Routine Rolls Out Not-So-Routine Natural Deodorants To More Than 1,000 Stores Worldwide
In December 2011, Neige Blair was trying to print labels, but her printer wouldn’t cooperate. As the problem persisted and sweat started to coat her armpits, she didn’t smell bad because she was wearing her homemade deodorant, the very deodorant she needed labels for.
The aluminum-free formula withstood the tough test and, luckily, Blair’s sister-in-law Pippa showed up at her house amid the printer mishap and was able to troubleshoot. The next day, with the labels complete, the pair launched the deodorant brand Routine at artist market Market Collective in Alberta, Canada.
Since then, the brand has entered more than 1,000 stores in the U.A.E., U.K., Canada and U.S., where Credo has picked up five of its deodorants, including Like A Boss and Cat Lady, and stocks an exclusive Credo Mini Pit Kit. Routine’s revenues have doubled annually, and it has been selling millions of products. The Blairs declined to specify the brand’s exact turnover.
“I was first really drawn in by the cute product names and, then, received a box of samples for the office to try. I have never received so much positive feedback about a deodorant,” says Credo director of merchandising and planning Michelle Connelly. “Almost unanimously, the office voted Routine the most effective clean deodorant they had ever tried.”
Routine’s deodorants are packaged in glass jars, meant to be applied with fingers, and come in various scents and formulas. There are vegan, sensitive skin and activated charcoal options. Alanis Morissette is a fan.
At $28 to $30, Connelly notes customers can be hesitant to buy Routine’s deodorants because they’re pricey in a deodorant segment in which Secret can be purchased for less than $5, but the price barrier is overcome when they try the products. Sampling has been critical to Routine’s business at Credo.
“I was first really drawn in by the cute product names and, then, received a box of samples for the office to try. I have never received so much positive feedback about a deodorant. Almost unanimously, the office voted Routine the most effective clean deodorant they had ever tried.”
“When it comes to deodorant, efficacy seems to trump all for our customers,” says Connelly. “Routine’s success is a great example of how powerful sampling can be. After they participated in our sampling program, the brand had a huge spike in sales and has maintained a leadership position in the category ever since.”
Routine’s presence at Credo is a long way from its humble beginnings. Neige and Pippa each pitched in 250 Canadian dollars to bring the brand to life.
“Then, every time we sold our product, we would put a certain percentage back into the company from those sales, and we’d grow it from that, just from the money we made,” says Neige. “And the company sustained itself while we made the product in a community health services-approved kitchen for three years.”
The Blairs struggled with what to do to grow their brand. Should they build their own facility and obtain investment for equipment? Or should they turn to an outside manufacturer? They decided on an outside manufacturer.
“For us, that was the most economical way without having to take out any investors,” explains Neige. “We explored investors, but it wasn’t us because we didn’t want anyone else to say what to do with our company. We wanted 100% control.”
Funding was necessary, though, because Routine had to pay the manufacturer in advance. Neige and Pippa joined District Ventures, an accelerator that invests 150,000 Canadian dollars in 10 Canadian food, beverage, health and wellness entrepreneurs twice yearly in exchange for minority stakes. With the help of District Ventures, the Blairs discovered a community of similar businesses, and encountered opportunities to be mentors and panel speakers.
“It’s a really interesting time right now. You have the plastic straw thing, but what about all the other plastic?”
Neige says, “We’ll do sold-out shows for people to just hear our story because people feel like it’s so out of reach to start a business, but you just have to find a hole in the marketplace and create something you’d actually love and use.”
Routine identified a hole in the market initially because of what Neige was looking to buy for herself. She sought an environmentally-friendly and effective natural deodorant. Routine’s glass jar is ecologically-motivated. It’s reusable, and the brand offers a refill program in Canada that it would like to expand.
“We have our reasons for it being in the pot,” says Neige. “We know a stick could do really well, but there are less environmental repercussions and less bacterial spread with a pot, and a lot less plastic in a glass jar.”
Routine’s goal is to build upon its eco-conscious positioning and spread refill stores to cities in the U.S. and Canada. Neige says. “It’s a really interesting time right now. You have the plastic straw thing, but what about all the other plastic?”
