5 Ways Burlap & Barrel Have Upped Their E-Commerce Game

With the loss of wholesale orders to restaurants shutdown by Covid-19, Burlap & Barrel, has quickly adapted to selling its single origin, equitably sourced collection of unique spices to home cooks, which nearly everyone has become these days. Yet reaching these newly-minted home cooks can't be done by solely relying on grocery stores, especially as shoppers now have a "get in and get out" mentality.

Instead, Burlap & Barrel zeroed in on their direct-to-consumer offerings to get their spices into the hands, and pans, of consumers looking for ways to liven up their meals. Co-founder Ori Zohar shared a few tips that he's learned from building their fast-growing e-commerce presence.

1. Let Visitors Know You're Open: It sounds obvious, but customers want to make sure that your business is up and running before they invest time shopping. Zohar said that makers can address this by adding a banner at the top of their website that lets visitors know that you're open and whether you're running behind on shipping.

2. Focus on Existing Customers: Your best customer is your existing customer, Zohar said, so do things to keep them coming back by sending reorder reminders and sending out newsletters every week or two. Zohar and his co-founder Ethan also make themselves available through the website's chat function. (Yes, it's actually them and not chatbots.)

3. Free Shipping: No one wants to pay for shipping, so figure out at what level that works for your business to cover shipping costs. Burlap & Barrel set their limit at $45 and just about all of their spice sets retail for just over that.

4. Recover and Upsell:People leave your site all the time before checking out, so make sure you can bring them back. Zohar says that most e-commerce platforms have built-in options for cart abandonment emails and even retargeting ads. Oh and since they're already shopping, why not suggest a few other products that they might like?

5. Make it Fun: Burlap & Barrel has a dedicated Facebook group for recipes where their customers can ask questions about cooking with spices or share how they used the spices in different meals. Burlap & Barrel also shares cooking playlists on Spotify. (Zohar creates new playlists while working and cooking in his own home.)

Want to chat more with Ori about e-commerce? Sign up for his webinar on May 12. Or just sent him a chat on burlapandbarrel.com.

Foodboro is reaching out to members and makers in our community to learn how they are coping with demand and delivery in these uncertain days. Read more stories here. Want to share your experience of how your brand is navigating the ups and downs of COVID-19? Send us an email at makers@foodboro.com!

With the loss of wholesale orders to restaurants shutdown by Covid-19, Burlap & Barrel, has quickly adapted to selling its single origin, equitably sourced collection of unique spices to home cooks, which nearly everyone has become these days. Yet reaching these newly-minted home cooks can't be done by solely relying on grocery stores, especially as shoppers now have a "get in and get out" mentality.

Instead, Burlap & Barrel zeroed in on their direct-to-consumer offerings to get their spices into the hands, and pans, of consumers looking for ways to liven up their meals. Co-founder Ori Zohar shared a few tips that he's learned from building their fast-growing e-commerce presence.

1. Let Visitors Know You're Open: It sounds obvious, but customers want to make sure that your business is up and running before they invest time shopping. Zohar said that makers can address this by adding a banner at the top of their website that lets visitors know that you're open and whether you're running behind on shipping.

2. Focus on Existing Customers: Your best customer is your existing customer, Zohar said, so do things to keep them coming back by sending reorder reminders and sending out newsletters every week or two. Zohar and his co-founder Ethan also make themselves available through the website's chat function. (Yes, it's actually them and not chatbots.)

3. Free Shipping: No one wants to pay for shipping, so figure out at what level that works for your business to cover shipping costs. Burlap & Barrel set their limit at $45 and just about all of their spice sets retail for just over that.

4. Recover and Upsell:People leave your site all the time before checking out, so make sure you can bring them back. Zohar says that most e-commerce platforms have built-in options for cart abandonment emails and even retargeting ads. Oh and since they're already shopping, why not suggest a few other products that they might like?

5. Make it Fun: Burlap & Barrel has a dedicated Facebook group for recipes where their customers can ask questions about cooking with spices or share how they used the spices in different meals. Burlap & Barrel also shares cooking playlists on Spotify. (Zohar creates new playlists while working and cooking in his own home.)

Want to chat more with Ori about e-commerce? Sign up for his webinar on May 12. Or just sent him a chat on burlapandbarrel.com.

Foodboro is reaching out to members and makers in our community to learn how they are coping with demand and delivery in these uncertain days. Read more stories here. Want to share your experience of how your brand is navigating the ups and downs of COVID-19? Send us an email at makers@foodboro.com!