In 2006, Josh Kalmer-Porcel and Brent Ridge did not see the goat’s milk scanner and body care brand. A couple living in New York City went on an weekend on an apple picking route and stumbled in a small town called Sharon Springs. They fell in love with the city, and on their drive, with a property for sale: Backman Farm, its house was built in 1802.
Image Credit: Bookman 1802 Courtesy. Josh Kalmer-Porcel, Left, and Brent Ridge, right.
Kalmer-Porlas and Rogs were far from professional farmers-Kalmer Percyl worked in advertising, and Ridge was a physician who launched Martha Stewart Omanimidia’s health and welfare division-but he believed that the form would be the best place in the weekend.
Shortly after his move, he found a note from his neighbor, John, who was losing his form and had no place for 80 goats. Will the couple’s brain move animals to their property to an empty warehouse? He agreed and invited John to be in a small cottage of the farm and to be his caretaker.
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“Everything was great,” the co -founders remember. Then affected the 2008 recession.
“We lost our jobs within 30 days of each other, and we had a new mortgage,” says Kalmer Porlal. We had to pay the form (off). “So we literally do Google, ‘What can we make with goat’s milk?’ And the first thing that came out was a goat milk soap.
The co-founders have noted that when many traders started a business with the purpose of selling it today, it was the most distant thing from their minds when they launched their brand in 2009-they were “just trying to survive.”
“I remember calculating that if we sold $ 80 worth of soap a day, it would be enough to pay for a mortgage for this month,” so it would be enough to pay for a mortgage, “says Kalmer Porlal. Come in “
Now, Backman 1802 The soap has sold more than 60 million times and has crossed the sale of $ 150 million. Backman 1802 sells his premium scanner and physical care products through his website, QVC, Ulta Beauty, Amazon, Target, Legardia Airport’s kind shop, Sharon Springs, independent retailers and more.
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Kalmer-Porlas and Ridge have also published three Coke Boxes, and their first business book, Goat wisdom: How to make a really great businessWill be released on July 1st.
Image Credit: Courtesy Harvard Business Review
“We started selling soap bars on our website.”
One of the first steps was to create a website for the brand. At that time, directly from consumers (DTC) was starting to receive traction.
“We were one of the first beauty brands to become DTC,” says Ridge. “Josh learned how to do code. He coded the first website, (and) we started selling soap bars on our website. But at that time, of course, you were not fortunate to sell goods on a website. It was not just the environment. “
The co-founders wanted to take their natural, goat milk soap products where they had never had before-a retail place of comfort. So on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, the luxury department stores called Ridge Cold: Bergdorf Goodman, Barnis New York, Six Fifth Avenue and Henry Bandel.
The buyer of Henry Bandel told Ridge that if he could pledge to come to the store for the next eight weeks before the holiday season, the retailer would give them a three -foot table at his main destination with a three -foot table, where the brand could engage with consumers. If the product was a hit, the store would store its products forward.
“So I did,” Ridge remembered. “I woke up every morning. It is three -and -a -half hours away from the city. I will take all the soap. I was standing at the small table. I will stay till 8 or 9pm, I will walk three and a half hours in the form. I did it for eight weeks every day.”
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As a physician and scientist, Ridge admitted that he did not know much about selling a product at the time. However, through the exhibition of other sellers of the floor and other “osmosis”, he guessed how to do it effectively. In the meantime another major progress made: A buyer for anthropology stopped on a scouting mission and “fell in love” with the story of Backman 1802.
“Likewise, we got our first big order.” “Our first big break was going national with anthropology.”
“(Reality TV) helped us to quickly increase the base of loyal, manageable fans.”
For the first decade of the company’s growth, Backman 1802 did not get any funds. The co -founders were determined to start the business “the old -fashioned way”, “unless they make 50 1.50” do not spend $ 1, “in the context of a recession where financial institutions were disappointed by many people.
As a result, in the early days, businessmen did not have money for their brand marketing. Famously familiar with the value of the media, Kalmer-Plassel and Ridge occupied every opportunity to get Backman 1802 in front of the audience, from local news programs to the blog.
Then the co -founders had an interesting and unexpected opportunity to work on their reality TV show. Kalmer Purcel was interviewing for the position of creative directors in a network when the president told him that he did not know whether he was right for the job or not-but would he consider and appear on the Reality TV show about his life on the Ridge Farm and to appear about the start of his business?
