A Blooming Success Story

First Published In: B&T Magazine Date: October 15, 2004 Author: Camille Alarcon Comment by: Karl Treacher

Eschewing more traditional marketing techniques, such as TV and print advertising and going for more theatrical in store demonstrations, Natalie Bloom has built her eponymous brand into an international household name for many women.

Bloom is not your average young entrepreneur. She didn't plan on becoming a multi-millionaire when she started her hobby selling home-made cards and gift ideas to small stores. But 10 years later she's juggling motherhood and a business empire.

The Bloom brand is probably best understood through the character 'Miss Bloom' who is printed across the packaging of the company's various products. She is positioned as a sassy, fashion-forward, modern woman, perhaps much like her creator.

When people talk about the Bloom brand they often attribute its allure to its "funky", "playful" and quality offering, which could explain its rise among the ranks of celebrity users such as Kylie Minogue, Liv Tyler and a string of supermodels.

Founder of brand consultancy Brand Behaviour, Karl Treacher, says the success of Bloom has a lot to do with the fact that its founder released a product before it even became a brand and offered characteristics that resembled her own personality.

"If you look at Richard Branson [Virgin] he has a great range of products and he's known for his innovation. He's a fun-loving guy who started a record company and turned it into a multi-million dollar empire. If you look at a lot of successful companies, they have a direct correlation with the founder and this is important, otherwise its life[span] would be short."

Treacher adds that in Bloom's case she has a "quirky and non-conventional" quality which means that there's "really no effort required to continue her brand potency".

"The brand has absolutely taken off. It sort of just happened, there appeared to be no warning... sometimes you've got to be in the right place at the right time, but you also have to be in the right frame of mind, and the outlook of Bloom is very timely," Treacher says.

Bloom's first foray into the world of business began in 1993 when at just 22 she approached Myer to sell her candle-making kit. It was distributed nationally and a year later launched into David Jones.

Now Bloom stocks both department stores with everything from cosmetics and lip gloss to bath gels and hand creams, with 70% of the company's output exported to Asia, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and parts of Europe.

A turning point for the company occurred in 1997 when it developed a lip gloss and today 80% of its turnover comes from cosmetics.

"The lip gloss was the beginning of the cosmetics range and it evolved product by product from there. It was a slow evolution into a fully developed cosmetic line," Bloom says.

She adds that Bloom has been experiencing an overall growth at approximately 10%.

"However our retail sales figures are now increasing at approximately 20% in both David Jones and Myer stores due to an increase in our marketing activity at store level," Bloom says.

Myer luxury cosmetics and fragrances buyer Frank Kavanagh says over the years Bloom has continued to increase its sales and range of products.

"[The brand] is funky, fun and innovative. Bloom seems to be more intuitive with the current market. They're very hands on and fly close to the ground, keeping track of customer trends."

Kavanagh says the products are usually located in reasonably high traffic areas attracting the high impulse buyer and occupy a niche price point below those of prestige brands.

He adds that the brand image is helped by the way it is sold in stores where there's always "a bit of theatre"involved in product demonstrations and eventing.

Bloom says she has never used TV or print advertising to promote the brand because she doesn't believe they are the most effective ways to communicate "to the niche brand consumer". Instead she has made extensive use of PR agencies and editorial endorsements.

She also believes the fact that Bloom is an Australian brand on the Australian market-and is madeprincipally with essential oils and aromatherapy-is a good point of difference, particularly in a market cluttered with international brands.

"Obviously we're wanting to grow our business, but within the niche [beauty] market. We're more concerned with getting more depth through the doors of our suppliers than reaching the mass market,"Bloom says.

But now as a mother of a two-year-old and four-month-old twins, she has had to make the difficult decision to take a step away from the day-to-day running of the business.

"It's been a challenging time and has forced me to step back a little and put in place a more experienced team of people," she explains. "It's been a great learning experience and has probably been for the best because the former structure was limited in terms of growth prospects because I was always at the head. Now I am able to work more strategically for the business."