Abundance Marketing

"Quality control and communication with customers are at the heart of the company's winning strategy. "

Abundance Marketing was formed in 1982 when founder Al Curnew opened a small storefront in a mall in Stoney Creek, Ontario.

Over the next 12 years, Curnew developed a reputation as a retailer of quality natural health products-but as a former architect, he also dreamed of building a business that would be far greater than a single retail outlet. So in 1994 Curnew laid out a vision for a company that would seek out the finest raw materials available, then use cutting-edge techniques and technology to create a specialized line of high-quality natural health products.
By 1999 Abundance was growing so quickly that Curnew moved it into brand new corporate headquarters, soon to become an international distribution centre for Abundance's evolving line of new products.
How did a company with humble beginnings achieve such impressive growth?
"We looked around and saw that only about five percent of our potential customers were actually visiting health food stores," explains Bryan Edgar, vice president of sales and marketing. "We quickly realized that one way to reach more people was to move our products into other retail outlets."
Abundance began making formal presentations to major Canadian retailers, and within just a few months its products were being distributed throughout the country. This success would not have been possible without strong products to back up the company's claims. Clearly, Abundance's wide variety of natural supplements, sports nutrition products, and condition-specific therapeutic products were up to the challenge.
One outstanding success story among Abundance's products is Bowel Buddy Bran Wafers, which have become a top-selling item with consistent double-digit growth in sales over the past five years.
"They started as a small part of our product line," says Edgar, "but they quickly became one of our most popular products through word-of-mouth referrals. Today, they're so successful that we're advertising them on television. People just love them."
Abundance experienced similar success when the company became the exclusive Canadian distributor of products created by Australian company Thursday Plantation, the largest international producer of therapeutic tea tree oil products. Thursday Plantation is known primarily for its 100-percent pure tea tree oil, a natural antiseptic and germicide that Australians call "first aid in a bottle."
Encouraged by enthusiastic customer reaction to Thursday Plantation products, Abundance now distributes a wide variety of tea tree oil shampoos, ointments, soaps, toothpaste, deodorant, and even DEET-free bug repellent.
How does Abundance continue to develop and deliver winning new products? According to Curnew, now president and CEO, quality control and communication with customers are at the heart of the company's winning strategy.
"Consumers are no longer relying on manufacturers' label claims," says Curnew, "and they are demanding to see the evidence. Our standards are high, and while our line has grown tremendously, we have not compromised our standards; every preparation is carefully researched and tested to ensure performance."
The company's web site at abundancehealth.com offers detailed information about the Abundance product line, plus nutritional information, health advice, and more.
From a small storefront to an online international success story, Abundance serves as a blueprint for a better natural health company.