An Entrepreneurial Success Story – Sambazon

The other day, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about Sambazon. I thought that the tenacious Black brothers could teach all entrepreneurs something about tenacity and about understanding how to create a market for products. To read the entire WSJ article about the Black’s click on this link.

Background

Brothers Ryan and Jeremy Black were on a surfing trip to Brazil in 1999 when they ran across the acai berries. Ryan and Jeremy noticed that locals downed bowls of frozen purple mush made from berries that grew atop palm trees that were called, “the trees of life”. The locals believe that these berries possess incredible health benefits for humans.

Ryan Black sensed açaí would appeal to mainstream U.S. consumers craving healthier fare. He and his brother raised $100,000 from friends and family and began setting up an infrastructure in Brazil to harvest açaí organically and do it in a way that protected the rain forest and promoted fair trade. The problem was, almost no one in the U.S. knew what açaí was -- or even how to pronounce it, for that matter. So how could they get their story out with no real marketing budget?

The answer was, essentially, to be traveling professors/evangelists for the obscure fruit. They decided to personally teach the nation what açaí was all about, by visiting stores and giving the stuff away.

From the beginning, the Black brothers hit music and environmental festivals and marathons, setting up booths and building a grass-roots following. They canvassed smoothie vendors, their first customer base, blending açaí into drinks, leaving literature behind and hawking their broader mission.

Sambazon, now has 100 employees. The San Clemente, Calif., company's sales totaled about $12 million in 2006, and the Blacks this year expect sales to increase by 50%, and to turn a profit. Their products are distributed at such stores as Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Jamba Juice, as well as many conventional grocery chains, while Sambazon açaí is found in hundreds of other companies' products, including those of Stonyfield Farm and Häagen-Dazs.

Even though Sambazon has broken through and now sells its products into mainstream retail outlets the company has continued on with its marketing approach which involves giving away a lot of samples to the public. Sambazon spent $500,000 last year on store demos, sometimes doing 50 a week.

Top retail executives took note. "Typically, smaller companies don't have payroll to compete with bigger players who can kick in money for advertising," says Chris Jacoby, a category manager for Albertsons grocery stores. "But Sambazon has been first-class in terms of setting up demos. I run into their reps in our stores more than any other company." Adds Whole Foods Market Inc. president Walter Robb: "Guys like this, you keep an eye on." (quotes from WSJ article)

Lessons:

What can we learn from Sambazon’s success?

1. Entrepreneurs must be passionate about their products.

2. Entrepreneurs must sell their products in terms of benefit to the consumer.

3. Hang in there. Entrepreneurs must be tenacious in the face of obstacles.

4. Be creative in your marketing, communications, and PR efforts.

5. Spend your marketing, communications, and PR resources wisely, strategically, and to achieve high impact.

I think that lessons #4 and #5 are two keys to success. They Black brothers have taken a thought leadership role with regard to their product. They educate rather than create glossy and expensive ad campaigns. This differs from a large company like (for example) Coca Cola which, if it were the first to launch the sale of acai berries in the U.S., has the resources to kick off the campaign with a multi million dollar ad campaign in order to raise awareness among the public. But for a small company like Sambazon creating a grassroots knowledge of product benefits by marketing the product to the right audience is the smart way to spend their marketing dollars. And, as we can see, it has worked.

I found the article about Sambazon to be both motivational and chock full of great ideas for entrepreneurs. Remember that spending your marketing dollars wisely is one key to entrepreneurial success.