Brand Registry helps seed Palouse Brand’s success with Amazon
"Brand Registry protects me like nobody's business. I believe it's one of the best programs Amazon has ever rolled out."
Sara Mader
Chief Executive Officer
Farm to tech
Sara Mader and her husband Kevin’s family have taken pride in what they grow for generations. As dryland farmers in the Pacific Northwest, they offer chickpeas, lentils, wheat, and more through their business Palouse Brand.
Her deep roots in agriculture, coupled with a background in technology, have allowed her to execute on her vision of sustainable farming practices with end-to-end care and custody. This allows Palouse Brand to have the confidence of knowing that when their products leave their facility, they meet their quality standards.
"I had a strong feeling that consumers were starting to care more about where their food comes from, and that the food industry was about to go through a period of radical change because of this," Sara says.
With certified sustainable farm and cleaning facilities, the brand's commitment to sustainability also extends to other aspects of their business, including the packaging.
"We want our carbon footprint to be as small as possible," Sara explains, "so we sell our products in plastic-free reusable bags made of jute or three-pound hand-sewn cotton."
As demand for high-quality, chemical-free, non-GMO produce boomed, so did Palouse Brand's sales.
Her deep roots in agriculture, coupled with a background in technology, have allowed her to execute on her vision of sustainable farming practices with end-to-end care and custody. This allows Palouse Brand to have the confidence of knowing that when their products leave their facility, they meet their quality standards.
"I had a strong feeling that consumers were starting to care more about where their food comes from, and that the food industry was about to go through a period of radical change because of this," Sara says.
With certified sustainable farm and cleaning facilities, the brand's commitment to sustainability also extends to other aspects of their business, including the packaging.
"We want our carbon footprint to be as small as possible," Sara explains, "so we sell our products in plastic-free reusable bags made of jute or three-pound hand-sewn cotton."
As demand for high-quality, chemical-free, non-GMO produce boomed, so did Palouse Brand's sales.
Growing the brand with Amazon
Palouse Brand uses traditional, tried-and-tested farming techniques. But it’s also a modern, forward-thinking brand and Sara's experience in tech made it obvious to her that going digital would be critical to growing the brand.
Where other heritage food brands were still reluctant to embrace online commerce, Sara took the next step and built a website the brand could use to showcase its products. They used their digital presence to give customers more transparency around where their food was coming from, right down to the field it came from through GPS coordinates on their product listings.
But it was when they started selling with Amazon that sales took off and put Palouse Brand on the road to digital success.
"We started with Seller Central," recalls Sara. "And it provided us with all the tools we needed to be able to run our business... Soon enough, we saw some great traction... Our sales started doubling month over month."
These early results encouraged Palouse Brand to put even more effort and trust into its presence in the Amazon store. The investment proved so worthwhile that Sara became an early adopter of many of Amazon’s tools and programs.
"My approach is that when Amazon rolls out a new program we're eligible for and that makes sense for our brand, we'll try it,” she says. “With Amazon’s customer-centric focus, I trust that their programs will benefit Palouse Brand and our customers."
When Amazon Brand Registry launched in 2017 as a free tool to help build and protect brands, they didn't have to think twice about joining.
Where other heritage food brands were still reluctant to embrace online commerce, Sara took the next step and built a website the brand could use to showcase its products. They used their digital presence to give customers more transparency around where their food was coming from, right down to the field it came from through GPS coordinates on their product listings.
But it was when they started selling with Amazon that sales took off and put Palouse Brand on the road to digital success.
"We started with Seller Central," recalls Sara. "And it provided us with all the tools we needed to be able to run our business... Soon enough, we saw some great traction... Our sales started doubling month over month."
These early results encouraged Palouse Brand to put even more effort and trust into its presence in the Amazon store. The investment proved so worthwhile that Sara became an early adopter of many of Amazon’s tools and programs.
"My approach is that when Amazon rolls out a new program we're eligible for and that makes sense for our brand, we'll try it,” she says. “With Amazon’s customer-centric focus, I trust that their programs will benefit Palouse Brand and our customers."
When Amazon Brand Registry launched in 2017 as a free tool to help build and protect brands, they didn't have to think twice about joining.
Brand protection you can count on
Enrolling in Brand Registry made Palouse Brand eligible for programs and tools to help them protect their brand and ensure their product detail pages accurately displayed their photos and information. Once Palouse Brand provided data about its brand, products, and intellectual property, automated protections that stop infringing listings or inaccurate content were immediately activated.
