In the Loupe

Sustainable Practices & Sibling Business Partnerships ft. Brevani

Punchmark Season 6 Episode 6

Send us a text

Brevani, an offshoot jewelry brand of Color Merchants, owners Jordan & Allison Peck share their innovative journey in the jewelry industry, focusing on modern trends while maintaining a legacy of responsible sourcing. They discuss their dynamic collaboration as brother and sister, successful marketing strategies, what they stand to learn and gain as members of The Plumb Club, and how they keep appearing on The Bachelorette every season!

Learn more about Brevani here: https://brevani.com/


Send feedback or learn more about the podcast: punchmark.com/loupe
Learn about Punchmark's website platform: punchmark.com

Inquire about sponsoring In the Loupe and showcase your business on our next episode: podcast@punchmark.com

Speaker 1:

Welcome to In the Loop. I talk about digital marketing and whatnot. So we took the week off but we're back and this week I'm joined by Jordan and Allison Peck from Brevani and Color Merchants and this is a really cool conversation. They are brother and sister and also next generation jewelry vendors and it's a really cool talk about how they have spun off Brevani and kind of created their own look and feel, independent of color merchants, how they work together and collaborate to handle, you know, business eventualities and everything. And we also talk about how they've been on nine seasons of the bachelorette and I was just pretty floored by that fact. It was a really cool talk. Learn about how working inside the Plum Club also is a collaborative experience and what they learn from the other members of it. I hope you enjoy us talking, enjoy.

Speaker 2:

This episode is brought to you by Punchmark, the jewelry industry's favorite website platform and digital growth agency. Our mission reaches way beyond technology. With decades of experience and long-lasting industry relationships, punchmark enables jewelry businesses to flourish in any marketplace. We consider our clients our friends, as many of them have been friends way before becoming clients. Punchmark's own success comes from the fact that we have a much deeper need and obligation to help our friends succeed. Whether you're looking for better e-commerce performance, business growth or campaigns that drive traffic and sales, punchmark's website and marketing services were made just for you. It's never too late to transform your business and stitch together your digital and physical worlds in a way that achieves tremendous growth and results. Schedule a guided demo today at punchmarkcom slash go. And now back to the show.

Speaker 1:

Welcome everybody. My name is Michael Burpo. Welcome everybody, my name is Michael Burpo. I'm joined by Jordan and Allison Peck with Brevani, also known as Color Merchants. How are you?

Speaker 4:

guys doing today, doing good, and you.

Speaker 1:

So well. I'm really excited to get a chance to speak with you. I met you just kind of through a friend of a friend on Jewelers, Helping Jewelers, and I'm so excited to get a chance to interview you. One of the brands that people always speak very highly of. My boss, Ross Cockrum, has always spoke very highly of you guys as well. Seems like you guys have been in the industry for kind of a pretty substantial amount of time. Can you talk to me a little bit about the founding of Brevani and Color Merchants and sort of how you got introduced into the jewelry industry as well?

Speaker 5:

Yeah, of course I'll take that one. So our parents started in the jewelry business about 30 years ago and they started Color Merchants. When they started, it was primarily birthstone and a lot of the classics, such as like inside-outside hoops, tennis bracelets, studs. And when Jordan and I came into the business officially about 10 years ago, at this point I personally didn't want to wear any of the jewelry. You know. I wanted it to be more fun and interesting, really standout pieces. So we came up with Bravani, which is now a division of Color Merchants, where retailers can either brand us and with that you would get marketing support as well as different floorboards and fixtures for your showcases or retailers can decide to white label us and mix it in with their existing inventory. But as far as Jordan and I, we've been really in the business, like you said, forever.

Speaker 5:

um, I remember being little and going to some of the shows with our parents and just walking up and down the aisles and being introduced to everyone.

Speaker 4:

So yeah, we've definitely been around in our whole lives. Yeah, I was talking to one of the security guards at, uh, the Centurion show this past weekend and I reminded him of a time when I was like really young where I went to a baseball game, came back with a foul ball and he put me on his shoulders and walked me around the show. So I was like seven years old at the time and when I reminded him of that he's like well, you just had to, you had to age me, like that. But yeah, we've been around a long time is.

Speaker 1:

Is that something you know? We'll get into a little more on the brand, but did you guys have the choice to kind of wander in the world like go and do your own thing, or was it pretty expected you're going to come back to the family business?

