Ever thought you can sell cow’s manure on the Web and profit from it? Annie Haven is doing it, and doing it well.
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Haven’s family has been producing livestock since 1924, priding themselves as raising natural grass-fed livestock. Long before organic farming became in vogue, they raise their livestock free of antibiotics, growth hormones and pesticides.
Aside from livestock, Haven’s family business has been supplying local farmers with fertilizers, made from manure of their animals in their farms. However, as farmlands turn to suburban housing, Haven needed to find a different market for their fertilizers. They decided to expand their market by selling on the web.
Authentic Haven Brand Natural Brew http://www.ahavenbrand.com was born.
To succeed in selling animal manure as fertilizers on the Web, Haven had to do things differently.
First, Haven did not call their products “fertilizer”. Instead, their products are called “natural soil conditioner tea” and three variants are offered, namely, alfalfa for roses, cow manure and horse manure. There’s nothing inherently interesting or fascinating with manures or fertilizers; but “natural soil conditioner tea,” now that’s something else.
Calling the products soil conditioner tea is also aimed at lowering the barrier of customer resistance to the products, as the name describes the benefits of the product and not what they are commonly known. It’s all about changing the negative perception of the products, and lowering the “yuck” factor of buying manure on the Web. But more than anything, it is just great Web writing and product presentation, making you want to know more and buy the products.
Second, the products are cleverly designed and packaged for its target customers, the health conscious and green minded customers. The products are packaged in 3×5 inches brewing pouches. Customers will then “brew” the manure products by placing the pouch in 1 to 5 gallon container of water, which can then be used to water the plants.
Through clever marketing and understanding of their customer base, sales of Haven’s fertilizers continue to grow by as much as 30 percent every year since 2005, according to Inc Magazine.
Who knew that people would actually pay $21.95 for cow’s manure on the Web?