Brand Registry also offers a powerful Report a Violation tool to help brands look for and report listings that potentially infringe upon trademarks, copyrights, and patents. After Sara regularly started using the Report a Violation tool, she noticed a significant reduction in the number of infringements.
Reporting potential infringement to Amazon through the Report a Violation tool helps strengthen automated protections that safeguard brands. This tool came in handy when Sara discovered that another seller had copied her images and content and used them on their listing. She recalls how shocked she was: “I never imagined that someone would steal the images I shot in my photography studio and spent 20 hours working on.”
Using Report a Violation, Sara was able to quickly take action.
“The Brand Registry Report a Violation tool shuts bad actors down,” she says “. I don't have to worry about it. I submit the case, it's taken care of. It helps me protect my brand and provide a good experience to the consumer.”
Brand Registry also offers a powerful Report a Violation tool to help brands look for and report listings that potentially infringe upon trademarks, copyrights, and patents. After Sara regularly started using the Report a Violation tool, she noticed a significant reduction in the number of infringements.
Reporting potential infringement to Amazon through the Report a Violation tool helps strengthen automated protections that safeguard brands. This tool came in handy when Sara discovered that another seller had copied her images and content and used them on their listing. She recalls how shocked she was: “I never imagined that someone would steal the images I shot in my photography studio and spent 20 hours working on.”
Using Report a Violation, Sara was able to quickly take action.
“The Brand Registry Report a Violation tool shuts bad actors down,” she says “. I don't have to worry about it. I submit the case, it's taken care of. It helps me protect my brand and provide a good experience to the consumer.”
“Amazon is committed to protecting consumers and ensuring they have a legit experience. If someone's counterfeiting our brand, it gets fixed. Brand Registry is amazing. Shortly after reporting, we'll see that the listing has been taken down.”
Sara Mader
Chief Executive Officer
Brand Registry opens the door to brand building tools
Joining Brand Registry also unlocked access to exclusive brand building programs and tools like A+ Content, Sponsored Brands ads, and Brand Analytics. These tools, which help brands enhance product details pages, advertise, and understand their performance, were instrumental in increasing Palouse Brand’s visibility to customers.
“Brand Registry gave me access to A+ Content that allows me to showcase my brand in the way I want consumers to view me,” says Sara. “When a consumer comes to look at our products, I want them to know who we are and what our brand stands for.”
Sara credits A+ Content and Sponsored Brands with helping Palouse Brand build stronger relationships with their customers, displaying videos of the combines that cut their wheat, who they are, and how they crafted the bag of food for each of their customers.
"As a seller, I want to provide a very unique consumer experience," says Sara. "I use A+ Content and Sponsored Brands on every product we sell on Amazon. I believe being able to pull those levers within Amazon provides a stickiness for consumers to keep coming back to that platform and back to my brand."
“Brand Registry gave me access to A+ Content that allows me to showcase my brand in the way I want consumers to view me,” says Sara. “When a consumer comes to look at our products, I want them to know who we are and what our brand stands for.”
Sara credits A+ Content and Sponsored Brands with helping Palouse Brand build stronger relationships with their customers, displaying videos of the combines that cut their wheat, who they are, and how they crafted the bag of food for each of their customers.
"As a seller, I want to provide a very unique consumer experience," says Sara. "I use A+ Content and Sponsored Brands on every product we sell on Amazon. I believe being able to pull those levers within Amazon provides a stickiness for consumers to keep coming back to that platform and back to my brand."
Reaping what they sowed
Fourteen years after taking the reins at Palouse Brand, Sara says the brand's future is looking brighter than ever. She credits much of that success to Amazon.
Amazon's programs have enabled Palouse Brand to build a strong brand, protect their intellectual property effectively, and grow a loyal customer base.
More importantly, its success has allowed it to make a real difference in the tight-knit community where it's based.
Amazon's programs have enabled Palouse Brand to build a strong brand, protect their intellectual property effectively, and grow a loyal customer base.
More importantly, its success has allowed it to make a real difference in the tight-knit community where it's based.
"I love Amazon! I'm one of their biggest cheerleaders. Amazon has done so much for our family and for our community. A lot of our employees have some of the best benefits, and that probably wouldn't have been possible if we hadn't partnered with Amazon."
Sara Mader
Chief Executive Officer
Location
Pullman, WA
Industry
Dry Goods
Amazon launch
2009
Brand protection tools
Brand Registry
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