Speaker 5:

We were really lucky. Our parents definitely gave us the opportunity to figure out what we wanted and then we were able to come back when you know we wanted to and figured out you know what roles within the business and what specifically you know each of us wanted to take on. Yeah, and even at the beginning.

Speaker 4:

I mean, we have a few different, like you know, facets of our business and you know, our dad basically said to us you know, here are all the different paths you can take and here's what you need to do in order to accomplish them, and kind of like, laid it out and basically gave us the opportunity to say here's what I want to do. And if, at any point, we, you know, even at this point, if at any point we said, hey, listen, we don't want to be in it anymore, they would support that. But that's not the case for either of us.

Speaker 5:

And we still refer to that document to this day. We call it the highways of opportunity.

Speaker 1:

Wow Cool. That's a. It's kind of like the, the constitute, like the constitution, or something like that.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, it's like our guiding light a little bit in some respect.

Speaker 1:

That's so interesting. I guess and you guys were mentioning so Brevani is available for white labeling and right when I got on, I was like your guys' Instagram is really good. It's one of the few ones out there for a jewelry vendor. Is that something you guys really put like a big focus on, that you guys, like are actually, I don't know, passionate about it, or it seems like, um, you actually are putting some dollars behind it, because, if I know anything, photographing jewelry is not something that can be done willy-nilly. It takes a little bit of uh, you know, setup and like thought and planning. Is that something you guys are really focused on right now?

Speaker 5:

So it definitely takes a little bit of practice to get the lighting angles and everything perfect, um. But we do have a dedicated um marketing um girl in house and she takes all of our images. She's wonderful with social Um. She makes sure to, you know, to interact with our customers and we try and get both lifestyle and product shots in there. We get interesting not a lot of white backgrounds. And then we also we make sure to follow all of our retailers. If anyone posts something of ours, we try and repost and reshare it and that's definitely one of the ways that we help support our retailers.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, and I think it's important because also as a you know, as a growing brand in today's landscape, you've got to be able to stand out and kind of help drive that traffic to your retailers and give them some tools to, you know, improve their sell throughout the store. So for us, if we're able to help their you know social media accounts stand out in their area, or we're able to provide them with good content that we know is working for us, then you know, it's a slam dunk for them and you know that's just again one of the things that we offer to our branded retailers to give them the leg up and allow them to, you know kind of dominate in their market.

Speaker 4:

You know, also, it's just being that we're on the, you know our jewelry is catered to. You know more of the younger, more you knowforward people.

Speaker 3:

Having it out on Instagram helps because, like we said, if someone sees it, then they call us and say hey, where do?

Speaker 4:

I find this, and we direct them to a retailer in their area, so it makes it very, very easy.

Speaker 5:

I think it's important for brands right now to have that presence on social media. I agree, I know that personally. When I hear of a new brand, that's the first place I go. You know, I'm not going to Google anymore and trying to find their site. I want to see how many followers they have, what their content is and just what their overall aesthetic is and what they stand for. So I think it's really important to have that presence these days.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So so often though, uh, I mean just kind of to contrast it, I do feel like there are some brands that it's like we're going to provide you the jewelry and and at bare minimum, we're just going to send you some uh, we call them like photos on white, just jewelry on white, um, usually shot through like uh, just a standard um light box, and it's kind of like, hey, and then you're gonna have to do the rest. But I really do believe that the way to sell online, like lifestyle photos, really do help sell, whether that's for the promotion aspect of it or it's just on the product details page. Having, for example, with earrings, there's earrings. I bought a set of earrings for my mom and I thought that they were hoop earrings and were like hug earrings, you know. And they I didn't know, because in the shot they seemed big and I thought I was paying big.

Speaker 4:

uh, they were not, and they were uh, and that's one of those things I think matters yeah, and it's funny you say that because our jewelry is is meant to be unique, it's meant to be kind of that everyday but fashion forward. So it's difficult to see it just on like a white background and envision how this can be worn or you know what's the style that's supposed to go with.

Speaker 4:

But once, like you put it on someone and actually show them wearing it, you're like oh wow, this actually makes a lot more sense and this is something I could wear every day, right? So once people see it actually being worn and utilize the way it's supposed to, then something clicks in their mind and you know, everyone could get lost in a sea of white background jewelry shops. Nothing really separates them Absolutely. You're totally right.

Speaker 5:

Yeah, I think it just really helps create interest among the the consumer, because, oh, what neckline do I wear with? You know, jewelry is a part of fashion so if I mix these pieces, yeah, right or mix different colors. Oh, I can wear this with a pair of jeans.

