This and that ...

A belated Happy New Year. It is terrible that half the month of January has flown by before my wishing our great customers the best for 2010. There's a good reason; we are incredibly busy!

Since mid-December we have shipped more than 1000 gallons of product (sugar scrubs, salt scrubs, bath salts, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, massage oils, cremes etc) to Sandals in the Caribbean and to Aria Spa, the cornerstone of the new Las Vegas complex City Center. City Center is a 7-8 billion dollar project and we are supplying all the treatment products for their spa. Go to www.citycenter.com and get prepared to be amazed.

In addition to the gallons, we are working on 100,000 retail bottles for our various customers. 2009 was a banner year for us and we are grateful that the recession has not slowed our growth. We are thankful to our customers and it just goes to prove that when you never compromise quality and offer a good value, it works.

Some notes:

1. We welcome Brittany Quave to our staff. She is handling our mail orders, customer service and other duties replacing Kelsey Carter who has been accepted to nursing school and started classes this month.
2. I will be in Hawaii next month as well as Reno and Las Vegas.
3. Our new packaging for our Organic line has been a great success. Our retail sales were up 40% for the Oil and 35% for the creme.
4. We are now supplying amenities for Amelia Island Plantation and Spa. This is in addition to the spa products and retail we already provide for them.
5. The Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay is doing well with their new retail line we developed. They are in the wine country and the line includes products with Cabernet and Chardonnay essences.

There's much, much more and I am personally thankful for our excellent staff and cherished customers.

Best regards
Charley

The benefits of all natural

Not too long ago I became aware of just how sensitive the human body can be. Years ago I developed lactose intolerance and lost my gall bladder to a prescription medication. Since then my awareness for what I put into and onto my body has grown considerably. The lesson seems to be, as we as a society solve more of life's annoyances with new pills and products, often we aren't aware of the potential dangers we create at the same time. BPA anyone?

I no longer cook on Teflon coated pans (want to know why? Google "Teflon" and "safety concerns"). You won't find me eating ground beef... ever. Meat, in general, is not something I consume frequently, but if I have to, I prefer free-range, vegetarian-fed sources. I take my shoes off at the door so as not to track in the chemicals sprayed onto neighborhood lawns & ground into my home. And now I'm going one step further, making each and every meal I eat at home from scratch.

I was first inspired to begin this by a brief trip to South Korea back in September. The food there was amazing. So fresh, so good. When I returned home, it was obvious to my taste buds that my food here was laden with preservatives and "flavor-enhancing" chemicals. Here in the US we push the limits of what we consider food. Since when is it ok to have a carton of egg whites that will easily last 2-3 months? Nature makes THE BEST storage container for eggs, not some box manufacturer!

Since early September I've been cooking diligently from scratch. I can't go as far as growing my own vegetables (I have the brownest thumb known), but at least I know better now than I did what I'm putting into my body. I'm not always the best cook, but I get no complaints.


Homemade waffles (waffle-house style)


Homemade buttermilk biscuits

Want recipes? Let me know, maybe I'll start posting some of my better culinary adventures to share.

Customer Service: A Lost Art?

Customer service has become a luxury as of late in a world where so many of our interactions are digital and automated.The last time I tried to contact my local cable company to update my service I spent a frustrating afternoon attempting to get through their phone system to a human being. Once I did, I was immediately cut off before finishing my sentence and transferred over to yet another automated system. That is not service. And all too often, even the day-to-day human interactions are less than stellar. A cashier hands me my change, I say "Thank you." and they say "No problem." Where's their gratitude for my business? Shouldn't they be thanking me? How would handling my business be a problem for them?

That said, here at Absolutely Natural, we appreciate each and every one of our supporters. We constantly receive rave reviews from our customers for the way we handle orders, shipping, disputes and the way we treat our clients and do business.

Our phone system does have one of those automated mail box features, but we chose purposely not to use it. From 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. EST the phone is answered by a human. Yes, a human. The rest of the time it is an old fashioned answering machine extolling you to leave a message; the message is then returned by a human. Yes, human - one of us here at the main office. You get personal, one-on-one interaction with the very same people who develop the products you use. Who else can say that?

