Question

Topic: Strategy

Selling Natural Food Supplement Direct To Consumers In Us

Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/12/2004 at 8:23 PM ET 500 Points
A friend of mine imports Barley Grass Powder from Japan for sale in the US and Canada. She has done well selling through distributors which supply Asian grocery markets. But she would like to increase her direct to consumer business through her web site (https://www.yamamotokanpou.com).

The powder is a supplement that you would add to other foods to provide similar additional vitamins and nutrients as if you ate more vengetables. There is another manufacturer of barley grass powder on the market, which sells there product for almost twice as much as her product. Wheat grass powders provide similar benefits and are priced similar to hers, but have a much stronger (undesireable) flavor.

Most of the marketing has aimed at Japanese-Americans (and it is sold in its original Japanese package, with supplemental and legally required info in English). There are some sales to other Asian communities (Chinese-Americans and Korean-Americans) and to health conscious Americans.

I plan to look closely at her web site and see if we can improve it (better wording, get better placement on search engines, etc.).

She is considering trying to sell through Yahoo Stores or similar - anyone have experience with this?

Beyond that, I was wondering what suggestions our experts may have on steps she could take to cost effectively increase her direct to consumer sales.

My apologies - I will be away from my computer starting tomorrow for the weekend, so I may not be able to respond back quickly.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 8/12/2004 at 8:42 PM Accepted
    Peter,

    Don't laugh at this idea: Supplement for dogs.

    It is already out there, and it is lucrative. Many dogs have allergies which are very expensive to treat, and barley grass is known to work as a holistic approach.

    I've been there.

    I've even seen special barley seed you can buy that sprouts into a grass that your dog can graze on - regular turf grass has sharp edges that can tear up their "innards".

    Also, many dog owners like to get more vegetables into their dogs diet - most dogs don't like salads - or for their dog breath or dog flatulence, bad coat etc.

    I hope that helps.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/12/2004 at 9:11 PM Author
    Iwill keep this in mind, but I think aiming at humans may be easier in the short run (less worries about changes needed for packaging, etc.).
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/12/2004 at 9:25 PM Author
    Yeah, the web site needs some work. I definitely agree with that.

    GNC is definitely an interesting thought (have any contacts there?), but not sure if she is big enough or has what it takes to get in there. One of the challenges apears to be the competition. I did a Google on barley grass to see where/if the site showed, and it was not in the top-50. I never realized that there were so many suppliers/vendors of this stuff. I suspect GNC has some firmly entrenched suppliers for this stuff which we'd have to find a way to differentiate her product and show why they would want to get it also or in place of who they currently use.

    One possible area of differentiation is that the product is grown in Japan. She has had Chinese customers call and ask specifically that it was grown there - so that makes a difference in their mind for some reason (have to see if I can figure out why).

    Given the level of competition, I am leaning towards recommending that she focus on the niche markets of Asians in America. She's Japanese, so understands their culture well. Hopefully we can translate that to also benefitting Chinese and Koreans.

    Thanks to both responses so far.
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/12/2004 at 9:51 PM Author
    I hadn't considered that. Could be worth mulling over.

    Personally, I don't have a positive impression of MLM, so I am not sure this is something that I could help her implement, if MLM turns out to be the right route.
  • Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 8/13/2004 at 12:06 AM Accepted
    I'm going to second a thorough review of the grammar and spelling. In addition, ensure that no one gets the prompt from Internet Explorer to download the Japanese character set (major turn-off!). I'd also think about a new domain name that is easier for the average Joe to remember. These are just starters before you begin to think about marketing.

  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/13/2004 at 8:45 AM Author
    Inbox and Marcus,

    Thanks to both of you for the comments.

    Peter
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/13/2004 at 8:52 AM Author
    Hmm. Marketing to spas. That is an interesting thought.
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 8/14/2004 at 11:25 AM Accepted
    Peter (helpuhire),

    I think doing short but inexpensive PR Campaigns on www.prweb.com would be extremely effective. With the right press release directing consumers back to her website she could not only draw an interested audience her product can wind up on numerous websites all over the world simultaneously because many companies use the rss features. The headline would be important. It would have to be both news and something eye catching without too much hype. Something even unusual that the average potential product user may not know about the healing properties of the product should be extremely helpful as long as it's true. It's inexpensive enough for all to afford. I hope this helps. Is there anything else I can do for you?

    Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE, (Customer Passion Evangelist)
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/16/2004 at 1:16 PM Author
    Thanks to everyone for the thoughts!
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