A $10-a-day Google ad helped confirm that the founders of Hero Packaging had a product worth selling.
Hero Packaging’s Anaita Sarkar shares her tips:
- Test, test, test.
Hero Packaging used a $10-a-day Google ad to test demand before launching.
- Branding matters.
The brand’s colourful packaging helps them stand out.
- Create personal connections.
Humanising the brand has made Hero Packaging memorable.
Anaita Sarkar can recall exactly when inspiration first struck for her business, Hero Packaging. It was 2018 and, back then, she was working at her previous business – monogrammed accessories company Olivia & Co.
“We were getting 60 to 80 orders per day, which were all being packaged in plastic – bubble wrapped and then envelopes – when I realised I had to figure out another [packaging] solution,” says Sarkar, who was appalled by the environmental impacts.
Cardboard boxes ticked the sustainability box but were too expensive to ship, and paper mailers, while also good for the environment, weren’t waterproof. Yet, as Sarkar looked around for sustainable packaging options, it dawned on her that… there just weren’t any.
"I realised I had to figure out another solution."
“So, I contacted manufacturers trying to figure out what I could do as there wasn’t anything in the market that would work,” she says. Eventually, she found the perfect material (a compostable resin) and a manufacturer, and began using the sustainable mailers at Olivia & Co.
They were a hit – and, soon after, she turned to her husband and co-founder, Vikram Davé, and said: “I wonder if other businesses would be interested in using these too?”
Fast forward four years, and there’s little doubt that Australian businesses have embraced Hero Packaging and its sustainable mailers.
Today, the business has sold nearly 20 million mailers and boasts a base of 41,000 customers in Australia (more than 600 in North America), revenue of $5m, and a market valuation of $15m.
The couple has also just finished crowdfunding through Equitise, raising $1.5m with a 10 per cent equity share.
"Out of 700 investors, 600 are our customers."
“Out of the 700 investors, 600 are our customers,” says Sarkar. “It’s cool to see that our customers have a vested interest in our success, and we can also bounce ideas off them to co-create products and make improvements.”
Always test, test, test before starting
Sarkar believes much of her success comes from testing early.
Before officially launching the business, the couple set up a landing page offering free mailers, and took out a $10-a-day Google Ad targeting people searching for sustainable packaging. They also collected the emails of those interested.
“Overnight, we had 1000 sign-ups, and I saw that this was a business in and of itself,” says Sarkar.
"If there's no demand, there’s no point."
Looking back, she adds that the Google Ads test helped prove that demand existed. “I didn’t launch a product before determining there was a market for it,” she says. “If there is no demand, there’s no point.”
She advises setting up a basic landing page and taking out some targeted Google Ads as a first step: “Even if you have a small budget, find a way to test demand.”
Getting the branding beautiful
Other tips for success include getting the aesthetics of the brand – whatever that may be – right.
“If you look at the websites of [many businesses] selling mailers, they’re boring and look like static B2B websites,” says Sarkar. “We decided our site would be bright and fun, and our mailers would come in an array of colours. We now have so many that anyone can link their brand colours to our packaging – we’re the colourful ones in a sea of yellow, red, black and white!”
Create personal connections
Humanising the service or product also goes a long way.
“A lot of the time, business owners hide behind their product – that’s a mistake,” warns Sarkar. “The moment you humanise a brand by putting a face to it, you personalise the customer experience.”
“A lot of the time, business owners hide behind their product – that’s a mistake."
Sarkar says all emails from Hero Packaging come from her, and the website features videos of her talking about the products and business. “It’s important to talk to customers when you’re the owner: it just creates that connection.”
For those wanting to take a leap into establishing their own business, Sarkar says to stay open to every opportunity: “just say yes – you’ll figure it out later”.
“You may fail but you’ll learn along the way,” she adds, “but if you’re a perfectionist, you won’t move forward and someone will just beat you to it.”
Afterpay as a key payment option
For Sarkar, incorporating Afterpay in 2019 came with an immediate 20 per cent jump in sales.
“Afterpay was absolutely booming and we wanted a part of it,” she says, adding that in the past 12 months alone, sales through Afterpay have made up seven per cent of Hero Packaging’s overall sales.
“I would highly recommend it to any business – I also use Afterpay for another business I run, a marketing forum and playbook for owners – because if you don’t have it as a payment option, it’s a detriment to your business,” says Sarkar.
“Without it, our sales just wouldn’t be what they are today.”
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