Beyond our daily personal interactions with our customers, we ship products the same day we get an order (next day if we get it after 3pm). We make sure you get all you ask for and take full responsibility for any problems ... even when it's not our fault.

I could go on and on but for 18 years we have had a simple philosophy ... we service our customers! Want to know more. Call us; I might even answer the phone and we'll answer all of your questions and take care of all of your needs.

Best regards,
Charley

New Sandals Deal Announced

For more than a year now we have been supplying Sandals Resorts with a small selection of spa products and a few items for their in-room program.

We are now pleased to announce a major deal with the Caribbean's premier resort destination company and starting as early as next month for spa products and the end of the year for retail, we will have a dominating presence at the world's best all inclusive resorts in the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Jamaica and Antigua.

Our talented formulators have put together a fantastic line for the resorts that feature Sandals signature fragrance, Island Tea Ginger. We are using white tea, black tea, red tea and green tea (all indigenous to the Caribbean) along with Jamaican Red Ginger. The result is a sophisticated fragrance that is at the same time light and refreshing.

We are supplying the following products with the Island Tea Ginger:

Shampoo
Shower Gel
Body Lotion
Sugar Scrubs
Salt Scrubs
Mineral Bath Salts
Body Butters
Organic Face & Body Lotion
Massage Oils

The aforementioned products will be used in spa treatments and offered for retail as well. The retail will feature Sandals spa logo, Red Lane.

In addition, each of the products will be in three other fragrances, Arnica (also excellent for sore muscles), Cranberry/Pomegranate (fresh and fruity)and Calming & Comfort blend.

We are also co-branding our 100% natural sun care line with Red Lane and will bring that out this spring at their locations.

I have been to all the properties except the Beaches Turks & Caicos and they are top notch. Not only are they the best physical plants in the Caribbean, the staff at each are excellent. You WILL have a great time visiting any of the Sandals locations (couples) or the Beaches (families).

The locations:

Jamaica
Montego Bay
Royal Caribbean
Grande Ocho Rios
Dunn's River
Negril
Whitehouse
Sandals Inn

St. Lucia
St. Lucia Regency
St. Lucia Halcyon Beach
Grande St. Lucian

Bahamas
Royal Bahamian
Emerald Bay

Antigua
The Grande Antigua

Beaches
Negril
Sandy Bay
Boscobel
Turks & Caicos

Let me know if you want any more information on the hotels.

Best regards,
Charley

Do as I say ...

You know the old adage ... do as I say; not as I do.

Obviously I have driven my two sons crazy with that over the years, but now I am telling all the thousands and thousands of people I have trained on the proper way to take care of your skin in the sun and all the tens of thousands of customers over 18 years, the same thing. Do as I say!

I, Charley Richards, owner of Absolutely Natural Sun care (the world's best), got a bad sunburn recently on my face, neck and shoulders. Of course, I have taken a merciless ribbing from just about everyone that knows me with copious offers to "sell me some sunscreen" etc etc. All well deserved.

Circumstances were understandable (at least to me). An enjoyable outing on the boat; I thought she had the sunscreen, she thought he had it, he thought she had it and she was sure I had it. No sunscreen.

The point to this besides a living definition/example of "irony", is a certifiable, testimonial on how incredible our Absolutely Natural aloes are. By Sunday afternoon at 4pm, my face was a glowing red that would put Rudolph's famous nose to shame. The heat coming off me could be felt several inches away from my face. Uncomfortable, of course, but the potential embarrassment was worse. You see, I had a presentation to do in front of a few dozen business leaders gathered in Melbourne from across the Southeast. How much credibility would I have if my face were still in this condition when speech time came around?

Desperate, I turned to the aloes. I applied (smeared) the Pure Aloe w/ Tea Tree on all affected areas and let it sit until it went into the skin. Then I applied (coated) the Rosehip Aloe lotion on immediately afterwards. I repeated this dozens of times over the nexttwo days.

