Background
RAER Scents, a growing fragrance brand, found themselves with surplus perfume ingredients and packaging. Like many businesses, they faced the dilemma of what to do with unsold materials that were destined to be a costly waste. Ted, the owner of RAER Scents, realized the ingredients were still valuable but didn’t have a clear way to use or sell them. Destroying the batch would cost around €800, a loss that would also negatively impact the environment.
That’s where Arkive stepped in.
Challenges
- Excess Inventory: Leftover perfume ingredients and packaging that couldn’t be sold on traditional channels.
- Sustainability: Destroying the unused materials would lead to waste, costing the company €800, and contributing to their carbon footprint.
- New Sales Channels: RAER needed innovative ways to repurpose or sell the unsold inventory without losing value.
Solution with Arkive
Ted uploaded his unsold materials onto Arkive, where the platform’s repurposing and sales features came into play. Arkive connected him with Rodja, a well-known influencer and salon owner who had long wanted to launch her own brand of products. With a shared vision of sustainability and passive income generation, they formed a partnership through Arkive’s platform.
The Plan
- 500 Units: Rodja and RAER agreed to produce 500 units of a new product line using the leftover perfume ingredients.
- Promotion: Rodja leveraged her personal brand and social media following to promote the product, collecting pre-orders online and in her salons.
-
Sales Timeline:
- October: PR by Rodja begins.
- November: Pre-ordering online and in The Hair Life.
- December: Sales peak during the holiday season.
- January: Leftover units sold at a discounted rate.
The Gains
This collaboration yielded impressive results, turning what could have been a financial and environmental loss into a circular, profitable venture:
- Cost of Goods: By using the remaining batch of materials, RAER’s cost of production per unit was €20. Producing all 500 units cost Ted €10,000.
- Saved Destruction Costs: Instead of paying €800 to destroy the unsold materials, the ingredients were repurposed into a new product line.
- Total Revenue: Products sold at €89 per unit, generating a total revenue of €44,500.
-
Profit Breakdown:
- RAER recouped the €10,000 production costs.
- Rodja spent €4,500 on marketing and earned €15,000 in profit for her own brand.
- Arkive and RAER split fairly €7,500 for their efforts.
Results
- Profit Instead of Loss: RAER Scents turned a potential waste of €800 into a €10,000 production budget and a revenue of €44,500.
- New Markets and Reach: Ted expanded into a new customer base, reaching Rodja’s followers and salon clients.
- Sustainability Wins: RAER made its inventory circular, reducing waste and collecting valuable CO2 data for future improvements.
Conclusion
Through Arkive’s platform, RAER Scents utilized the EcoStart Plan, which provides one user per account and access to a single sales channel. Since RAER Scents was producing just one upcycled product, one channel sufficed. To avoid brand cannibalism, offering discounts was not an option. After uploading the ingredients, Arkive assigned them to various producers and multiple sales channels. As Ted sought growth, collaborating with an influencer who had an established sales point and could sell the new product made strategic sense. Thanks to Arkive, Ted avoided the costly destruction of materials and found a profitable and sustainable solution through his collaboration with Rodja. The innovative inventory management, new sales channels, and eco-friendly approach provided by Arkive helped both brands maximize their profits while minimizing their environmental impact.
Takeaway
For businesses facing challenges with unsold inventory or excess materials, Arkive offers a practical solution to repurpose products, open new sales channels, and enhance sustainability. RAER Scents’ success demonstrates how businesses can convert potential losses into gains—both financially and environmentally.
Want to turn your unsold inventory into profit?
Sign up for Arkive 2.0 today! The first 50 registrations get a free 6-month EcoBoost Plan.