My Green Apple Girl

Eastbayri.com - Sakonnet Times

< Back Friday, May 30, 2008 e-mail this story | print it

Its all about the packaging and there couldn't be a better picture then my girl on the bottle.


Jones Soda finds its green apple girl


The photo of Ashley Roggero that started it all, snapped while she rested after a day at the beach.

PORTSMOUTH — On a hot day last summer, 10-year-old Ashley Roggero, skin salty after hours of swimming and sunbathing with her family at McCorrie Beach, stretched out on the living room couch at home as the late-afternoon sunlight slanted in through the window.

That's what her father Jimmy saw, and he captured the moment with a photograph.

"We had just gotten home from the beach and she was pooped," said Mr. Roggero. "I thought it would be a cute picture."

Later a relative sent the family a case of Jones Soda that advertised a contest seeking photographs to be made into soda bottle labels, and they thought of Jimmy's photo.

"I thought it would be neat to be on a soda bottle," Ashley said.

Ashley, who is now 11 and in sixth grade at Portsmouth Middle School, has modeled before. When she was one year and two years old, she was photographed for advertisements used throughout Rhode Island.



The Portsmouth 11-year-old holds her prized bottle of Jones Soda in her favorite flavor: green apple.

She's no longer interested in modeling, though with her long sun-bleached blond hair and dimpled smile, she might still qualify.

Ashley has big plans to start up her own businesses and to play professional golf. She has a 35 handicap this year and hopes to get a sponsor to do the local amateur circuit. An avid surfer for four years (her favorite spot to hit the waves is at Surfer's End on Second Beach), she wants to open her own surf shop some day. But for now, she makes her own beach-glass jewelry, selling at craft fairs, and in two Portsmouth stores: Second Hand Rose and Natures.

The profits she's made from her jewelry line she reinvests back into it. She is expanding the business into shark-tooth and shell necklaces and bracelets and packages of make-your-own beach glass jewelry.

"I like running my own business," Ashley said. She dreams of her surf shop, which would carry boards and swim wear, as well as her jewelry line.

"Ashley's always tried to come up with business ideas of her own," said her mother, Jane. Ms. Roggero said Ashley takes after her parents, both self-employed entrepreneurs.

And the winner is ...

The family entered the photo, with Jimmy's caption, "Just Jonesing in the Sun," last October. They checked the website of the Canadian soda company and learned that 800,000 photos had been submitted. The winning photos were chosen by online voting so the Roggeros enlisted help from friends and family. And then they waited for the results.

They didn't hear back from Jones Soda until March when a letter arrived with a dozen glossy labels featuring Ashley in black-and-white.

Ashley's will be the face of Jones Soda's green apple.

"It's my favorite flavor" of Jones Soda, she said.

But not every green apple soda will have a label with Ashley on it since the company chose several submissions for each of its flavors of soda. It's sold in some major grocery stores, but the Roggeros have yet to find the Ashley bottle. So they made one from their own cache of labels, taping it to a green apple Jones Soda bottle.

By Jill Rodrigues

jrodrigues@eastbaynewspapers.com

My Beach Designs gets help from this Packaging Consultant

As of May 23, 2008, My Beach Designs of Portsmouth, RI is open for business and has shipped their first orders to customers in Cape Cod, Boston, Salem Massachusetts as well in Rhode Island.

I helped My Beach Designs owner, Ashley, with her packaging and labels. Since it was a start up company it was important that her minimums were low along with low product costs. We did it.

I started by locating a clamshell manufacturer that would work direct with other wholesale companies and not through distributors. They offered low minimums with affordable pricing. The clamshell offered Ashley with the opportunity to show off the contains of her kits without the worries of theft or damage.

The My Beach Designs' label is a four color process label that required a higher minimum to achieve a price point that worked within the budget. So we opted for a digital printed label which allowed a lower minimum with an affordable pricing just to get up and running. A professional label will replace the digital label in the next few weeks and the buyers of the product will not know the difference. Quality is important at all levels of product development and fulfillment.

Check out My Beach Designs blog for additional images and more information at http://mybeachdesigns.blogspot.com.

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Using Retail Packaging for Fundraising

Fundraisers are missing the retail packaging boat!

So many fundraisers solicate for product donations and then sell tickets to a raffle or have a silent auction for those solicated products its a great idea but honestly how many products do they get and how much money is earned from those events.

Add a retail packaging option to your raffle or silent auction.

All those wanting to purchase a ticket or place a bid must first purchase a decal, pen, pencil or some other token product that you have had made with your event/organization logo imprinted on to it. Refer to it as an entry fee.

ie. You could have vinyl 5 x 4 oval decals imprinted with one color logo made
250 for .83 each or
500 for .45 each or
1000 for just .26 each

You can sell them easily for $2.00 each. This gives the fundraising an additional income and gives your customer something to take home in case they do not win the raffle or auction.

Or if you are selling raffle tickets or silent auction tickets at a fair or trade show then sell a shopping bag that the customer could carry their other purchases in.

ie. You could purchase a one color imprinted paper shopping bag - white 8 x 5 x 10
500 for .60 each or
1000 for .49 each

You can sell them for $1.00 or $2.00 each stating that the purchase will benefit your organization.

