We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tammie Brooks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tammie, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Coupled with a strong desire to live the healthiest lifestyle possible—along with a practical need to keep my family’s skin hydrated during Atlanta’s fickle winter seasons—68th & Monroe® was born.
What’s in a name? 68th & Monroe® is inspired by my birth year, 1968 and my first grandchild, Nova Monroe—that’s it. In our logo, the 68th & Monroe® cross-street symbolizes, among other things, direction, destination and purpose—three things missing a few years ago when life’s expectations didn’t quite line up with reality. There I was, an experienced business professional and entrepreneur who suddenly found myself unemployed, then underemployed and professionally unfulfilled with no prospects in sight. And like the weathered 68th & Monroe® cross-street, I was emotionally distressed and at a literal “cross-roads”, trying to figure out my own purpose, destination and career path.
So, when my family’s favorite, name-brand lotions weren’t doing the trick any longer, a light-bulb went off and I began to learn all I could about proper skin care needs and because of my own sensitive skin, I grew more and more passionate about curating products from natural and organic ingredients. After a great deal of trial and error, I developed the perfect recipe for our signature 68th & Monroe Body Butter®, which eventually replaced all of our go-to lotions. After sharing our body butter with a few close friends and family members, word-of-mouth generated unexpected buzz and demand for a product that was initially just for my family. Passion, then turned into a mission with one goal in mind: to create an entire line of all-natural personal care products that would keep your skin healthy, looking great and feeling amazing! All of our products are handcrafted with organic or natural ingredients and are locally sourced when possible. More importantly, all ingredients are free of harmful chemicals preservatives and fragrances. That is our promise!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am an Atlanta business owner, with over 15 years of entrepreneurial, private sector and non-profit business experience. In 2006, I founded The Event Salon, Atlanta’s Premier Event Marketing, Management and Consulting Firm®, producing notable corporate and social events like Power and PinkStripes©, an annual empowerment event that recognized and celebrated women entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as It’s All About the Dress©, a bridal shopping experience for new brides-to-be. I have also held leadership roles in Office Management, Marketing, Retail Operations and Non-Profit for My Home Improvement Magazine® (formerly Atlanta Home Improvement Magazine®), Kirkland’s Home Decor® and The American Lung Association®.
I am a graduate of Clayton State University with a Bachelor’s of Science (BS) degree in Integrative Studies with a double minor in Business Administration and Marketing. I also have a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Supply Chain Management. After I completed Graduate school in 2012, I served on the Clayton State University Alumni Board of Directors from 2013-2016 where she was instrumental in coordinating social events aimed at increasing alumni engagement for the University. In January of 2o22 I was voted to the Board of Directors for Community Farmers Markets and I have recently joined the Board of Directors for Just Bakery Atlanta, a nonprofit partnering with neighbors who have resettled as refugees on paid job training, professional certification, and living wage work. They bake with local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible and are committed to nurturing a more diverse, connected, and compassionate community for all.
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68th & Monroe just celebrated 3 years in business and our sole purpose for creating the brand was to curate products that could provide the maximum benefit to our customers without compromising their health and wellness. Our product catalog includes, artisan soap, products for the hair, for the face, products for the body, a men’s care collection, seasonal products and our newest to the lineup are products for babies and pets. One of our taglines is “we’re taking you’re skin back to a simpler time”.
When I started the business 3 years ago, we started at one Farmers Market (East Atlanta Village) and no-one knew we who we were. By the Fall of the same year we were up to 3 markets. Fast forward to today, we currently have a roster of at least 1o markets on a regular basis. With that, we now have customers that recognize us when they visit a market and better still, seek us out to re-up on their favorite products. This makes me “giddy” on the inside every time that happens. Additionally, we have made our way onto store shelves at places like Health Unlimited, Sustainable Home Goods (Ponce City Market and Serenbe locations) and The General Store at Serenbe.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
All of our products are manufactured in-house, always have been and always will be. As I mentioned previous, our signature product that I started with was our Body Butter and several iterations of that product was batched before I landed on the perfect mix of ingredients. Also, when I started the business, I wanted to be able to offer a catalog of products that spoke to the entire person. Formulating products on a large scale was not in my wheelhouse of knowledge to start, but after reading lots of books, watching videos and internet research, I began to pair ingredients and write recipes that were from the start, very intentional.
Two products that I had been testing in late 2019 and introduced in early 2020 (prior to the start of the pandemic) have gone on to be two of our best sellers, (Artisan Soap and Insect Repellent).
At the start of 2022 I re-formulated our already popular Face Serum, creating an ingredient deck for 4 different skin types 1. Acne/Eczema 2. Dry/Sensitive 3. Normal and 4. Oily.
Also, as we continue to embrace sustainability and zero waste, I reformulated our Conditioning Shampoo from a bottle to a bar last summer and this year I re-formulated the Leave-in Conditioner and our Men’s Hair Beard and Body Wash to to a bar as well, These bars along with our Shave Bar, our New Baby Baby Bar, and New Face Bar are all part of our “Do Something” Collection, meaning if it does something specifically, it has been stamped on the bar itself, eliminating the need for a belly band and all of our artisan soap bars are branded with our logo, there again, eliminating the need for a bellyband.
As a manufacturer, I am always in a state of Research and Development in order to stay relevant, ahead of the curve while maintaining customer retention.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Building an audience on social media has been slow and steady. We have never paid for followers. We have gained our followers by simply engaging with them at markets and events. This year we are really intensifying our marketing efforts, I have hired and SEO expert to help us shore up our website so that we can rank higher organically. Additionally, I have weekly strategy meetings with my team, to plan, manage and execute our content marketing strategy, that is very intentional and that will also resonate with our target audience.
Content is king, and consistency is the biggest piece of advice I can offer. It won’t happen overnight, but if there is a plan in place and consistency is maintained, engagement will be better and ultimately conversion will increase.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.68thandmonroe.com
- Instagram: 68thandmonroe
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/68thandMonroe/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammie-t-brooks-7a373612/
Image Credits
Headshot – Lisa J. Love