We\u2019ll get into the \u201chow\u201d shortly, but first, a little about Sarilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarilla\u2019s origin and introduction to RangeMe<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAsheville, N.C.-based Sarilla sells a line of alcohol-free social beverages made with all-organic and mostly regeneratively-farmed ingredients sourced primarily from the brand\u2019s small farm in the African country of Rwanda \u2013 with plans to soon be Regenerative Organic Certified. Delaney got her start as an importer selling loose leaf tea in bulk after falling in love with the tea from that region, and started experimenting with various formulations to make her own fresh brewed tea. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Sara](\"https:\/\/rangeme-blog-images.imgix.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sara-with-APLTea-Fave-Small.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop\")
Sarilla’s Delaney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nAround 2017, she came up with the idea to keg the tea so it could be sold on tap at breweries as a non-alcoholic alternative to beer. \u201cI am now more than 17 years without alcohol, and I always wondered why there are no alcohol-free options on tap outside of a Diet Coke or a seltzer,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cI felt kind of left out. We spend a lot of money on good food at restaurants. Why is there not something better to drink?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So she took matters into her own hands. She attended the Southeast Beverage Institute to learn how to keg and took her recipe from her kitchen to a local Asheville brewery that sold it on tap. Unfortunately, in 2020 when the pandemic hit, the brewery shut down and she had to pivot. But it was a blessing in disguise, as Delaney had no choice but to scale up to a co-packing facility and offer her beverage in cans. While she is still passionate about the draft product, it\u2019s a much smaller part of her revenue stream these days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarilla\u2019s line of sparkling organic teas come in six flavors: Green Hibiscus, White Ginger, Apple Black, Lemon Black, Tulsi Lime and Rooibos Vanilla (I can personally vouch that each one is amazing). While they can be merchandised in the beverage aisle, Delaney says they are more relevant for other areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe aim to be in the cooler or with the alternative alcohol set, particularly if a store is building a non-alcoholic or mocktail category,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re often put into the RTD tea sets on the shelf in stores, but I\u2019m going to start saying no to that. It\u2019s not the best place for us unless it\u2019s a dream account and we know we\u2019ll have the velocities off the shelf that we need. We want to focus and niche down a bit for marketing and channel strategy purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delaney started on RangeMe with a free account back when Sarilla just offered loose leaf teas, but upgraded to Premium after she met RangeMe SVP of Customer Success Vir Satyan at a Flavors of Carolina<\/a> event, where local brands can meet with regional buyers of major chains as well as community-based retailers. (RangeMe has a Flavors of Carolina collection in which qualifying Premium subscribers like Sarilla can be found). \u201cIt\u2019s definitely worth every penny, especially when you think about how it covers 12 months,\u201d says Delaney.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo how does RangeMe turn cold leads into warm leads for Sarilla? Delaney shares some of the ways in which she leverages the platform to accomplish this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keeping Sarilla\u2019s RangeMe profile optimized<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere are many ways in which a brand can be discovered on RangeMe. A buyer may search by keywords, by category, by certification, they may browse specific collections such as Flavors of NC or they may just simply browse through all of the new items. (Madeleine Yastrow, owner of Maddie\u2019s Market, whom I wrote about in a recent blog post<\/a>, spends time each morning browsing in this way.)<\/p>\n\n\n\nBecause of this, it\u2019s important to make sure your profile is optimized so it can be discovered regardless of how a buyer is searching. \u201cA great thing about being a Premium member is that you can work with one of RangeMe\u2019s customer success managers to do an audit of your profile,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cThey will walk through it with you and make sure you have the right type of banner and images, that your certifications are up to date, and to learn how to qualify for various collections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reason why a complete and fully optimized profile is so important, Delaney discovered, is that sometimes it actually does the buyer engagement for you. This past summer, she was at a college and university show in D.C., and met with many university buyers who were interested in her product and said she should be working with Vistar, a foodservice distributor that services universities. So she tracked down the buyer on LinkedIn, who asked her to start doing the vendor paperwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI met her in person a few weeks later, and when I started doing my presentation, she cut me