Speaker 4:

Um, I think it just helps sell the jewelry overall and one thing that we always talk about is you know and and you can ask anyone that kind of comes to the shows or anything like that one thing that we always talk about is how do we make bravado fun, right? How do we make shopping for jewelry fun and that's a big piece of it is you wear it the way you want to wear it. You wear it in a way that you may not think of doing it right, and that's what we try to showcase with our, with our product and with our social media and with our content is that, like you know, you can wear it however you want. It's going to work for you and you know, if it works for you, then we're good with it. However, our customer chooses to wear our jewelry, we're we're thrilled.

Speaker 1:

And you know it sounds so simple when you say it like that, but it definitely is um, it is stand out and very different than, uh, what? There's a lot of jewelry vendors out there. Well, they're all a lot of people are doing. Um, you guys are a member of a pretty I don't want to say prestigious, but more like elites or exclusive club, the Plum Club members. Like you know, ospy and Imperial Pearls, I believe, and a couple of other ones. You guys have a very fancy spot in at JCK, like this big showroom with fancy carpets and stuff. Is that something? You guys are relatively young for the, for the industry, and I know you guys are next generation. Is that something that you guys are trying to, you know, learn from other members of the plum club? Or, uh, is it like a collaborative experience with that group or, um, what are you getting out of being in the club club right now?

Speaker 4:

So it's kind of all of the above right Um, you're in a group with, you know, the leading manufacturers, the leading providers of jewelry to the industry as a whole, and you know, just being able to be in a room with them and have open conversations and being able to call them and say, hey, having this idea, what do you guys think, and being able to just kick that around is, you know, is incredible in itself. Obviously, the show presence is great as well, you know. It elevates our brand and separates us from just being kind of along the rows down in the show retailers and to the retailers that work with other members of the Plum Club, it's basically a one-stop shop for them. And then throughout the year, plum Club is constantly coming up with new directives and different ways that we can bring value back. For example, right now we're working on a really second and third iteration of our research project that basically pulls jewelry consumers throughout the US and gathers information about trends, what they want to buy, the price points that they want to purchase at and how we can market to them better what they're looking for.

Speaker 4:

And we did all of that as a way of adding value not only to members, but as adding value to the retail partners that we work with. So you know, it's not just everyone thinks the Plum Club is just the show and while that's a big piece of it, really our push between that and you know, symposium and the other things that we're doing are, you know, is really to how can we add more value to the retailers that we work with. And that's something that Allie and I and our family and our company just as a whole really believe to our core is how do we support the people we work with that support us? And now the Plum Club just aligns with that really really well.

Speaker 1:

Very cool and you guys get a fancy purple carpet out of it. I mean, yeah, the carpet definitely helps.

Speaker 4:

Uh, you know your, your feet don't hurt after after a few nights out in Vegas, which is always great.

Speaker 5:

Whoa.

Speaker 1:

I didn't know about the ice cream you guys been hoarding that. That's too bad. All right, nice Um guys. I think we're going to take a quick break and when I come back I want to talk to you guys about, you know, working with your sibling. So everybody, stay with us.

Speaker 1:

This episode is brought to you in part by National Rarities. If you're looking to bring fresh foot traffic to your store and connect with new customers, national Rarities has you covered. Their three-day buying events are completely free for you as the jeweler and they average 170 attendees per event. Nearly half of those visitors are brand new to the store. National Rarities buys a wide variety of items, from gold and silver to militaria, artwork, designer handbags and more. Plus, they pay a 10% commission to you, the retailer, on everything they purchase. That means more foot traffic, more customers and a direct boost to your bottom line, all at no cost to you. And if you do decide to run a National Rarities event this year and have a Punchmark website, be sure to ask your account manager about the new National Rarities event landing page in Site Manager. Learn more about National Rarities at landing page in Site Manager. Learn more about National Rarities at nationalraritiescom. Or reach out to Justin. That's J-U-S-T-I-N at nationalraritiescom. There'll be more information in the show notes below.

Speaker 1:

And now back to the show. All right, and we're back. I'm still speaking with Jordan and Allison Peck with Brevani. So, jordan, allison, I'm working with your sibling. I don't know if I could handle it. I have two older brothers. I think that, having a family business, one of them listens to the show every single time. What's up, joe? What's it like having a business partner? That's also your sibling.

