Michael Galef and Jim Ford join the company as the vice president of marketing and vice president of sales, respectively. The pair will spearhead the new sales initiative and will introduce new packaging design and prepare for the debut of a prenatal product offering as part of Rainbow Light's brand evolution.
Efficiency and effectiveness
The new distribution model will be both more efficient and will put Rainbow Light in better contact with its customers, Galef told NutraIngedinets-USA.
“We are increasing our field coverage exponentially. We used to have a network of approximately 25 individual brokers, which made it difficult to execute efficiently. With our new national broker, Natural and Specialty Sales, we now have sales and educational representation blanketing the entire US,” he said.
The company said the new sales model doubles the company's sales force by combining a broker network, internal sales and education team. The new model provides accessibility, improved communication and service in every region nationwide.
“It offers customers direct engagement and an in-depth knowledge of the benefits of Rainbow Light's first-class product, while reaching a mass audience with skilled representatives,” Ford said.
Multiple mediums
Along with traditional advertising, Rainbow Light will make heavy use of social media, contests and face-to-face events, Galef said.
“We leverage all three mediums to engage with our ambassadors internally and externally, with a strong focus on digital media consumers, and reinvigorated marketing programs for retail sales. With the same media spend as last year we have increased our impressions more than two-fold. Our in-store contests will help excite and persuade consumers and drive them to the shelves, while our sales team will help tailor these promotions to fit customers’ needs,” he said.
Galef and Ford will help lead a rebranding and repackaging effort. The new bottle design is something the company calls “a sleek tube suitable for all sales channels.” And it will feature a new circular logo. The new packaging’s launch will coincide with the introduction of a new prenatal product in the fall, Galef said.
Protecting the legacy
A key to the effort is to throw the baby out with the bathwater, Galef said. The new branding was developed with Rainbow Light’s long positivie market history in mind.
“We were the first natural supplement company to introduce food-based vitamins. Now, dozens of companies have followed us in that arena. We were also the first, and still only, national brand to package our product in 100% recyclable BPA-free bottles up-cycled from 100% existing fibers, which has decreased our carbon footprint by over 90%,” Galef said.
“We now have a sales model that spends more time in-store, making sure the consumer experience is unique and provides superior education. We know an educated consumer is our best customer and that will be critically important for us as sales expand,” he said.