It has been quite awhile since I have traveled anywhere. It wasn’t long ago that I was a fairly frequent flyer… just not in awhile. Yes, traveling is one of my favourite things but that’s not what I want to talk about.
So there I am in Nashville unpacking all my stuff and getting organized for the next few days. Now, for those of you who know me or those of you who don’t, but happened to read my blog “How Far Will You Go?” you know I am pretty loyal to good products and service. This means that I travel with my some of my favourite products, like shampoo. When I undid the lid to the shampoo I was enveloped in the aroma that hooked me on the shampoo and that convinced me to buy more from the same line. That’s when it hit me. I don’t smell that aroma when I use the shampoo at home any more. Why?
This got me to thinking about some of my other favourite brands/products that have reached a measure of success and then for some reason have strayed away from the very item that gave them that success. Again, I ask, “Why?”.
My thoughts are that it is poor market research/management/customer awareness/just plain stupidity and/or all of the afore mentioned.
OJON Hair Products
OJON Hair Products
There is no doubt in my mind that OJON leads the way with restorative hair products. I recently discovered they are sold on the Shopping Channel but I have been buying them from Sephora for years. According to the blurb their formulas are infused with a 500–year–old beauty secret found in the remote regions of Central America’s Rain Forest. That secret is ojon oil, a.k.a. “nature’s golden elixir”. It works. I love it! The best part though is the aroma. It is kind of nutty & butterscotchy and actually hard to define. It is not flowery or frilly or perfumey (all the things I hate in a product). I use the shampoo, the conditioner, the glossing cream, the treatment, the mist…I think you get the idea. I can’t get enough of that scent! Recently they have been promoting a new line for colour treated hair. Being a woman of a certain age I have to confess that yes I do colour my hair. Trusting this brand without question I purchased the shampoo and conditioner. I don’t know what Tahitian Monoi is, but it surely has overpowered any Ojon oil that might be in it. Several of the reviews on the website put it quite simply, “It smells awful”.
Why?
CAPRINA Fresh Goats Milk Liquid Hand Soap (Original Formula) by Canus
CAPRINA Fresh Goats Milk Liquid Hand Soap (Original Formula) by Canus
My husband is a diabetic. Several years ago we received in the mail samples from the Diabetic Society that included Caprina Fresh Goats Milk Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap. It is very important for diabetics to take care of their skin and prevent sores and infections whenever possible. If it was recommended by the Diabetic Society we figured that was good enough for us so we tried it. It is a superior product and it wasn’t long before we were using the body wash and the body lotion as well. We became huge fans for many reasons. Needless to say goat’s milk is their not so secret ingredient…a natural moisturizer. Yeah! Caprina products are “proudly” Canadian. Yeah! They are biodegradable and phosphate-free. Yeah! Caprina never tests its products on animals. Yeah! Very subtle almost imperceptible scent. Double Yeah!
They became very successful very quickly and we seldom had a problem finding the products where we shopped. We were customers for life. A few years ago we noticed these fancy P.O.P. Caprina “Stations” in the stores. There we found all the original products along with five other formulas of each item. Now whenever we go to one of these stores there stands this big structure housing all the products in all the lines filled to the brim except of course the “Original Formula” which is always sold out. In the spirit of fairness we tried each one of the formulas at least once (because the one we wanted was sold out). We would not buy any of them again. When we find the original formula we stock up, as I imagine others are doing the same and that is why they run out. Can they not see that none of the other five are moving anywhere near as fast as the original?
Why?
RJ’s Natural Soft Eating Licorice
RJ’s Natural Soft Eating Licorice
This is my confession. I am addicted to RJ’s Natural Soft Eating Licorice. I like black licorice and black licorice products. But you have not tasted what real licorice tastes like until you try RJ’s. I have never had softer or fresher licorice. I have most of my friends and family hooked on it too. RJ’s is a family run, hands on company in New Zealand. They have a great story, website, blog and even a facebook page. They are extremely involved in helping their community. They actually respond to you if you contact them! But first and foremost they have a stellar product.
My problem is not so much with them as it is with their distributor. So far in Canada the only place I have been able to find RJ’s is in Longo’s. At Christmas this year I intended to put some RJ’s in all my Christmas packages. It seems I am not the only one that wanted to stock up for Christmas. When I went to pick it up they were out. Now, RJ’s has a whole line of licorice products that I am sure are amazing but the only ones carried by Longo’s are the black and a red ones which turns out to be raspberry (again all natural flavouring). The shelves were stocked with the raspberry, no black. The area I lived in had 3 Longo’s (I say, “lived”, because we moved and there is not a Longo’s within an hours drive now. But that is another whole story). I visited those three stores twice a week for six weeks. I talked to the Managers who all had the same story. They were back ordered. What I noticed was that the raspberry remained on the shelf that whole time and longer. It was well past Christmas when I finally broke down and tried it. It was hard as a rock and tasted terrible. Please understand here, I am not saying it is a bad product. I am saying it was stale and old and obviously on the shelves way too long. Apparently, we Longo’s shoppers just aren’t into the red stuff as much. I did some research and found that the Canadian distributor is Husky Food Importers and Distributors Ltd. located in Woodbridge, ON. I contacted both RJ’s and the distributor at the same time. RJ’s responded almost immediately and Husky responded 3 days later. Husky’s only response was that they were indeed back ordered and had been for some time. By the time they responded I had found that RJ’s distributor in California, NZING (New Zealand Natural Goods), offers an online purchasing service. Hmmm, what a novel idea!
NZING also offers all of the RJ’s products. I have really wanted to try their Licorice All Sorts and just may now. So tell me, Husky why all the red licorice which obviously isn’t selling, none of the other products at all and still continually running out of the black licorice.
Why?
Yes, these are a few of my favourite things. Just tell me why I have to work so hard to spend my money on them? Why when something works, is popular and obviously sells well do you have to muck it up with stuff that doesn’t or isn’t?
Why?
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