This DTC Natural Deodorant Brand Offers an Eco-Friendly Trade-in for Curious Consumers
Each & Every is latest small brand to try the strategy
Key insights:
- Consumers can be hesitant about natural products, co-founder says.
- There's a trend of CPG companies turning to trade-in campaigns.
Brands in various industries have experimented with trade-in programs, in which they give consumers free products in exchange for a competitor’s, as a marketing strategy to boost sales. Each & Every, a natural deodorant brand, is the latest to try the trade-in strategy, with an eco-friendly twist.
The DTC brand has launched its first Aluminum (Free) Deodorant exchange, a weeklong program that invites consumers to trade in their current deodorant in exchange for an Each & Every stick in a scent of their choice. The brand will then recycle the old sticks in appropriate facilities.
Each & Every co-founder Lauren Lovelady said the objective of the program, which runs today through Feb. 27, is to reach more consumers looking to switch to natural deodorant by giving them a free product that’s larger than a sample.
“We hear from consumers that they’ve tried every natural product on the market, and they’re hesitant to try another because they’re afraid it will end up in the graveyard of products that didn’t work,” Lovelady said. “We believe we can eliminate the graveyard and give them a risk-free option to try our product for free, before they commit to spending money.”
To participate in the program, consumers can complete a form on Each & Every’s website to receive a prepaid shipping label they can print at home to mail in their old deodorant to the company, in any condition. Participants will then receive 1.7 oz Each & Every stick in a scent of their choice, valued at $10. According to Lovelady, all of the mailed-in sticks will be collected for industrial recycling.
Lovelady, who’s based in Cincinnati, Ohio, co-founded the brand in 2017 with Mikah Coffindaffer, a former scientist at Procter & Gamble, in response to what the two women deemed a lack of quality natural deodorant options. The brand is sold through its website, Amazon and in New York’s Showfields, the experiential retail concept that sells DTC brands.
Each & Every offers sticks in 10 scents like citrus and vetiver, lavender and lemon, and cedar and vanilla. The deodorant is made with six base ingredients—including tapioca starch, ozokerite and essential oils—and free of baking soda and aluminum. (While natural deodorant brands often promote the fact that they don’t use aluminum in their underarm products, it’s actually only used in antiperspirants to block sweat ducts, and there’s no scientific proof linking health problems with the use of antiperspirants.)
The brand is verified by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that specializes in research and advocacy in areas including corporate accountability and toxic chemicals.
Lovelady said the brand incorporated a recycling element into the initiative to help consumers properly dispose of their products, noting how recycling can be inconsistent in different cities and neighborhoods. She also said the brand, which has recyclable packaging, plans to introduce more sustainability initiatives later this year. High-profile CPG brands including Dove and L’Oreal have recently transitioned to more eco-friendly packaging as consumer demand for it grows.
The trade-in program is similar to a swap hosted by CBD brand Charlotte’s Web. At its pop-up shop in Miami last month, consumers were invited to trade in unwanted CBD oils from other brands in exchange for a free bottle of its original oil tincture; according to Charlotte’s Web, the brand disposed of the bottles properly afterward.
Each & Every doesn’t have a solid estimate of how many consumers will participate in the program, but Lovelady noted that success will be measured by new user growth. Each & Every is spreading the word about the program through paid media, mostly via social. The brand’s creative team is in house, while Small Girls PR handles its media outreach.
“For us, it’s about getting as many people to try the product as possible,” Lovelady said. “If we just reduce that barrier for trying it, we believe people will become long-term fans and loyalists of the brand.”
Lovelady said Each & Every currently has a strong repeat purchase rate, but declined to give a specific number. She said the brand’s growth has quintupled since 2019, with more than half of its revenue coming from repeat purchases.
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