Cleaning up in pet stores

Cleaning up in pet stores When Abby Gnanendran talks about his affordable, fashionable and earth-friendly product line, it sounds glamorous. And the price tag is reasonable, which isn't always the case for green products. "The packaging, the branding - it all shows we're eco-friendly. " (The suggested retail price for an eight-roll box containing 120 biodegradable bags is $5. 99. While the company no longer sells products on its website, there's still a strong focus on supporting a thriving online community, Mr. Gnanendran said. "People loved the fact we didn't hide what the product was. "When we started numbers grew from 6,000 to 9,800 through January and February. The key now is to keep them as time goes on. Growing fan numbers have opened up opportunities to share stories and keep fans up to speed on environmental issues and animal rescue and shelter programs, Mr. Picking the words that resonated best with customers was easy. "We weren't expecting the type of growth we had at such a young stage," Mr. "But we soon realized we had something really strong here that could grow swiftly. With the growing demand from customers, came calls from pet supply stores wondering how they could get Earth Rated Poop Bags. "We realized then that we had to go retail. So it was time to come up with some store-friendly marketing. How to keep up engagement on social media. There are plans for giveaways and contests advertised via Facebook. And it was easy for us to carve a little niche with an online presence," Mr. We knew it was a great business to be in. The goal was to build brand awareness and identify loyal followers who could continue to spread the word. "At that point, it all comes down to the creativity behind your message. At first, Earth Rated Poop Bags relied on Google Ad-Words and Facebook Ads to generate interest and sales. The blitz worked. Today, the bags and dispensers are carried in 900 pet stores across North America and parts of Europe. And the numbers just keep growing. The firm said it experienced a tenfold growth in sales in the second year of operations, with sales this year expected to triple. That's an important part of what we do. Selvadurai said. "Now we use social media to stay in touch with customers, retailers and the charities we support. It's a great way to maintain communications, get feedback on our product and make certain everyone is satisfied. Since January, Poop Bags has been working alongside Rob Vena, president and creative director for Feast Interactive, a digital advertising and design agency based in Toronto, to keep the social media momentum going. "At that point, they had set the stage for a retail presence," Mr. "They just needed to target their social media presence to increase engagement and fuel organic growth. "When we started testing it, we saw a huge upswing. "So we put together sample kits and dispensers and offered them free to stores. The team started checking out social media channels daily to identify worthy recipients (i. The online advertising was as simple as it gets: "cheap poop bags" was pretty much the mantra used in AdWords, Mr. long-term client prospects) to receive free product - from dog walkers and bloggers to boutique pet stores. By the time the initial marketing was over, Earth Rated Poop Bags had given away 5,646,585 bags to potential clients and vendors. Cleaning up in pet stores Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 03/04/2012