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yogitoes–Setting the Standard for Organic Brands
© Cheryl Hodgson 2010 | Posted on March 1, 2010
The word organic has been popping up all over the place lately. Do a search and you will find organic food, organic wine, organic beauty products, organic textiles… you get the picture. Organic implies a more natural way of approaching what we consume. Let’s face it… these days organic is big business… but can business be organic?
I work for a company that I refer to as an organic entity. (branded with a lowercase “y”) is a creative company that develops yoga accessories, it’s main product being the yoga towel. From inception, the yogitoes story has unfolded as organically as a flower in a backyard compost garden. Everything from the manifestation of the company name, logo and products, even the way employees have come to work at yogitoes has been of an organic nature. Owner, creator and yogini , has allowed the company to evolve in this way, trusting that the yoga community would dictate whether or not there was a need for her products and from there, what shape her company would take.
It happened to turn out that there was a tremendous need for the products she created as she found the company quickly grew to where it is today; an internationally recognized brand. Along the way, there have been many opportunities to practice what she promotes – yoga. I am referring to the side of yoga that gets less attention – the philosophy that it rests upon. Practicing the , which are often referred to as ‘the ten commandments’ of yoga, becomes much more challenging in the business world, whether it be dealing with patent infringements or difficult business interactions. Susan has shown that it is possible to remain true to these principles, trust the unfolding, and be successful.
Another part of yogitoes’ organic existence is the fact that it is a non-advertising company. This presents the opportunity to think outside of the box regarding product promotion. When the company started in 2004, the world didn’t revolve around social media; yogitoes’ product promotion was done mainly through word of mouth. Today, staying true to the only business plan it has - organic growth, yogitoes and pages exist along with a and a channel featuring respected teachers known as “yogitoes Enthusiasts” using their favorite products. It has proven to be an effective way to gain further exposure for the brand as well as a public platform to answer a wide variety questions regarding the products… essentially working as customer-specific advertisements. yogitoes also involves themselves with many charity events and fundraisers, exposing their product line to new populations and launching new products to devoted fans.
Susan’s unique story and business approach has been much sought after as she frequently gets asked to mentor start-up entrepreneurs… perhaps another business waiting to unfold… organically, of course.
-Alex Ward
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