Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Fraley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rachel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
When my son was very young, I noticed that the behavior issues he was having seemed to be related to what he was consuming. I kept a food journal and narrowed it down to artificial dyes. We removed any food and drinks that contained artificial dyes from his diet and saw a huge improvement, but there were still times that I would notice the same behaviors. After watching carefully, I was able to link that to the body products we were using on him. When we also replaced those with dye free versions, we basically had a new child. He was happy and healthy without the major behavior issues. I started paying closer attention to the ingredients in all of our self care products and was highly disturbed. I was spraying dry shampoo daily and my whole family was inhaling it. The first two ingredients on the can I had at the time were butane and propane. It was really eye opening. As I set forth to make cleaner choices for my family, I realized that natural products without the harmful or questionable ingredients sold at a high price point. I decided that I would make as many of them as I could for myself so that I knew what was in them and I could control the cost. I experimented and fine tuned each product until I felt it was perfect. I was impressed with how well they worked in comparison to what I had been using before and shared them with family and friends. I began to get requests from others who were interested in trying the natural products I was making. My family and friends encouraged me to set up a website and start selling my products. It took off from there. While I had no intentions of this developing into a business, it has continued to grow and evolve over the last seven years and I am so excited for the future. I absolutely love what I do and I’m very passionate about providing these clean products to consumers at a reasonable price point.
Rachel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a wife and mother of two from a small town in Ohio. I have degrees in Occupational Therapy and Healthcare Management. While my career has completely evolved and I am no longer working in a healthcare profession, I do find the healthcare management courses helpful in running my small business. I am passionate about educating consumers about making cleaner choices in self care and beauty products. I use high quality ingredients to make clean self care products in small batches that are sold at an affordable price point. Some of these products include moisturizer, face wash, natural deodorants, dry shampoo, bug repellent, and so much more. Each product is safe for the entire family to use. I love to receive feedback from my customers and even requests for new products. The Root + Clay line has continued to expand over the years and we have plans to add several new products in the near future.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
I always include a handwritten note in every order. I intend to keep doing this no matter how large the business may become. I want each customer to know how much they are appreciated. My business could not continue to grow without them. I recognize the names of many of my customers that I have never met in real life when the orders come through. I would say the majority of my new customers come from referrals from existing customers. I love that I have so many customers that are so passionate about my brand that they share about the products with their friends and family.
Have you ever had to pivot?
As I really had no intentions of this developing into a business, I did not carefully consider the business name I chose in the beginning. It really focused on marketing to women only and did not leave me much room to expand my line. About two years ago, I chose to completely rebrand. This was a very stressful time for me, as I didn’t know how my current customers would feel about it or if they would even be able to find me to reorder. I renamed the business and hired a graphic designer to create new branding, logos, product labels, and a website. I now feel more confident in my brand. It has grown astronomically since these changes were made and I feel like there are no limits for future growth.
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