— By Mandy Nowels —
Pivoting an experience-based brand online during quarantines and lockdowns: how The Spice & Tea Exchange quickly shifted focus from experiential to e-commerce.
By April of 2020, 97% of our spice and tea specialty retail stores had been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Some had to shut their doors completely for a few weeks or months, while many others had to reduce hours and only offer curbside pickup and local delivery. As a franchise system, we had to ensure two things immediately: that our franchise owners could continue to bring money in and that our loyal customer base had access to the premier teas, spices, blends, sugars, salts and accessories they’ve come to love and crave.
One of the first steps we took was having the executive team call every franchise operator in our system. We wanted them to hear straight from our leadership that The Spice & Tea Exchange is a nimble company, working tirelessly to pivot so they profit. Leaders in our corporate office immediately launched a COVID-19 response team to provide guidance on the pandemic as well as new revenue channels, with a heavy focus on e-commerce opportunities.
Coming in to 2020, The Spice & Tea Exchange was already up over year’
We attribute the jump in sales to a few things: constant communication with our franchise owners, pivoting the marketing and social media focus, re-shuffling our product offering to fit the moment, and moving the unique in-person experience The Spice & Tea Exchange offers online.
Pivoting the Marketing & Social Media Focus
As the world changed with the pandemic, so did our guests’ tastes. As with most specialty retailers, we quickly realized that certain items were selling at a more accelerated rate on our website than others. Specifically, our recipe packs, wellness and immune boosting teas, and steepable spices saw large gains in online ordering.
Giving the Customers What They Want
While the franchisees were working on local bundles, the corporate office introduced its “Send a Little Sunshine” gift box for online customers looking to send some surprise sunshine to family and loved ones.
Moving the “In-Person” Experience Online
In normal times, we encourage all of our guests to ‘open the jars and smell’ and truly indulge all five of their senses as they explore the shop. This in-person, sensory experience was gone in an instant, so we had to think of creative ways for guests to continue exploring our products from their homes. Many franchise operators and the internal corporate team went “live” to social media to promote product, share recipes and offer tips to get guests cooking more at home.
Retailers across the globe are shifting how they’re doing business. If you can take the experience you provide and offer it online, you’re adding a brand new revenue stream and widening your customer base.
— Mandy Nowels is vice president of marketing and e-commerce at The Spice & Tea Exchange. This article originally appeared as the August 2020 cover story of Retail & Restaurant Facility Business magazine.