Richmont Holdings launched a direct selling program for IV-7 Ultimate Germ Defense, a disinfectant made by Pure Bioscience, May 22.
A Richmont-owned company, also known as IV-7, will market the product. Richmont reached out to direct sellers with whom its executives had existing relationships to kick off the effort.
“You think of the companies like Mary Kay and Avon — it’s that channel,” said Russ Mack, EVP of communication and marketing for Richmont. “We want this to be a grassroots effort. You can’t tell the story of this product on a store shelf.”
Due to the nature of the business, the company will raise awareness of both the direct selling opportunity and the product itself largely through word of mouth and social media, Mack said.
“We know people who are veterans in that industry, and they’re contacting their friends who do the same,” he explained. “We’ll also be marketing this through Facebook and Twitter.”
Sellers were allowed to register as of May 22, and sales so far “are well above our expectations,” Mack said.
“In the world of direct selling, word spreads pretty quickly,” he noted. “The whole idea is that rather than putting millions of dollars into mass advertising, we’re putting it into commissions for the sales force.”
