Building an Omnichannel Brand Right from the Beginning, Featuring Vanessa Dawson of Arber

03/06/23 • 32 min

Most new brands today want to be omnichannel right from the beginning. This episode features Vanessa Dawson, Founder & CEO of Arber, a startup that specializes in organic plant biologicals. Vanessa talks about why an omnichannel approach was important for her company right from its launch, how she has gotten into wholesale accounts from tastemakers, to independents to Walmart, and how she measures success in a seasonal category. Topics:

What organic plant biologicals are, and why they’re important
Which distribution channels were most critical at first
Getting those early accounts and education around the product
Preparing the brand and product for wholesale distribution
Setting pricing for omnichannel distribution
When product bundles make sense and when they don’t
Adding educational content and creating customer connection at wholesale
Key metrics for retail channels and measuring success

Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com
Edited by Deven Shah

Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.
To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

What organic plant biologicals are, and why they’re important
Which distribution channels were most critical at first
Getting those early accounts and education around the product
Preparing the brand and product for wholesale distribution
Setting pricing for omnichannel distribution
When product bundles make sense and when they don’t
Adding educational content and creating customer connection at wholesale
Key metrics for retail channels and measuring success

Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com
Edited by Deven Shah

Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.
To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

Previous Episode

How to Build a Beverage Brand Featuring Lan Pham of Sang

Building a beverage brand from the ground up? Then this episode is for you. This episode features Lan Pham, who recently founded Sang, a ready-to-drink Vietnamese coffee brand. Lan talks about how she raised money pre-launch, how she thought about distribution, and the marketing activities she planned for launch.

How Lan found the right investors for a beverage business pre-launch
Why using a paid advisory brand incubator was a good move
How using expert advisors helped with finding the right co-packers
Cold messaging on LinkedIn
Figuring out which products to launch with – and how many
Landing on the right pricing and understanding your margins
Making sure that the packaging is appropriate for retail accounts
Dealing with supply chain issues pre-launch
The chicken and egg dance with distributors and retailers
Launching in both DTC and retail – and the marketing to support both

Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com
Edited by Deven Shah

Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.
To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.

Next Episode

How to Crack the Code on B2B Sales Featuring Casey Golden of Luxlock

Cracking the code on B2B sales, particularly in retail tech, is not easy. This episode features Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock, an omni-retail experience platform startup. Casey talks about how she targeted her first customers, utilized her network, and how she is now scaling sales after those first efforts.

How to utilize your network to build relationships before you start selling
Which brands to target in the early days
Trying an unusual approach to get product feedback
Getting that first customer – and the trial and error process
Why retail tech sales are so hard as a startup
Who to target for sales at brands and retailers
The “waterfall” of sales in retail tech
Why Casey doesn’t like warm intros
Considering free versus paid pilots and how to price pilots and your annual contracts
The customization trap and how to avoid it
Sales cycle considerations and how to manage it
Hiring your first salesperson and some resources that can help

Music by Eino Toivanen, kongano.com
Edited by Deven Shah

Learn more at Retail X Series and follow @retailxseries on Twitter and Instagram.
To submit a pitch or to find out more about Sapna Shah, check out Red Giraffe Advisors.