Speaker 4:

It's fun, you know. I would say that. You know, listen, it all depends on the day, right? We're always going to have family dynamics that mix into the business. But I think, at the end of the day, knowing that you know we have each other's back and we have the same interests in mind, same thing with, like, our parents and the people that are here, you know that that's the most reassuring thing, right? You don't feel like you have someone who doesn't understand where you're coming from and where you want to get to, and being able to share that and be open with it, I think is the most important thing. I would say it's probably not for everyone, you know, definitely not for the faint of heart. If you were to ask our mom if she likes that, you know all of our dinner conversations have gone from, you know, normal discussions to family, to business discussions she probably wouldn't agree with it. But that's just kind of the hands of the hands that choose to help I think we're really lucky.

Speaker 5:

We come from a very tight-knit family, um, and thank goodness we all get along and actually like each other, um, but specifically jordan and I are really lucky because the things that he excels in I don't necessarily, and vice versa. So we have different core competencies, so we fit together really nice. Yeah, it's also nice to come, just, you know, just to come to him and say, jordan, I'm having, you know, a bad day, and he gets it, or dad's really on me about this and he's like, oh yeah, he's, he's annoying me too this morning on me about this.

Speaker 5:

and he's like, oh yeah, he's, he's annoying me too this morning. Um, you know, and we're able to kind of vent to each other about different things, um, so it's been really nice yeah, I guess I wanted to ask about the like, the split.

Speaker 1:

You said that core competencies is there like um, a division, or or, uh, does one of you handle marketing and the other person handles business, or what is that split like, like? Are you able to kind of reveal a little bit about that?

Speaker 4:

so it it listen, there's a lot of blurred lines when it comes to that, but I think that's something that we're always, you know, trying to figure out and okay, who's responsible for what?

Speaker 4:

I think, at the end of the day, though, it's really pretty straightforward where ali is really good when it comes to product marketing and design and, you know, direction of the brand, right, that's what she's really good at and sourcing things, whereas I'm much more on the operational side the back end technology, um, I can. You know, like she said, those are things that I'm good at and those are things that she's good at. So we kind of just try to stay in our lane, and there's plenty of areas where that crosses over, and, you know, it's both of us saying, oh well, you know, let us, let me handle this, let me handle this, and at that point it's just a matter of okay, well, who's going to handle it in the right way? And as long as it gets it done and it gets completed correctly, then it doesn't really matter to us.

Speaker 5:

And with a lot of things we'll always go back to each other with it.

Speaker 5:

So, like I may, work in-house with our marketing department to create, you know, our ads for Vegas, but before we send them in and before they're you know, approved and done with, I get them in front of Jordan and you know, our father and everyone kind of gets their two cents in there and you know, then we'll send it in from there. So even though we stay in our lanes, we do always try and check in with each other and keep you know, keep the other one in the loop. Yeah, I mean.

Speaker 4:

Allie and I share an office, so there is very little way of just like, no, you're not going to be involved in this right, because if I'm on a call and someone's asking me a question, I just don't know the answer. I'm like, hey, what's the answer? This tells me, and we, we move forward. So you know it's, there's, we're, we're a, we're a nimble team that is always kind of looking to help out and support and always has one ear uh, always one ear to the ground.

Speaker 1:

That's for sure it's kind of interesting because two out of three partners at Punchmark so Ross and Brian Cockrum are, you know, brothers.

Speaker 1:

And it's pretty interesting because you know our CEO, my boss, is Ross Cockrum and he's the younger brother and it's fascinating to see. I've been in you know, a million meetings with them and sometimes I forget that they're brothers and sometimes I remember that they're brothers in meetings and it's like I, you know, I think it would be okay if I was to work with my brothers, but at the same time I'm not certain and I think it would be such a gamble to me for me to go into business with one of my brothers or both my brothers that it's almost like man. I'm glad I don't even have to roll the dice because it seems so stressful if it doesn't go well. I actually did an episode with Craig McBean and Osby for the Plum Club podcast should be coming out relatively soon and that one was all about, like it's called, passing the Torch Without Blowing Up the Family and it was all about like Craig knows that well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, how do you go from you know a parent to a son, or in one case it was actually from a grandfather to a granddaughter, and like, how do of navigate those those experiences, because there's no real rule book. What was you mentioned? You had this document that you had worked on with your parents. I guess I kind of want to start with, if you don't mind sharing what capacity are your parents involved with Bravani currently?

Speaker 5:

So they are still involved. Um they're in the process of um they're in the process of retiring and moving on.

