Burt’s Bee’s: Leaving the Hive

Burts Bees Leaving the Hive 01-26-2013 Burts Bees is committed to providing the silk hat products for its consumers by ensuring they are 100% raw(a) and produced in environmentally friendly conditions. I believe it is possible for the company to become the Starbucks of personal care without preceding the initial values established by Roxanne Quimby. Roxannes original vision was making Burts bees a big brand, not an exclusive brand, and so piteous into the mass market sector is in-keeping with this idea.Arguably, moving away from a forcefulness and health product, to a mass market brand is risky and results in specialty stores pulling back and reducing shelf space. However, the company today is very loyal and focused on their core values. They insist on only maturation products that serve an explicit healthful purpose. They delayed launching the lave, for example, because they wanted to create a natural, cleaner shampoo that also lathered, to meet customer needs.The company ac t products other firms didnt, like carrot lotion, adding to Burts authenticity. As well as this, they make all their packaging from recycled materials and encourage customers to reuse or recycle shampoo bottles for example. I believe that if they keep this up, they can definitely become the Starbucks on personal care without foregoing the values and narratives that made the brand successful. In my judging this model is replicable. All Burts Bees is trying to do is whats best for consumers and the environment.No matter how big the brand gets, no matter how much moolah increase by, the firm in question should try follow in Burts Bees footsteps, and continue focusing on their core competencies and outsourcing tasks where they are not as efficient. In Burts Bees case, by fully disclosing ingredients, they promote transparency by not testing their products on animals they communicate their values to the consumer finally, by striving to use 100% natural ingredients in each of their prod ucts, they are upholding the firms original values.The model is easy to replicate as great as the firm is committed and loyal to the core values. I think Burts Bees have done a very good parentage so far. Seeing as packaging is not their core competency, they outsourced it to contractors thus minimizing waste and boosting efficiency. Herbs used in their products can be used for bio-fuel and are very used by the employees as substitute fuel. All packaging is made from recycled materials and they encourage customers to reuse or recycle shampoo bottles.In addition to this they have trimmed their supply chain by selling directly to all of their accounts. By cutting out the middle channel of distribution, they effectively reduced Burts Bees carbon footprint and saved money at the same time making them more environmentally and economically sustainable. The risks involved with this acquisition are many. As stated in the article, Clorox plans to turn Burts Bees into a mainstream America n brand sold in big-box stores like Wal-Mart.Already, the move from specialty health stores, to Walgreens and CVS has had an impact on Burts Bees shelf space in these smaller specialty stores. The risk is that if they move to the other extreme, they may no longer be viewed as the quirky authentic firm that was initially established. The link to Clorox alone exit bring Burts Bees under a lot of scrutiny, given the position that they aim to provide the best and most natural products for their customers, and the consumer perception of Clorox is the total opposite. However, there are also a lot of opportunities Burts Bees will gain from this.With Cloroxs help, they can really strive to be a national brand, and increase their already growing market share in natural personal care. The resources Clorox will provide will boost advertising spending and increase the firms power when negotiating with suppliers and retailers. In addition to this, as the contender in the industry grows, havin g Cloroxs funds and support will go a long way for Burts Bees. And with Cloroxs Green Works initiative, the globes perception may improve and so loyal customers will remain loyal.