Redefining your world —
How to sell green products to everyone
Natural, green, ethical. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've heard it for a while now. In many ways the collective sustainable consciousness could not have come at a worse time. Economies are reeling, countries are in a period of unprecedented change and households are fighting just for survival. Amidst this turmoil, a small New Zealand business has embraced the challenge to innovate and redefine themselves in the marketplace.
Earthwise is not new to the idea of creating a plant based product; in fact it would be hard to find many businesses whose origins date back to 1964 from this very ethos. The genesis of the Earthwise story is Tom Robinson who began creating his nature-inspired solutions while working on farms in Northland.
Like many of today's leading thinkers Tom started by talking directly to his customers, giving local hippie communities plant-based products created in his back yard. Tom became known as the 'course he can' man experimenting with plant-based formulations for use in growing orchard plants and promoting the benefits of nutrient-rich soil. What resulted was an explosion of demand for each of Tom's formulations and a philosophy passed onto Tom's family who work at Earthwise today.
Earthwise quickly became a trusted name, and Tom became known as a pioneer of organics in New Zealand, renowned for his talent of fusing nature's genius with his innovative spirit. "From the start, Dad was adamant that any product that carried the Earthwise name was going to work, was going to be as natural as possible and was going to be safe," says Tom's son Jeremy Robinson (Earthwise Production Manager).
At a time when other brands are looking for ways to tell their new green story, Earthwise has an old story that many people are yet to hear. This year Earthwise embarked on a project with BRR to reflect this in an authentic way in new design and packaging. "The key was to retain the authentic heritage of the company while updating our design. The first part for the process was to go out with the BRR team into the marketplace, investigate what was happening in-store and in people's homes," says Kim Smith Marketing Director at Earthwise.
"We soon discovered the strategy had to deliver a systemised approach to our range that was easy to understand with appealing design. There is a commonly held misperception that green equates to expensive and compromise in terms of quality and we wanted to change that," explains Kim.
What resulted was a new brand strategy for the company simplifying their portfolio of brands, along with a suite of sales material purposed for new distribution channels. "Retailers are thrilled with the range. Stores have gone from stocking a few of the old range to the full Earthwise Home range." Kim explains. "At this point we're getting hassled for sales meetings so the rebrand has certainly opened up our global and local distribution channels."