off,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cShe told me she already saw me on RangeMe and knew what we\u2019re about, and wanted to work with us, because they were looking for women-owned brands like ours. I don\u2019t know how that would have gone if we weren\u2019t on RangeMe; she may not have even replied to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tapping into RangeMe profile insights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOne powerful way Delaney leverages RangeMe to more effectively engage buyers is by tapping into the profile insights that are available to all RangeMe Premium members. \u201cIn the insights section you can learn how a buyer arrived at your profile, and that is very powerful information to have,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cWas it based on a targeted search? Were they browsing a specific collection? Maybe they were looking for specific certifications. I think many brands overlook the insights, but you can get some great information there that can help guide your business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These insights help direct Delaney in her interactions with buyers both on and off the platform. \u201cThere is a checklist of actions that it triggers,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, this week I noticed that some key retailers we\u2019ve been trying to get in front of have been checking out our profile. So I\u2019ll check to see when they will be reviewing beverages, and I\u2019ll make sure to submit my products to them through RangeMe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Offline, these insights give Delaney another reason to reach out to a buyer. As the founder of Sarilla\u2019s nonprofit partner the Africa Healing Exchange<\/a>, she knows that potential donors must be \u201ctouched\u201d an average of seven times before they commit funds to a cause. It\u2019s very similar with retail buyers, she says. Brands often have to engage with them several times before their message sinks in. RangeMe has become a critical part of this for Sarilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI do know that a lot of the relationships we have with retailers and distributors are initiated from RangeMe, which is often our first touch with them,\u201d she says. \u201cI think the ideal scenario is to make that initial contact on RangeMe, reach out when you see buyers looking at your profile, then if there is an event coming up where you can meet them in person, do it because you are still fresh in their mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, many brands on RangeMe work it in tandem with ECRM Sessions<\/a>; they will make initial contacts with the buyer via RangeMe, then follow up in person at a category-specific Session with a private, pre scheduled buyer meeting. Premium members also use RangeMe as part of their ECRM followup, sending out a link to their profile following the in-person meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn order to take advantage of the insights in this way, it\u2019s important to check in regularly to see who has been engaging with your profile. Delaney is on RangeMe at least a couple of times each month, and plans to jump on even more frequently so that she\u2019s well-informed and doesn\u2019t miss any opportunities such as buyer reviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Practicing patience (it definitely is a virtue!)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe final key component Delaney has learned during her several years as a RangeMe Premium member is patience. While she regularly sees buyer activity on her profile, she knows that the journey from discovery to the shelf is a long one, particularly with mass retailers, and there are a lot of steps in between. In addition, timing and other factors outside of a brand\u2019s control can lengthen this process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor first time CPG founders, you give birth to this product and you think it\u2019s going to get right on the shelf,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it can be a rude awakening when you realize the sales cycle in this business, particularly grocery. Calendar reviews are typically once a year, maybe twice. Sometimes you\u2019ll get a cut-in, but do you really want a cut in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delaney cites her own brand as an example of this. She has one dream account she\u2019s been dying to get into for years. They have viewed her profile often during that period, but she\u2019s had no bites yet. \u201cThey know who we are,\u201d she says. \u201cWe submit our products when the opportunity comes up and it will happen when the time is right. You don\u2019t want to rush these things too much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exploring opportunities big and small<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn the meantime, she will keep plugging away on RangeMe, slowly and steadily using it to stay front-of-mind with them, and as the launch point for building other buyer relationships as she waits for that dream account. After all, she has already landed 7-Eleven through the Brands with Heart partnership the retailer did with RangeMe, as well as National Grocers, several independent grocers and soon will be entering into the foodservice channel, all from relationships that originated with RangeMe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy being patient and chipping away at those steps to get to that long-term