“It’s very surprising for me how slow especially the food industry has been to embrace this [e-commerce] versus how quickly the consumer is changing—and has changed—the way that they shop.”

—Kevin McCarthy, CEO, Unreal

Part 1: Meet the panel, brand e-commerce stats

Highlights:

• Discover each company’s online sales strategy and its path to market.
• Get current and forecasted brand e-commerce stats.

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Part 2: Business and supply chain complexities as a natural brand grows

Highlights:

• Mike Mackay: It’s an ever-evolving balance between your in-house capabilities and your agency partners.
• Kevin McCarthy: It’s very important to have a single person on your team dedicated to e-commerce. 
• Sarah Bird: We rely heavily on agencies at this juncture: one for the branded website, one for Amazon.
• Mackay: Managing consumer expectation is key. Fulfillment has the challenge to make delivery faster. 
• McCarthy: We always lead with taste. It’s a main tenet of our brand, but it poses e-commerce fulfillment challenges. 
• Bird: What are the right pack configurations to maximize our Amazon ring?

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Part 3: E-commerce vs. brick-and-mortar strategy, retail questions

Highlights:

• McCarthy: People are willing to spend a bit more online but you can be priced out of the category. 
• Bird discusses how to drive awareness and trial: Start on Amazon, then come to brand site. 
• Mackay: MAP pricing and maintaining price integrity. 
• McCarthy talks using success in e-commerce to drive more distribution when it comes to larger national retailers.
• Bird: We need to make sure our distributors aren’t selling to Amazon and undercutting us.

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Part 4: Marketing efforts for customer acquisition, biggest surprises in the e-commerce cycle

Highlights:

• Mackay: The return on mobile ad spend is rising. 
• Mackay: Sample and trial is still the bread and butter: “Bars in bellies” is the biggest thing we’re focused on.
• McCarthy: A test-and-learn approach: How do we make our community as active and passionate a part of our brand as possible? 
• Bird explains how to use the Gleam tool for e-newsletter success. 
• Amazon is such a dynamic platform, you need to be able to be nimble. 

This session—Fueling Sales in an Omnichannel World: Digital and eCommerce Strategy Panel--Making it Work—was recorded at Natural Products Expo West 2019.