As the head honcho of new, small, product based business, "Black Friday" is perhaps the most intimidating phrase I've come across so far. The holidays are daunting enough-- especially this being our first with a brick-and-mortar shop.
One of the purposes of Black Friday from a retailer point of view is to move excess stock before the new year. We've been open for 8 months and only just reached a healthy level of inventory to be a functioning gift shop-- we have no 'excess' to speak of.
Most of the products we receive are made in small batches and restocking takes time. A lot of our merchandise has lead times of weeks-- or once it sells out it's just... gone. At least for a while.
A great example is the spices: only so many spices harvested in a given season, and when it's out, we wait for more. If we did the traditional "30% off everything!!" sale we would surely have a successful day, but would be out of most of our inventory until Christmas Day.
As a small shop, our strategies have to be a little unconventional. The best way we've found to participate this Black Friday is to do what we do best: gift.
For each day this week, every order over $75 will receive a free jar of Diaspora Co. spices.
~ Monday 11/20 & Tuesday 11/21 - Pragati Turmeric
~ Wednesday 11/22 & Thursday 11/23 - Aranya Black Pepper
~ Friday 11/24 - Hariyali Fennel
~ Saturday 11/25 Anamalai Nutmeg
~ Sunday 11/26 Whatever is left!
Why Diaspora Co. Spice Jars?
It gives us a chance to introduce you to one of our favorite brands and helps us to further support their growth as a sustainable and ethical company (which is what we're all about here!). Sana (Diaspora Co.'s fearless founder & CEO) is a total inspiration to me as a business owner and human in general and one of my favorite aspects of learning about the brands we carry is that it's teaching me a lot about how I would like to run and grow my business.
Back in early summer, we ordered Diaspora Co spices in their glass jars in increments of 24. They've recently redesigned their packaging to these incredible tins that really show off the vibrancy of their brand. The good news is that we've collectively been obsessed with the new packaging and have had problems keeping up with demand!
That being said, the glass jars have since stopped getting attention next to their bright and colorful counterparts, despite being on sale. So, in the spirit Black Friday's original purpose -- to turnover excess stock before year's end -- we are gifting a free jar of spice with each purchase over $75 this week. (I should probably add *while supplies last, but we have about 60 jars left and genuinely I would be beyond stunned if we ran out this week.)
So, while we can't offer a traditional Black Friday deal this year, we still want to express our gratitude for all the support we've received so far in our first year of business! We are a small business carrying products by small businesses and it's incredible to see how immediate the trickle-down effect is. In just a few months we've been able to place bigger orders, more frequently to a growing rolodex of brands, including Diaspora Co., that are innovating what and how we consume.