SILIKIDS
“We are a smaller company, [and] we really believe that working with the boutiques to sell the products the best way they can is key for us,” says Feeley. Education can also take a more direct form. Debby de
Moulpied is the owner and founder of Real Green Goods in Concord, NH. The store publishes a newsletter “where we talk about safety and environmental and health issues,” De Moulpied says. In addition, store signage offers product information to shoppers. She adds that one-on-one contact with customers, educating them about the different options, is the most important tool. Sometimes education involves describing or explaining some
of the unique attributes of the product options. While stainless steel and aluminum reusable bottles have become well recognized by consumers, other products need more explanation or description to convey their unique attributes. Displays can help to do this effectively. Reinke says that some of the most successful retailers that
have sold the Vapur Anti-Bottle have displayed a filled bottle near their product display. “When customers see the product filled, they instantly get our value proposition. The common refrain is: ‘This is brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?’”
Creative merchandising Another reusable product that requires some explanation is the Sport+Store bottle, a water bottle that doubles as a container for a virtually endless range of take-along items. Along with Stephanie Michaels, Jill Bryman is a cofounder of
Sport+Store. The concept sprung from their trips to the gym. Annoyed by having to juggle keys, water bottles, supplements, cell phone, ID’s and gym membership cards, they came up with the idea of designing a water bottle that could double as a storage container. There are many merchandising options for the Sport+Store
bottles, says Bryman, who points out that the product readily lends itself to demonstration and creativity in terms of what types of items might be stored in the bottle. “My father is a big golfer,” she says. “He puts ball markers, tees and a wood pencil in his.” Hikers, she says, might store sunscreen, an emergency whistle, lip balm and snacks. Store displays can show these variations depending on their customers’ unique interests, Bryman says. For instance, hotel gift shops might display the bottle with a room key and property map. Tryk notes that retailers who actually use the products in their
stores send a strong message to consumers. “It’s always nice when retailers are using them themselves,” she says. “The more people see other people using them, the easier it is to catch on.” It’s an industry that continues to evolve to address consumer
concerns about costs, health and the environment. In the reusable bottle market, a growing range of innovative options may one day signal the end of disposable plastic bottles.
CAMELBAK SANTA BARBARA DESIGN STUDIO
Lin Grensing-Pophal is a freelance business journalist in Chippewa Falls, WI. She writes about marketing and business management issues for national and trade publications and is the author of Marketing With the End in Mind (IABC, 2005).
134 Winter 2011 n GREENRetailer
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