the other.  These two powerful ideas are 1) really getting to know the people responsible for the products we buy, and 2) the power of storytelling.  To illustrate this idea, Richard and I frequently use an example….  Suppose a guest uses a bar of soap in my guest bathroom and likes it.  Two conversations may follow.

Conversation 1:
Guest: “Hey, I really like that soap in the guest bathroom.”
Me: “Thanks.  It’s a bar of Ivory.  I bought it at the supermarket.”
The conversation is now over.  It’s not interesting.

Conversation 2:
Guest: “Hey, I really like that soap in the guest bathroom.”
Me: “Thanks.  It’s actually Cranberry Rose Soap from SunFeather.  SunFeather is an inspiring company that was started by one woman, Sandy Maine, and a $15 investment, 30 years ago.  The all-natural soap comes as a cool 45 oz loaf….  SunFeather was honored in 2004 as the soap supplier to Oprah Winfrey’s 50th birthday party.”

Sandy Maine

Cranberry Rose Soap

I’ve just launched into a story that I’m excited to tell because I like Sandy’s products and the story behind them.

Without realizing it, last week my wife brought to life a great example of the power of 1) really getting to know the people responsible for the products we buy, and 2) the power of storytelling.  She just had a big birthday (I won’t reveal what #) and wanted to treat herself to something nice (a rarity for her – she’s usually frugal when it comes to spending on herself).  A friend told her about a local, old-fashioned shoemaker who makes great shoes and boots.  Out of curiosity, my wife went into his shop.  Without getting into all the details here, over an hour later, she walked out with a unique, beautiful pair of boots….and a story that she’s been excited to tell her friends.  “Ben is a really nice guy.  I watched him making some cool shoes right there in his shop.  Beautiful design.  The boots I bought are the most comfortable boots I’ve ever worn.  And look how cool they are – they zip up the back, not the side.  They are……”  She’s equipped with a tale.  And she’s sending Ben a lot of business.

It’s refreshing to be reminded that there are still real people involved in designing, making and selling many products.  It’s fun to support these people.  And it feels good to spread their stories.