Growing on up

I hardly know how to start this post. These past 6 months have been a complete whirlwind. I feel pretty much like I have been through the equivalent of boot camp, but for small businesses who literally have to make life-changing decisions and grow their businesses, in what feels like, overnight.

We have been sharing sneak peeks of some of the new things we have been working on (did you see the new packaging?!). The new boxes, with the fun details and pinstripes on the inside make opening up our products feel even more like a gift to yourself or family! Weeeee!

I started Zoe Organics in my kitchen, nearly 5 years ago, with the vision of building a truly authentic, transparent company that offered our customers 100% organic and natural remedies and solutions for their families' skincare and lifestyle needs. We started with baby and pregnancy products - for the period of life when development is most vulnerable to toxins. We have continued to grow and expand, providing multi-functional solutions for the whole family - while maintaining our fierce commitment to the purity and quality of our ingredients, formulas and packaging.

This past fall, I had to make a big decision with regards to the growth of Zoe Organics. I was presented with the opportunity to make Zoe Organics much more available to our customers by partnering with a retailer in a new initiative that is right up our alley. The problem was, the kind of quantities we needed to be able to produce (and continue to produce) were far greater than anything we had done in the past, nor would we be able to scale to quickly. 

At the end of 2014, we began courting a small, women-owned, USDA certified organic manufacturer, here in the good 'ol USA. We spent countless hours discussing our ingredients, processes, suppliers and producing samples that were exactly like those we were making by hand in our studio. We also looked at ways their experienced chemists could improve upon some of our processes to produce an even more dreamy texture or swap out a similarly performing oil so we could reduce the cost of the product for our customers, without compromising the quality or performance whatsoever. We looked at quality control, testing, and good manufacturing practices. And then I signed the dotted line for a purchase order that made my little heart race. 

This past week, two huge freight trucks left our manufacturer's loading dock filled with Zoe Organics. The destination of these trucks will be announced on April 10. Another truck was loaded up last week to be delivered to our own warehouse.

So what does this mean?! For you it means that you will be able to enjoy the same formulas, with the same ingredients from our same suppliers, made with loving care (did I mention that our manufacturer instantly fell in love with our products and makes them as if they were her own?), and beginning late Spring, our products will officially be USDA certified organic. You will be able to purchase them from us or from our list of retailers without the longer lead times it has been taking for us to make them by hand. Beginning in April, you will also have more options for where to purchase them.

For us, this means getting to focus our efforts on providing the best customer experience possible, new product development, giving back to our community and fostering meaningful partnerships. As mom to 3 (ages 3, 6 and 8) who has been hands on for EVERY. SINGLE. BATCH. of product we have ever produced; working with a manufacturer is both liberating and nerve-wracking. I'm not going to lie. My quality standards for these products would intimidate any manufacturer, but we at Zoe Organics, will not compromise. That's a promise.

Not every one of our products will be manufactured right away. We have transitioned 9 of our products to the manufacturer and will be working on a few more this Spring/Summer. Some of our products will continue to be produced in-house, like our Baby Bath Tea, Bath Soak, gift sets and limited edition items. We are also in the process of finishing up our new packaging, so please bare with us if some of your items arrive in new decorative boxes and others don't. We will have the rest of the boxes finished and consistent by May. 

So there you have it. The next season of Zoe Organics is upon us and we are exceedingly grateful to you, our customers, fans and friends for helping to make this happen.

We are growing on up...and it's oh so good!

xo

Heather