vision,\u201d she says. \u201cBut we have to bring in short-term visions to keep us excited and feeling positive along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Editor\u2019s note: <\/strong>In the full video interview below, you\u2019ll learn more details about Sarilla\u2019s origin as well as Delaney\u2019s philanthropic efforts and Crop to Cup trips to Rwanda, where you can see first hand what goes into the teas behind the brand. You can also click here to watch it on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 2017, she came up with the idea to keg the tea so it could be sold on tap at breweries as a non-alcoholic alternative to beer. \u201cI am now more than 17 years without alcohol, and I always wondered why there are no alcohol-free options on tap outside of a Diet Coke or a seltzer,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cI felt kind of left out. We spend a lot of money on good food at restaurants. Why is there not something better to drink?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So she took matters into her own hands. She attended the Southeast Beverage Institute to learn how to keg and took her recipe from her kitchen to a local Asheville brewery that sold it on tap. Unfortunately, in 2020 when the pandemic hit, the brewery shut down and she had to pivot. But it was a blessing in disguise, as Delaney had no choice but to scale up to a co-packing facility and offer her beverage in cans. While she is still passionate about the draft product, it\u2019s a much smaller part of her revenue stream these days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarilla\u2019s line of sparkling organic teas come in six flavors: Green Hibiscus, White Ginger, Apple Black, Lemon Black, Tulsi Lime and Rooibos Vanilla (I can personally vouch that each one is amazing). While they can be merchandised in the beverage aisle, Delaney says they are more relevant for other areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe aim to be in the cooler or with the alternative alcohol set, particularly if a store is building a non-alcoholic or mocktail category,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re often put into the RTD tea sets on the shelf in stores, but I\u2019m going to start saying no to that. It\u2019s not the best place for us unless it\u2019s a dream account and we know we\u2019ll have the velocities off the shelf that we need. We want to focus and niche down a bit for marketing and channel strategy purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delaney started on RangeMe with a free account back when Sarilla just offered loose leaf teas, but upgraded to Premium after she met RangeMe SVP of Customer Success Vir Satyan at a Flavors of Carolina<\/a> event, where local brands can meet with regional buyers of major chains as well as community-based retailers. (RangeMe has a Flavors of Carolina collection in which qualifying Premium subscribers like Sarilla can be found). \u201cIt\u2019s definitely worth every penny, especially when you think about how it covers 12 months,\u201d says Delaney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how does RangeMe turn cold leads into warm leads for Sarilla? Delaney shares some of the ways in which she leverages the platform to accomplish this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many ways in which a brand can be discovered on RangeMe. A buyer may search by keywords, by category, by certification, they may browse specific collections such as Flavors of NC or they may just simply browse through all of the new items. (Madeleine Yastrow, owner of Maddie\u2019s Market, whom I wrote about in a recent blog post<\/a>, spends time each morning browsing in this way.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of this, it\u2019s important to make sure your profile is optimized so it can be discovered regardless of how a buyer is searching. \u201cA great thing about being a Premium member is that you can work with one of RangeMe\u2019s customer success managers to do an audit of your profile,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cThey will walk through it with you and make sure you have the right type of banner and images, that your certifications are up to date, and to learn how to qualify for various collections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason why a complete and fully optimized profile is so important, Delaney discovered, is that sometimes it actually does the buyer engagement for you. This past summer, she was at a college and university show in D.C., and met with many university buyers who were interested in her product and said she should be working with Vistar, a foodservice distributor that services universities. So she tracked down the buyer on LinkedIn, who asked her to start doing the vendor paperwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI met her in person a few weeks later, and when I started doing my presentation, she cut me off,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cShe told me she already saw me on RangeMe and knew what we\u2019re about, and wanted to work with us, because they were looking for women-owned brands like ours. I don\u2019t know how that would have gone if we weren\u2019t on RangeMe; she may not have even replied to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One powerful way Delaney leverages RangeMe to more effectively engage buyers is by tapping into the profile insights that are available to all RangeMe Premium members. \u201cIn the insights section you can learn how a buyer arrived