Business in Vancouver's "How I did it" feature asks business leaders to explain in their own words how they achieved a business goal in the face of significant entrepreneurial challenges. In this week's issue, Spencer Sheinin, president and owner of Surrey-based Norwood Packaging, tells how he shifted his business of making sunscreen and other cosmetics to pursue more prestigious brands.
"We kind of grew up as a private label company. We did a lot of store-branded [skin-care] products. We pretty much did products for every major retailer in Canada.
"A couple of years ago, we really started to see the limitations of the private label business. … They'll just put out to a half a dozen suppliers: 'We're looking for sun care for this year,' and everybody bids. You don't really get to develop a deep understanding of what they're after.
"We looked inside ourselves to see who we are as a company, and we really recognize that developing a deep and intimate customer relationship – that's in our DNA, that's who we are. And private label was really in conflict with that.
"About three years ago, we made the decision to move from private label to contract manufacturing, where we manufacture for the brands themselves.
"We felt we could actually help those customers build their brand and do a better job with their products through how we develop products with them.
"The challenge we found is that there are a lot of contract manufacturers out there, and a lot of them say the same thing about run size, about speed to market, about capabilities … The real challenge has been getting people to listen to us.
"We started getting really creative about getting in front of the customer, to show that we are different.
"With one customer, they described themselves as being very difficult to work with, so we sent them a Gumby figurine with a story about how we'll bend over backwards for you.
"We sent some companies in California a campaign with a beach towel and sunglasses and some of our sunscreen, saying just go to the beach for a day, because we'll take care of all the hard work for you.
"Just doing things that are a little unique and clever and just got them to say wow, that's even just a little bit different, having a little bit more fun.
"Then once we got into the process, we could really start to demonstrate our capabilities from the technical side, from the formulation side, from the project management side, and have them say, 'oh, you really are someone we want to do business with.'
"Even though we made the decision a few years ago, it took us quite a while to figure out how different that market was, and it was really only within the next quarter that we've secured a number of contracts that will double our business within the next couple of years." •
