I began an entrepreneurial venture centred around crafting non-preservative, home-made salad dressings. With the power of social media, I have reached an expanding 1000+ follower base while maintaining a 45% profit margin through cost management and pricing strategies.
Unable to find any locally produced non-preservative products at stores, including the organic farmers market, motivated me to test my own recipes. Many experiments later, I kick-started a small business from my home kitchen, where I now sell dressings across the city.
Since, I were specialising in salad dressings, I aimed for the brand name to reflect my commitment to encouraging a healthier lifestyle. After brainstorming different names, I settled on ‘Between Greens’ as it captured the essence of striking a balance between health-conscious decisions and simplicity in our day-to-day choices.
Forming a visual identity for my brand, was an integral part of the initiation phase. It helped to distinguish between various brand elements including, brand colours, logo, bottle design and fonts.
I wanted the colour scheme to embody the brand’s ethos of freshness, simplicity and minimalism. The deliberate selection of vibrant green shades serves as a symbolic representation of vitality and well-being, adding to our overall aesthetic.
To uphold sustainable practices, I decided to use glass bottles instead of plastic. In search of an aesthetic yet functional bottle I explored ‘Bottle Gali’ a famous street in Karachi with stores selling a diverse selection of glass and plastic bottles. After visiting over 7 vendors and looking at numerous of bottles, I found the ideal one – a 250ml glass bottle with a slender neck, and metal lid.
The next phase involved designing the label, and aligning it with the chosen colour scheme and logo. My aim was to display concise information about the product, focusing on key details such as the ingredient list, dietary information, and directions. For clarity, each flavour was assigned a separate colour, making it easier to distinguish at stores.
Besides stocking at one of the busiest supermarkets in my neighbourhood, I partnered with Fresh Basket, the leading healthy food grocer in town. In addition to supplying my products to them, I decided to offer complimentary samples at their locations. This helped broaden my customer base, drastically increasing brand visibility and product interaction.
One of my business objectives was to optimise the potential of social media. I achieved this by creating visually engaging content including recipe reels, high quality product photography, nutritional information, and reviews from our loyal customers.
Six months after our launch, having established a significant presence in the market, one of my most notable achievements was being featured on Dawn News. In their morning show, ‘Yes Chef,’ celebrity chef Abida showcased Between Greens’ salad dressings in her healthy recipes.
As a local business, we are committed to supporting our community and fostering inclusivity. Between Greens’ sustainability initiative, is a collaboration with Club 76, a denim company, and Ujala, a charitable school for individuals with disabilities. Using scrap denim, Club 76 donated tote bags that students at Ujala will block print on. These bags are being sold by Between Greens to support Ujala’s brick-by-brick initiative, aimed at fundraising for their new state-of-the-art campus.