You could also sell a pen or pencil at the raffle or silent auction table for people to fill out their tickets.

There are plenty of other ideas too. Fundraisers need to be creative.
With the "Green" movement, a bio friendly bag or product could always be sold with a portion of the sales going back to a "green" group.

Retail Stores can support their local organization by offering a product for sale in their shop that favorite charity. Always ask for their permission first.

If you have any fundraising suggestions using retail packaging let us know. We can pass the ideas along.

Green Gift Wrap

Yes, I am still on the green thing!

Is there "green" gift wrap? Of course, One manufacturer's line in particular called Natural Age can be purchased in reams and the price is competitive to its "not so green" gift wrap siblings. Natural Age gift wrap has a variety of natural colors and is made from 100% recycled kraft paper. If a solid color paper isn't what you are looking for then add an embossing to the wrap and living it up. The embossing shouldn't cost you anymore then $10.00.

Another manufacturer prides themselves on the fact they converted their rotogravure ink systems to 100% water based. This change in their printing process reduced emissions, eliminated solvent and ink waste, and created a better environment. They did this before water based inks were widely used or developed. Their paper comes from mill that support environmental initiatives from local to global programs and that are involved with WWF (World Wildlife Fund), SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative), FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), and are concerned with responsible forestry and recycling. And all of their gift wrap papers are recyclable. Their facilities have all been constructed or updated bringing brought about energy savings, efficiency in operations, and better outdoors environment.

I am sure their are other gift wrap companies bettering their business by producing what everyone is looking for - and that is green products and a safer enviroment. You have to think they live in this world, they make a living creating wonderful gift wraps for us to use in gift giving and they want to continue both so why wouldn't they produce "green" giftwrapping.

Find out today what is new in the gift wrapping industry, Ask your retail packaging provider today to show you gift wrap that is "green" or call Gift Box Corporation (1-800-giftbox) or visit their web site (www.800giftbox.com) for more information.
You might be surprised to find out that you are already using a "green" product.

They are many great ideas for using recycled newspaper and maps or reusing giftwrap from past gifts but doesn't your customers deserve new green gift wrap options? Look into it today and of course annouce you "green" options.

Mail Order, Online, Customer Service or Sales Rep?

How do you purchase your retail packaging?

Do you purchase your retail packaging from a mail order catalog, from an online/website service, over the telephone with the help of a customer service tech or with a sales representative? I am curious what is the most used option for purchasing retail packaging products.


As a retail packaging sales representative, I know that most retail store owners receive more benefits from working with a sales representative in their retail location the those that do not work with a sales representative. I also know that isn't true for most. I believe that working with a sales representative is beneficial to your business because that person knows your store and your community. Even if they only visit your store once a year they know you and the look you are acheiving with your store appearance.

The online and mail order options for ordering allows you the opportunity of convenience but you will never know if there is more available then what is on the pages of the catalog or web site.

Customer Service techs have a wealth of knowledge about the stock products the company has but usually not a lot of information concerning custom products though they can direct you to territory sales representatives or product developers that can help you further.

So how do you order your retail packaging products?

Any input? It would be accepted.

For all you viewers with an opinion, you are welcomed to reply to this post.

How important is coordinating retail packaging to your business?

Do you feel it is important to have matched packaging or not?

Retail Packaging Price Acceptance!

I am surprised by the number of people who accept that the price they are currently receiving for their retail packaging is the best price they can get. WHY?

I offer on a daily basis to give potential customers competitive quotes on their retail packaging based on their annual usage and so many of them refuse the offer. WHY?

As a store owner, have you ever asked for a quote from a competitor of your retail packaging provider? WHY not? You might be surprised by the pricing. You can only gain knowledge by asking and potentially save money. You might learn that your current pricing from your provider is better then the competitors or you might learn you are paying too much. Who is going to hurt? Not the competitor and not you. It might hurt your current provider but only if their prices are too high.

You should also learn through this quote process that sometimes there are specials not advertised in a catalog. These specials could in fact effect the items final cost. For instance, Gift Box Corporation of America, www.800giftbox.com, has a first quarter special every year. That special is 15% of the cost of their stock paper shopping bags. So for a customer who uses paper shopping bags this is a great savings especially if they order their annual usage appropriately.

Example:

GBC's cost of a kraft 8 x 5 x 10 paper shopper starts at 28.50/100 up to 1000 pcs.
So if your use 750 bags unprinted per year the cost of those bags drop to 24.23/100. Not bad.

Over 1000 bags costs 27.00/100 with the discount $22.95/100. And so on.

Don't be afraid to ask if there are any upcoming specials.

Gift Box also has a freight policy that states if you spend more then $350.00 per order they will pay half the freight. Twice the savings for those customers who plan wisely.

So if storage is an issue, Does your packaging provider give you annual usage discounts on all orders placed at the same time with separate ship dates? I do and why shouldn't I or they? You are ordering all your products at the same time aren't you? Most of my competitors don't offer that.

I am only using shopping bags as an example but this relates to all types of retail packaging including plastic bags, gift boxes, tissue paper, gift wrap, ribbon and bows. Whether you use stock products, custom products, unprinted or printed, why not ask today for competitive pricing from a packaging provider other then your own? You might be surprised.