Vermont Wagyu:
$1 Million in Online Beef Sales
Vermont Wagyu’s elite beef is raised on Spring-Rock Farm in the beautiful hills of Springfield, VT. Owner Dr. Sheila Patinkin is one of the country’s top breeders of DNA parent-certified 100% full-blood Wagyu (i.e., Japanese Black Cattle).
Vermont Wagyu delivers some of the best beef in the world to people who are passionate about cooking and consuming only the finest, cleanest foods. When Dr. Patinkin approached us, the business had stagnated. They were ready to transition from purely wholesale to include direct-to-consumer sales.
Today, Vermont Wagyu has sold more than $1 million of beef online, with an average order value of $250. The year we worked with them, their repeat order rate increased from 25% to 33%, and their email list grew from 200 to over 3,500 contacts. They now have 15,000 email subscribers and growing!
“The Taste Profit Marketing team’s all-around knowledge is just amazing. They can get you launched and pointed in the right direction.”
-Dr. Sheila Patinkin, Owner, Vermont Wagyu
How it Happened
Financial Planning and Budgeting
When we started, Dr. Patinkin didn’t have clear insight into how she was making money. Now, she understands her margins, sales goals, COGS, and understands how to hit her business budgets. She has the tools to forecast the farm’s performance and assess and improve its viability. Not to mention, she knows how to make wise marketing investments.
Defining the Brand's Audience
We identified how often customers order, average purchase price, number of repeat customers, demographics, and buying methods. Dr. Patinkin notes that this process was influential in the initial analysis of their stats from their e-commerce website.
Pricing Strategy
We coached the Vermont Wagyu team on setting a competitive pricing structure by researching their competitors’ pricing for similar quality products. This process boosted Dr. Patinkin’s confidence about charging more and reaching the margins she needed to be profitable.
Brand Messaging
We developed consistent brand messaging to tell the Vermont Wagyu story and explain what makes their product and farm practices different.
Website
We redesigned their WordPress website in Shopify, which provides powerful e-commerce functionality. Although the platform doesn’t offer the ability to sell by variable weight, the farm was able to package their products in flat amounts using multiple sizes per cut of beef.
Product Marketing
We developed bundles, gift boxes, and business gifts to provide customers with more value and options. A new product recommendation section (i.e., “You may also like”) at the bottom of each product page helps keeps shoppers engaged. Inventory tracking shows when products are out of stock and prevents overselling. This even works for the bundles: If one item runs out, the entire bundle is listed as “out of stock.”
Cold Shipping Strategy
We advised Dr. Patinkin on setting shipping zones and appropriate pricing for each, allowing her to ship nationwide. We targeted marketing efforts at audiences within the one and two-day ground shipping zones, which are the most profitable. Establishing a minimum order amount of $100 keeps costs in check, and a discount for orders over $250 encourages larger order values.
"Noah has really managed to keep himself up to speed with all the technological nuances…and its application to agriculture in particular. He understands the nuances of packaging, shipping, etc.”
-Dr. Sheila Patinkin, Owner, Vermont Wagyu
Email Marketing
First, we created a welcome email series for new subscribers to build trust and value. A popup for new visitors to the site advertised an incentive of 10% off first orders when they subscribed. This one-time discount encourages new customers to try the brand and helped grow the email list. To keep Vermont Wagyu top-of-mind with their audience, we generated regular seasonal campaigns promoting different products and sales.
Google Ads
We started Vermont Wagyu off with ads that displayed product information and a photo in Google search. Ads like this show exactly what products are for sale, driving more shoppers to the online store and increasing sales.
“If it hadn’t been for Noah and what he taught us, we would not be here today, I’m sure of that.”
-Dr. Sheila Patinkin, Owner, Vermont Wagyu
Lessons and Takeaways
1
Business success starts with having a clear picture of your numbers. Selling more won’t help if your products aren’t profitable in the first place. To get help with business planning, pricing strategy, strategic bookkeeping, and more check out our sister company.
2
Selling direct-to-consumer can help you increase margins and gain more control of your business, but it requires a pointed investment in marketing. Get help with marketing planning and e-commerce sites.
3
Strategic product marketing, such as featuring products on your homepage and creating product bundles, can help you sell more of your most profitable items and increase average order values.
4
Some business owners are afraid to offer discounts for fear of appearing like a cheap brand, but a discount for new email sign-ups can grow your contact list substantially. Make sure you have email automations set-up to engage your new subscribers’ attention and keep them invested. Check out how we can help with email marketing and automations.
Download our free template today to create your own automated email “welcome series”. You’ll get an outline for each email, plus instructions for how to create the automation in Mailchimp.