Summer Sales Trends

Natural is in this year, along with dips, BBQ sauce, and who bought up all that potato salad mix?

It’s been another one of those hectic months here in Big Bear Lake, California. While the rest of the nation has been hammered with an assortment of weather calamities, we continue to enjoy mild 70-to-78-degree daytime temperatures, combined with cool breezes off the lake, and an occasional afternoon summer shower. Somehow, it’s difficult to convince family that life is a challenge here at 7,000 feet above sea level!

The challenge comes because of the lingering sluggish economy. Our vacation rental business has suffered, since there are a limited number of families with enough disposable income for a summer vacation this year. Therefore, we are fortunate that people continue to buy Watkins products.

In fact, they are buying in big numbers, thanks to the power of Internet marketing and advertising. Even though we hear that 100s of websites are cropping up every day, the number of our new Watkins customers continues to grow. Just recently, a customer from Washington state ordered 12 jars of Watkins Ultra-rich Hand Cream (our top selling product last year; yes, even more than WatkinsOriginal Double-Strength Vanilla). Yet another big sale came from a gentleman back east, who ordered a gallon of the Watkins vanilla. Perhaps he is a baker or food industry professional involved in volume food production.

Big Bear locals have come to view our Watkins booth as a constant fixture at the weekly Big Bear farmer’s market, producing a steady flow of customers every Tuesday. But sales slow toward the end of the month, then pick up at the start of the following month as payroll, pension and Social Security checks arrives in the mail. Even though we accept credit cards, farmer’s marketeers -- as we like to call them --tend to be a cash-and-carry bunch. What are they buying? Dips are big, particularly the cool Cucumber Dill, but closely followed by those Blazin’ Cajun fans. We have had so many requests for the Manderan Orange Dip Mix, that we are encouraging disgruntled locals to begin a call-and-write-in campaign to bring it back next summer.  Our fruit salads haven’t been the same without it. The BBQ sauce, of course, is always a big seller. And we all know that the Potato Salad Seasoning has already sold out, with a full month of summer still ahead. Let’s hope they produce next year to make it all the way to Labor Day.

Watkins food and spices continue to be our top sellers, and it’s usually those we can let customers taste that end up in their shopping bags. Pointing out the reduction in sodium, or the lack of harmful preservatives helps customers realize the benefits that come with Watkins’ continuing drive toward natural products.  We also have seen a growing interest in the all natural body care and home care product lines. People have to eat, and use shampoo, and home cleaning products. Isn’t it great when they starting thinking about leading a healthier life style as well as recycling their trash?

It’s also great to see some of our new associates moving up the ranks to bronze status in the last month. Sandra McLaughlin of Hesperia is already building her own team, and finds that selling the Watkins story in a “natural” after struggling to maintain sales in another MLM endeavor more intent on recruiting than selling its product line. Estelle Green of Lithonia, Georgia, fired up after attending the annual Watkins leadership conference in Las Vegas in April, is lining up a string of public events that will take her through the state of Texas, where family and friends are eager to support her in her new business.

Yes, it’s a challenge to make a buck these days, but when you have a solid company behind you, with a track record of delivering quality products for nearly a century and a half, well, we can all feel that we are on the right track for something even bigger and better down the road.