Ava Anderson Non-Toxic: Makeup via Direct Distribution
Ava Anderson's cosmetics company, Ava Anderson Non-Toxic, grew from a teenager's alarm at discovering that most personal care products contain harmful ingredients, including carcinogens and endocrine disrupters. Then just 14, Anderson set out to find manufacturers who could develop and manufacture cosmetics to her own green standards. Only a few years later, the privately held company she founded with her mother was a finalist in Entrepreneur magazine's "Entrepreneur of the Year" competition, selected for its innovation, impact, and community.
The firm produces cosmetics, sunscreen, and skin, hair, and body care products without harmful chemicals. The products are sold by independent part-and full-time consultants who host parties and seminars and schedule individual customer appointments providing direct distribution. The company offers ongoing training and rewards consultants with a percentage of their total sales, plus a percentage of the sales of any new consultants they recruit.
Anderson says she is thrilled to watch the company's consultants be successful, really enjoyr their jobs, ans share her passion to provide safer alternatives to consumers.
Questions
1. Is direct distribution appropriate for a product like Non-Toxic's cosmetics? Why or why not?
2. The company offers consultants their own personal online office and Web site. How would a consultant make the best use of these tools?