Small Business Profile: Blackstone Naturals
/Baber Khimani knows how transformative an all-natural, chemical-free lifestyle can be. After marrying a Naturopathic doctor, he began to see an improvement in his family’s wellness and overall quality of life and was eager to share his knowledge with as many people as he could.
Now, as owner of Blackstone Naturals, an online business based in Mississauga, he provides his customers with natural alternatives to personal care products. With essential oils, aromatherapy diffusers and beard balm at the core of his business, his mission is simple: enhance the well-being of his customers.
As a small business owner, Khimani knew his greatest challenge would be to generate brand awareness amongst prospective customers. As a brand offered exclusively online, he looked to gain exposure not just nationally, but globally, by selling his products on Amazon and participating in Prime Day, their annual global sales event.
“Amazon plays a monumental role in our ability to sell product online due to the customer traffic that the company attracts on a daily basis,” said Khimani. “We decided to participate in Prime Day to take advantage of every opportunity to raise brand awareness.”
Working with Amazon means Blackstone Naturals’ Canadian-sourced products are available to the masses. Since participating in Prime Day for the first time four years ago, the company has experienced exponential year-over-year growth due to the spike in customer traffic drawn each year. Blackstone Naturals participated again in this year’s Prime Day on Monday, July 16 through 17.
“This year has been our best Prime Day yet!” said Khimani, citing record sales and increased customer engagement. “Prime Day has not only been our highest grossing sales day, but it has also resulted in a strong repeat customer base by exposing our high-quality Canadian products to customers who were not aware of our brand.”
Khimani hopes to expand Blackstone Naturals’ product offering and invest in promotion to continue the momentum gained from being a part of Prime Day. With brand exposure comes growth and Blackstone Naturals is a small business with big ambitions.
“Our goal is to be the number one provider of high-quality natural personal care products in Canada.”