Essentialism: Our New Business Model
How We Chose to Cut Back Our Product Range to Thrive in the Soap Industry.
I started TERRA-TORY in 2019 with the purpose of prioritizing the importance of quality over quantity when exploring my passion in soap making. Like a soothing cup of herbal tea, I believe that focusing on fewer, high-quality products can lead to lasting success for our community, and my business.
This summer (2024) I made a decision to reduce our product catalog, and I'm excited to share the reasons behind this choice with you. Join me as we explore the themes of quality, sustainability, and operational efficiency, which have guided our journey here at TERRA-TORY. Discover how our commitment to quality, sustainability, and operational efficiency sets us apart in the soap making industry.
Too many choices can be overwhelming for the human mind. How do you know what's right or best for you? How can you make decisions on what product/service solves your problem?
Coming back isn't as exciting, filled with anxiety, losing interest. Too many choices lead to failure. The Paradox of Choice exemplifies this philosophy.
Initially, we had a broad range of 23 soaps to meet various ingredient and skin concerns. Now, we're concentrating on 4 staple soaps and 1 seasonal option, delivering top-quality products for healing and moisturizing dry, damaged skin daily.
By narrowing our product range, we can source top-notch ingredients and create each soap with care and purpose. Producing our products in-house also helps us guarantee sustainability and ethical practices throughout.
Quality declines in a product as the brand expands. Making our own products in small batches allows us to control quality and innovate with sustainable materials, kinder to our skin. Local manufacturing creates a tactile relationship with our products and offers customers a window into our process.
As the brand grew rapidly, we noticed that some team members were not positively contributing to our mission. They valued quantity over quality. Even with good intentions, we ended up producing many products in a short time, neglecting storytelling, marketing, and soap quality.
Under such stress to 'pump out product' many issues arose. We ruined a batch of soaps by adding the wrong essential oils to nearly 700 soap cubes. That's a significant financial blow we had to overcome. The mental toll it took on me as a postpartum woman was immense.
This prompted us to focus our efforts on creating a united and effective team, committed to our principles of excellence and well-being; not quantity.
The choice to add accessories seemed helpful initially, but it led to a lack of storage space and operational issues. From this, we realized the significance of simplicity and focus in line with our values. THIS did not reflect well on how we run our wellness business.
When we visit my grandmother in California we go to this restaurant. The menu is very restricting. Each day they offer different pre-fixed dishes on the menu. 3-course meals. No choices. No substitutes. Each day is different. That's it. At first, I was a little turned off with the idea of not having any choices but when my grandmother told me to keep an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised. The chef's creations were delicious and each meal was a delightful experience.
Upon receiving my food, it was a sight to behold. The dishes were fresh, vibrant, and full of color. Steam rose delicately from the plate, accentuating the hot meal. To my delight, the food was not only beautiful but also incredibly delicious.
So to answer your question, yes, I want TERRA-TORY to adopt that same philosophy as that restaruant. By focusing on fewer products and ingredients, we've improved quality and consistency while optimizing resources. This gives us more creative freedom to experiment with seasonals without worrying about stock availability.
More about those logistics.
In November 2023, we experimented briefly with selling a 2nd body brush on our website. Those brushes played only a minor role in our story last year. But they illustrate well a fundamental constraint we need to deal with as a small high-end manufacturer.
To start, offering a totally new product—no matter how small or basic—means developing all sorts of new procedures: How do we package them into a box that wasn’t designed to also hold a new body brush? Do we design new packaging for it? What do we do if we receive an item that looks damaged? Where do we store them?
With a wide range of items, it's important to keep a close eye on stock levels. Our soap making process is slow, with each bar taking 2 months to cure before restocking. Running out of stock unintentionally means notifying customers, causing disappointment, and finding a solution.
The streamlined catalog has simplified our order fulfillment process, leading to improved customer satisfaction and a more seamless experience for our community. Our customers now receive their orders faster and with greater accuracy thanks to our minimalist approach.
Our journey towards a simplified product catalog has reaffirmed our belief in the value of focusing on core products. We're committed to offering the best for our community, and we invite you to join us on this meaningful path.
Would you prefer a more limited selection? Which products are you missing? Did this enhance your experience? Would you be interested in a subscription?
We hope that our journey has resonated with you, and we invite you to share your thoughts and experiences. Together, let's uphold the values of quality, sustainability, and wellness in every aspect of our lives.
The Paradox of Choice How having too many choices harm our industrial society.
P.S. We're shifting focus to joy, education, and entertainment on TikTok, avoiding social media pressures even with 0 views.
My showers running, warm regards, Founder, Kim