Immediately the heat left my face and other areas. And, slowly, the red turned to my version of brown (as a red head of Irish descent, my "tan" is sort of a reddish one to begin with). By Tuesday morning (fewer than 48 hours after my folly), I looked healthy and my version of "tan" instead of like someone who needed to go to the emergency room.

I DO NOT suggest you try this at home as I am a professional (yea, a professional that doesn't bring sunscreen on a boat outing in Florida!).

At any rate, I always try turning a negative into a positive and thus the story of the face saving aloes (double entendre intended) .

Best regards,

Charley

Home, Sweet Home

I am happy to be back in Melbourne. Since September 2nd, I have been to Hawaii, New York City, West Virginia and Austin Texas in addition to a trade show in Orlando. Hawaii was sales training for the pool and beach personnel and meetings, meetings, meetings. NYC was a trade show for the Health & Beauty Association; West Virginia was to see my old college for the first time in many years and visit Mom; Austin was the I-Spa Show where Absolutely Natural exhibited for the first time and Orlando was a trade show for our tattoo products. Quite an eclectic mix!

The I-Spa show in Austin was particularly gratifying serving as a barometer for just how far our spa division has come since inception in 2003. This was the first time we had exhibited at I-Spa although I have been to several shows and gave seminars at a couple on natural products and private labelling. As a first timer, you really can't expect to be highly recognized by show attendees, but we were! Despite being in the back corner of the massive hall, we were busy the entire three days. In fact, we were described by one attendee as the "darlings of the show". Quite high praise when you consider we had a 10x10 booth (nicely done thanks to Todd and Lindsey) next to some of the bigger company's huge islands and elaborate displays.

Why does our tiny company garner such attention? I think the answer is simple. Our absolutely, 100% dedication to making the finest natural and organic formulas possible. We always use the best raw materials and never cut corners for costs consideration. Couple that with innovative ideas, excellent formulators, unparalleled service and the extras that we bring to our business partnerships... effective sales training, help with marketing and even fulfillment from web sites and 800 numbers.

Finally, we can do every aspect of a resort's needs. Sun care, amenities, spa products, personnel care, locker room amenities, professional sizes and retail. We were the hit of the show in Austin and I want to thank Suzanne Clements for the awesome graphics for the booth as well as Absolutely Natural staff, Lindsey Pushman, Todd Anderson and Bob Hamner for a job well done.

Best regards, Charley

Back from Hawaii

I just returned from a quick trip to the Hawaiian Islands where I met with many of our sales representatives and conducted sales training for our suntan consultants and spa personnel.

If you are contemplating a trip to Hawaii now is a great time to do it. Although the resorts are not desolate as many of the gloom and doom crowd predicted (thankfully), it is not as crowded as in the past. So, it makes for a much more pleasant trip. No parking worries, no traffic, short or no wait at even the most popular restaurants. It was great.

If you are on Kauai, make sure to stop at the Kauai Hilton and say hello to Robert Virgillitti (B.V. to his friends) who presides over the pool shop pretty much everyday. B.V. is doing a great job for us and really knows how to take care of his clients. He also offers the largest selection of Absolutely Natural products on any island and includes several spa products (facials, bath & body oils, Shea butter, foot creme) and even our personal care line.

On Maui I did several clinics and had a great turn out for a Beach Activities of Maui meeting. A lot of new sales associates and some veterans participated in a lively meeting and I appreciate their enthusiasm and dedication to the product. You can get Absolutely Natural at every hotel in Kaanapali except the Kaanapali Alii and the Westin (what is wrong with them!) as well as the Marriott Wailea.

I highly recommend visiting one of these properties to get a clinic and some great Absolutely Natural products from one of our associates. Give us a call at 1-800-848-8498 to see if your hotel is represented and if not, check out and go to one that has Absolutely Natural!

Finally, I really enjoyed meeting with the fantastic crew of Mike Kelley's Spa at Black Rock. We did two training sessions and I believe these spa experts are about the best I have worked with ... knowledgeable, passionate and caring. A trip to the Spa at Black Rock at the Sheraton Hotel is a must do. The spa is new, stylish, intimate and has an incredible family atmosphere. Visit their web site at www.blackrockspa.com for more info.

Take care
Charley