Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I N O. X I I I J U N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 34 S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S ey landed their fi rst of multiple Hannaford accounts last fall, and have been picked up by every retailer they've approached since. "A Hannaford executive told us that we hit two of their hot buttons. It's a local product which aligns with their 'Close to Home' campaign. ey real- ize that's the rising tide and they want to be on that tide," Hansen says. "And our products are 100% natural with really nice plant scents that people like, not super strong like some products." Perrin is highly selective in sourcing ingredients. " e fact that our products are truly natural gives us the edge. We wouldn't be doing this otherwise. You can't compete with the national brands on their playing fi eld. No one is doing this without synthetic preservatives," Perrin says. "We're the only one, as far as I know [that will be distributed nationally]. A lot of products claim to be all natural, but they're not. And we don't use derivatives of essential oils, we use the actual essential oils." Good Natured cleaning products went through rigorous testing for ingre- dients and manufacturing processes for Whole Foods. e company is one of only a few Whole Foods vendors to be rated at the top green tier of the company's "eco-scale," which sets restrictions on literally hundreds of ingredients. Good Natured products are already in multiple Whole Foods stores in northern New England and are approved for sale in all 40 stores in the grocer's North Atlantic region. Hansen and Perrin are fi nding the 20 to 45 age group to be an enthusiastic market for their products. "Consumer education is a huge part of this," Hansen says. "But that demographic, they get it, especially if they have children." Price-wise, the products are high- end but on par with, or in some cases, less expensive than competitors. Hansen says, "You can either be high- end or low-end, but you don't want to be in the middle. You'll get killed in the middle. Our product is high-end in terms of ingredients and we're not going to compromise." "We're fi nding that a lot more consumers are willing to pay more for the real stuff ," Perrin says. "It's a bit like shopping for food. I buy my cheese from a farmer in Freeport because I know who made it and what's in it." Staying focused "One of the challenges is to remember, 'What's your vision and how do you see the company?' You have to stay focused," Hansen says. "You may not always be right, but you have to go with your gut." "And family-work balance is very important to us," Perrin says. "I built this business to work around my life with three kids. We think this has a lot of potential, but quality of life and fl exibility is huge." Operations being based in Perrin's home has been a signifi cant factor in terms of fl exibility and has helped con- trol costs. Production space has recently expanded, as has part-time staffi ng, including help with store demos. " ose are hugely valuable for us; they help us take the temperature of our customers," Perrin says. "And if we can get them to smell our prod- ucts, it's a sale." "We're at a jumping-off point now. We're operating at about 30% capac- ity. When we get closer to 70% to 80%, we'll jump to a larger space, maybe next fall. We may need loading docks," Hansen says. "We've been profi table from very early on, and we have no debt," Hansen adds. "Our goal is not neces- sarily world dominance. It's about being successful in both our personal lives and in the business." Perrin stresses the need to stay close to the company's roots. "It's the farmers' market experience, where I started," Perrin says. "We don't want to get too far from that; you get really good insights that way. at's always going to be an important part of our brand." Ti n a F i s c h e r , a w r i t e r b a s e d i n S o u t h P o r t l a n d , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e D i t o r i a l @ m a i n e b i z . b i z Thanks to our Business Customers. "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Small Business Banking in the Northeast Region" – J.D. Power TD Bank, N.A. | TD Bank, N.A. received the highest numerical score in the northeast in the proprietary J.D. Power 2015 Small Business Banking Satisfaction Study SM . Study based on 8,086 total responses, measuring 8 fi nancial institutions in the northeast (CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) and measures opinions of small business customers with annual revenues from $100,000 to $10 million. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of customers surveyed in July-August 2015. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing We're finding that a lot more consumers are willing to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping to pay more for real stuff. It's a bit like shopping for food. I buy my cheese from a farmer in Freeport because I know who made it and what's in it. — Kate Perrin

• Cover