The breakaway success of Olly, and what the lesson is for retailers

Olly is a new line of vitamins and supplements which is doing extremely well, racking up $80 million in sales in only its second year.

Olly is NOT:

• an online play - 90% of sales are in brick and mortar stores
• heavily marketed - most marketing so far has been digital-only
• creating a new category - it fits squarely in the established $82 billion supplement market

So what are is Olly doing differently? Well, basically just two things:

• Products are named according to their benefit, not their ingredients. So instead of "melatonin", Olly's supplements are called "Sleep".
• Olly supplements are chewy gummies, rather than pills

That's it. Not rocket science. Make supplements taste good and easy to understand.

Why didn't I think of that?

In fact, most successful companies do not invent new categories. They take existing products or ideas, and add a new twist. In this case, the twist is making things easier.

In retail, whether you're selling clothes or food or healthcare, making things easier is a great way to differentiate yourself and gain customers.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Jimmy John's - Easier to get a tasty sub very quickly
• TJ Maxx - Easier to buy name brand clothes for a discount
• Uber - Made getting a ride easier

So the lesson from Olly and these companies is, being a successful company in a crowded space doesn't have to be complicated. It's just about making the consumer experience better and in these cases, easier.

Here at F.C. Dadson, our goal is to make the retail buildout easier for our customers.

We do that by providing an array of services, from design to fixture manufacturing to construction, and integrating these into a custom solution that works for you.

Please feel free to contact us for a free consultation, and in the meantime check out our free resources to help you with your next buildout project.