at your profile, and that is very powerful information to have,\u201d says Delaney. \u201cWas it based on a targeted search? Were they browsing a specific collection? Maybe they were looking for specific certifications. I think many brands overlook the insights, but you can get some great information there that can help guide your business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n These insights help direct Delaney in her interactions with buyers both on and off the platform. \u201cThere is a checklist of actions that it triggers,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, this week I noticed that some key retailers we\u2019ve been trying to get in front of have been checking out our profile. So I\u2019ll check to see when they will be reviewing beverages, and I\u2019ll make sure to submit my products to them through RangeMe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Offline, these insights give Delaney another reason to reach out to a buyer. As the founder of Sarilla\u2019s nonprofit partner the Africa Healing Exchange<\/a>, she knows that potential donors must be \u201ctouched\u201d an average of seven times before they commit funds to a cause. It\u2019s very similar with retail buyers, she says. Brands often have to engage with them several times before their message sinks in. RangeMe has become a critical part of this for Sarilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do know that a lot of the relationships we have with retailers and distributors are initiated from RangeMe, which is often our first touch with them,\u201d she says. \u201cI think the ideal scenario is to make that initial contact on RangeMe, reach out when you see buyers looking at your profile, then if there is an event coming up where you can meet them in person, do it because you are still fresh in their mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, many brands on RangeMe work it in tandem with ECRM Sessions<\/a>; they will make initial contacts with the buyer via RangeMe, then follow up in person at a category-specific Session with a private, pre scheduled buyer meeting. Premium members also use RangeMe as part of their ECRM followup, sending out a link to their profile following the in-person meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to take advantage of the insights in this way, it\u2019s important to check in regularly to see who has been engaging with your profile. Delaney is on RangeMe at least a couple of times each month, and plans to jump on even more frequently so that she\u2019s well-informed and doesn\u2019t miss any opportunities such as buyer reviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The final key component Delaney has learned during her several years as a RangeMe Premium member is patience. While she regularly sees buyer activity on her profile, she knows that the journey from discovery to the shelf is a long one, particularly with mass retailers, and there are a lot of steps in between. In addition, timing and other factors outside of a brand\u2019s control can lengthen this process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor first time CPG founders, you give birth to this product and you think it\u2019s going to get right on the shelf,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it can be a rude awakening when you realize the sales cycle in this business, particularly grocery. Calendar reviews are typically once a year, maybe twice. Sometimes you\u2019ll get a cut-in, but do you really want a cut in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Delaney cites her own brand as an example of this. She has one dream account she\u2019s been dying to get into for years. They have viewed her profile often during that period, but she\u2019s had no bites yet. \u201cThey know who we are,\u201d she says. \u201cWe submit our products when the opportunity comes up and it will happen when the time is right. You don\u2019t want to rush these things too much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, she will keep plugging away on RangeMe, slowly and steadily using it to stay front-of-mind with them, and as the launch point for building other buyer relationships as she waits for that dream account. After all, she has already landed 7-Eleven through the Brands with Heart partnership the retailer did with RangeMe, as well as National Grocers, several independent grocers and soon will be entering into the foodservice channel, all from relationships that originated with RangeMe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not easy being patient and chipping away at those steps to get to that long-term vision,\u201d she says. \u201cBut we have to bring in short-term visions to keep us excited and feeling positive along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Editor\u2019s note: <\/strong>In the full video interview below, you\u2019ll learn more details about Sarilla\u2019s origin as well as Delaney\u2019s philanthropic efforts and Crop to Cup trips to Rwanda, where you can see first hand what goes into the teas behind the brand. You can also click here to watch it on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKeeping Sarilla\u2019s RangeMe profile optimized<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tapping into RangeMe profile insights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Practicing patience (it definitely is a virtue!)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exploring opportunities big and small<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n