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The co -founders accepted the opportunity to raise awareness for their brand, and within five months, The brilliant backman boy Was broadcast
Kalmer Plusal explained, “It helped us really enhance the loyal, manageable fan base.” But we were trying to become a reality TV star and get another show and another show (by) we did not engage. It was a really good free commercial that helped us start a business. “
The brilliant backman boy Flew for two seasons, and although the co -founders were not looking for more TV opportunities after wrapping it, but another came to them after competing on one of their book signatures: CBS opportunity to compete Wonderful Race.
“Wonderful Race The story was so authentic to the brand that it was a blow. “
It was in 2013, and Kalmer Parsel and Ridge thought that even if they made half a way through competition, the number of viewers in which toning tining would give a significant display to the backman brand. In the first episode, he introduced himself as a “backman boys” to rolling the ball and ensuring that, and “it would always be what people would listen to.”
“We were under -dug throughout the season.” We were two middle -aged homosexual boys. We are not going to defeat the players and the younger people. In the third or fourth phase, we were in Indonesia and thought we were going home. It was like 120 degrees. We were struggling all day and trying to end the work, in which 100 pounds of bamboo were raised and thought we knew. Let’s just take advantage of the maximum of it“
The couple was walking in a street where a school was leaving. With many children interested in around and camera staff, Ridge started chanting “Backman Boys” and joined the crowd. “We just thought, Oh, how excellent is to go out Amazing race, “Ridge says.
Then the co -founders pulled something they would never expect: they won the entire race. Before winning, Backman 1802 received about 100 orders daily on his website. Immediately. Later, that number increased to thousands.
“What was the big deal about the fact that we always lived in the last place and called the Ultimat Underworks the whole generation (what he was) is according to the story of our founder: After losing his job and starting with the form, two boys in New York City do not start and start nothing.” “Wonderful Race The story was so authentic to the brand that it was a blow. “
Image Credit: Bookman’s 1802 courtesy
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Backman 1802’s next big Growth Milestone came shortly after the success of the co -founders Wonderful Race When the brand launched on TV retail. Traders recognized the platform’s ability to tell the story of Backman 1802 and sell its products, but they knew they had to come with a thorns to stop the audience in their tracks.
So the couple chose to bring the baby’s goats into the air.
“This is an interruption, and you stop. If you get the attention of people, you are more likely to sell something. It was a real trick that we still use today. Now we are the No. 1 Skinner brand that crosses the QVC and HSN.”
Backman 1802 continued the scale of beauty, target and Amazon. The upside -down rollout of this brand, which was appointed for about 1, 1500 stores, was in line with the pandemic and forced the co -founders to get their first foreign investment for the company.
Urezo, a leading global investment group, Achieved a controlling stake In the company with an investment of $ 62 million in 2021.
“You have to go back to the basic principles of what you take to make a great brand.”
The founders have learned a lot in their business in the past years. Although they enjoy watching Shark tankTV shows, where hope candidates can prepare their business ideas for a possible investment for judges, they warn the founders not to fall for what they call. Shark tank Impact ” – The belief that they cannot start a business without collecting money.
“What we get is that what we have received by collecting money, they never become a business,” says Kalmer Plusal. “They just become a fundraising business because they start collecting money and then a few months later, they collect more money, and then they have to raise more money – and they get better in raising their business more than running.”
Looking at this style, businessmen were encouraged to write Goat And share the lesson they have learned with the world.
“There are many ways of business with good business where you can make money,” but if you want a great business that inheritance and last, you will have to go back to the taxes that require the basic principles that require a great brand. “
According to the Ridge, the scannar and physical care space is a key key, as the copy kate products will be difficult to stand in the sealed market with similar offers.
“The world does not need another vitamin C cream,” Ridge explained. “There are already a thousand vitamin C serum. What is the real innovation? How do you bring users something new that will improve their lives?”
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The co -founders say that the actual process of kindness that came with the opportunity to host the farmer John and his goats, says the Backman 1802 driving force.
The company has provided millions of dollars worth of products and financial support to hundreds of reasons. This brand has also established a favor: a group of scannar material creators and community influence that “is fond of spreading kindness to the skin, animals, community and planets.”
“Selling the product is the next level level,” says Ridge, “because we know that if we are able to spread kindness, its products (people) will be more important. “