Speaker 5:

Um they actually they just spent a month in Florida and flew back this morning because they couldn't take the cold here in New York. But yes, when they are in New York, kevin's here Monday through Thursday and our mom, helene, is here two days a week Tuesdays and Thursdays they do still attend the Plum Club. They attend Vegas every year. Wow, I think at this point they're really sounding boards for us. I think at this point they're really sounding boards for us that one of the reasons Kevin flew back down to Florida today he's, like you know, I'm bored in the office.

Speaker 4:

I don't have anything to do.

Speaker 5:

Give me a job. So it's, it's good where we're making steps in the right direction.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, and our dad is also the kind of guy who's never going to be fully retired. You know he can only golf so much and lose enough. You know so many balls. So you know he, you know he's always going to have, like you know, really does know this business back and forth, and so that's a huge asset that, honestly, a lot of other people don't, you know, don't have and especially you talked about. You don't know if you'd be able to like gamble and go into business, like with your brother, right?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, when you think about it, he was the one that really started this and kind of like grew it to the point where we were able to come in and, you know, take the reins and just kind of like roll with it and just build on top of it what we wanted, right?

Speaker 4:

I think that if we were going from the ground up, it would be a much different conversation, right, but I think that I think that the fact that that foundation was there and that Allie and I grew up understanding the dynamic of it a little bit definitely helps with um, with our ability to work together. And, you know, like same thing with Brian and Ross. They both grew up in the business right, but they, they founded their company and they they've been responsible for growing that. So for them they've had, they had to deal with a lot of that growing pain. Just the two of them and and, of course, dan right. But that was something that we have now, that we didn't necessarily have at the beginning and also Kevin really enjoys it, yeah, so that that's a plus too, yeah he missed super cool.

Speaker 1:

That's really neat because I I, when I was doing that episode for the plum club, uh, one of the segments I had done was it's like out to pasture or uh, board of advisors, it's like so, and it was actually pretty split. Um, some people keep their you know the previous owner around as much as possible because you know it's yeah, it's it's free advisory and it's also. These people are so steeped and they know the context. But some people, man, they are not able to do something a little bit, and I totally understand that.

Speaker 5:

I it's, it's how the I'll say, quote unquote old owners versus new owners approach it. Um, we were really lucky. Kevin was very open to our ideas. When we came to him with the idea of bravani and wanting to do something a bit more trendy, a little different, um, you know a branded division he said, okay, show it to me, you know a branded division.

Speaker 5:

He said, OK, show it to me, you know what's it going to look like when the three of us, you know, spoke, sat down and agreed on the direction of where the company is going and the three of us are all working towards common goals, if those two, you know, if the old owner and the new owners aren't on that same page.

Speaker 3:

I could definitely see how you would want to put them out to pasture as opposed to keep them, you know, on a board for advice.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I totally understand, man. It's a like I said, there's no roadmap, there's no rule book. It's pretty much plain by ear, no matter who it is. And it's cool, though, that you guys have kind of seemingly figured it out and kind of put it in a good in a good place. That's, that's great. But, guys, I think we're going to take one more quick break, and then I want to talk about your involvement with the Responsible Jewelry Council. So everybody, stay with us.

Speaker 3:

Hey everyone, jason from Punchmark here. Are you ready to take your online presence to the next level? If so, then I invite you to join us for our annual education workshop in Charlotte, north Carolina, where you'll gain expert insights, hands-on training and actionable strategies to grow your business online. This exclusive event is designed just for jewelers like you. This exclusive event is designed just for jewelers like you, covering everything from website best practices and e-commerce strategies to digital marketing and customer engagement. Plus, you'll have the chance to network with industry experts and fellow jewelers who share your passion for success. Join us May 18th to the 20th. Limited spots are available, so don't miss this opportunity to refine your digital strategy and set your business up for success. Register now at punchmarkcom slash workshop and secure your spot today.

Speaker 1:

Again, that's punchmarkcom slash workshop and now back to the show. Welcome back everybody. I'm still joined by Jordan and Allison Peck with Brevani, so I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your responsible jewelry council involvement. I was going through your guys' website and you guys are very proud of the fact that I think three years ago you achieved full certification by the Responsible Jewelry Council. Could you maybe talk a little bit, jordan, about your involvement with that council and kind of what their goals and aims are that?

Speaker 4:

council and kind of what their goals and aims are. Sure, so yeah, the RJC is essentially a global organization geared towards helping manufacturers and retailers ensure responsible sourcing in their supply chain, ethical standards throughout the you know, throughout the industry, and you know, make basically make sure that we, as an industry, are sourcing properly and giving back to the community at large and not involving ourselves in areas where we shouldn't be. And this aligned really well with what we were already doing, because we already only sourced from a very limited number of suppliers that we've been working with for a long time and we made sure that anything that we did was open, transparent and that we weren't involving ourselves in something that could come back to bite us. And I think that when we started along the path of the RJC, it was just a matter of OK, are we in line with their guidelines?

