Busy Moms Finding Balance

COMPANY HISTORY:

ActiDerm is a brand name/trademark for a range of products owned & manufactured by Acti-Laboratories. ActiDerm products are made in France & sold via a Direct Sales network of Ambassadors in UK. Acti-Laboratories core business is Contract Manufacturing for other companies/brands, this can be anything from inexpensive hand wash for a Supermarket Chain to luxury Spa products for an exclusive chain of Spas. Most of the products which we make are sold outside the Eurozone, with the exception of France where we contract manufacture for a leading High Street brand. When the financial crisis struck in 2008 we very quickly found that our International customers could no longer afford to buy sufficient volume because the € remained too strong versus the $/£/₽, so we needed to think of ways to find new markets. Our ‘non-compete agreement’ in France excluded us developing that market, so we started to look at the DS market in UK. We saw that some very reputable brands were involved so in 2010 we started to develop our own brand specifically for the DS market. At the time DS was a very different approach, it was much more serious, involved lots of ‘hands on training’ so that representatives could sell via ‘Party Plan’. Our strategy differed from everyone else in that it was impossible to buy an ActiDerm Start Kit, instead, we required people to hold a personal launch Party with sales of £350+ & have 4 further confirmed bookings scheduled within 4 weeks. We found that our strict approach worked well & that everyone we recruited was serious about their career & had a deep knowledge of our products. Individual orders of £1500+ were very common & our personal sales average was amongst the highest in the industry……It was a success…..BUT…..It was a bit too serious to be a ‘part time job’ & our strict recruiting policy meant that we did not have many Ambassadors. In November 2014 ‘Younique’ launched into the UK market & we saw that lots of tens of thousands of people joined them & it looked like great fun, even though individual sales & earnings did not match ours, we certainly sat up & took notice! In March 2015 we turned ActiDerm upside down & for the first time we offered ‘Start Kits’ to buy. We created online rather than face to face support groups & training & most importantly, we focused on offering the ActiDerm opportunity to anyone who wanted it. We removed all targets & expectations, encouraging everyone to work without pressure & to achieve as much or as little as they wish…..ActiDerm exploded as a ‘fun job' not just a career….Although we still have more car drivers & big earners per head than any other DS competitor in our market. During 2014 the Currency market has shifted & now the € is much weaker compared with $/£/₽. As a result our Contract Manufacturing has huge renewed demand, which combined with more than 1000% sales growth by ActiDerm since March 2015, has caused us to make some important strategy decisions in order to cope with volume demand. We have decided that even though contract manufacturing is a good business, we ‘enjoy’ the excitement of seeing our own brand in the market & the real interaction & reaction of our customers & Ambassadors, therefor we decided that during 2016 we would launch our own brand into other markets, starting with USA, whilst simultaneously rationalising our contract manufacturing back to key accounts only. This will allow us sufficient time to develop new products & fulfil anticipated demand. In terms our our manufacturing processes, our ethics remain unchanged. Our Laboratory received a Government Environment Award for ‘low carbon footprint’. We have a recycling contract to deal with everything which enters our facility, be it glass, plastic or cardboard. Wherever possible we use recyclable materials for our packaging & everything which leaves our facility. Respect for past traditions as well as for the future has translated into our environmental involvement, Our new headquarters in UK & existing headquarters in France are developed as eco-sustainable centres constituted by 90% recyclable materials, where natural resources allow the lowering of energy consumption and a solar power system covers our consumption requirements. The same sensitivity is found in the making of our products which are created with only the finest ingredients. Our products are not tested on animals & we do not use ingredients which are. We believe that a strategy of sustainable quality combined with an adequate dose of ‘fun’ will ensure future success for Acti Laboratories brand & those representing it.