Speaker 4:

And I think that a lot of people don't recognize the work that it takes to actually be able to achieve that certification and it requires a full third party audit of all of the processes. Right, you know they come in, they look at where you're sourcing from. They look at the map to make sure that you're not sourcing from high conflict areas. They look to make sure that internally your staff has you know basic. You know basic human rights and a lot more beyond that. And you know they stand for a lot of things that you don't even realize you would stand for on a normal basis, right.

Speaker 4:

So, now it's just a matter of being able to put those protocols in place, and for us, it was super helpful because, where we typically are, our dad typically operated on this, like you know, open door policy and this transparency, with not a ton of actual structure around it, it enabled us to say, okay, well, here's a structure that we want to put in place that makes sense. Here's processes that are in line with what we want to do and here's how we can tighten them up even further to make sure that the product that we are claiming and the product that we are providing to our customer is great quality and is responsibly sourced. And that, to us, is very important, especially as you talk to consumers now, where that's becoming more and more important to them. It's on the tops of every's on the top, it's on the tops of every customer's mind.

Speaker 4:

Okay, is this sustainably sourced? Is this sourced from? You know certain areas and you want to be able to say without question that it is, and so for that. So for us it was a no-brainer. And as we started to do that and I got more involved because this was all during COVID, really that we started down that road, I got more involved in. This was all during COVID, really, that we started down that road. I got more involved in helping other Plum Club members go through their processes and get their certifications completed and basically RJC reached out and asked me to be part of this global task force and represent the small and medium sized businesses within the industry.

Speaker 3:

And it's really cool.

Speaker 4:

I mean, I sit on this board with a lot of members of the industry, from diamond producers in India to members of the Cignet directors team, right and you're able to get perspective from all these different companies and help drive some of these initiatives that we're passionate about really from the ground up. And for us, having that type of involvement and being able to represent companies of our size, which typically don't get represented on platforms like that, is a huge honor and it, I think, has helped our business tremendously.

Speaker 1:

That's fantastic, and I guess I wonder, though, because you are B2B as a jewelry vendor, I sometimes wonder about the messaging kind of behind it, because, you know, sometimes I feel like Punchmark is also B2B, and sometimes I wonder I don't know how to kind of talk about these things in a way that sort of resonates, because in the end it's like kind of like you're playing telephone, you're going to be selling your jewelry to a jewelry store, the jewelry store is then going to be selling it to a consumer, and I sometimes what you just mentioned is really a fantastic and admirable thing, and I'm not saying that all of this is about commerce, but I do think that passing the information about what you just mentioned and making sure that things are responsibly you know, sourced and conflict free responsibly, you know, sourced and conflict-free, how are you able to convey that information to your you know, your clients in a way that resonates and makes sense but also kind of has some kind of follow through to it?

Speaker 4:

if that makes any sense, like, how do you, I know exactly, I know exactly what you're saying. Like, you know, how do we, how do we make sure that that message gets passed along to the end consumer, right? So, so it's a great question and, honestly, for us it's about educating our customer. Right? We can't really control what our customer is going to say to theirs, right? You know, our customer is the retail jeweler. We don't sell direct, we don't deal with the end consumer, so all we can really do is promote the fact that we are responsibly certified. And if you have any questions, here's what we, you know, here's, here's how you can access those resources which you can always access on our site, right?

Speaker 3:

But what?

Speaker 4:

we do is we just try to educate our customers, and this way, when a customer comes into their store, they have the answer right. They don't have to fumble and say, let me find out this, let me find that out. They can just very cleanly say oh well, bravani is responsibly sourced, they have the certification that allows them to say that with full transparency, and it creates this level of trust in the consumer and understanding that, okay, if they've gone through these processes, then obviously they've done something right. Whether that always gets conveyed the right way through the retailers, I'll say probably not, but that's the game I think that we're all trying to figure out. The solution for is how do we play telephone in a way that's going to pass the message along accurately? And all we can really do is control the message that we're providing to our clients and, you know, give them the ammunition to pass it along to theirs when they need it give them the ammunition to pass it along to theirs when they need it.

Speaker 5:

And as it's becoming more and more important to the end consumer, I think that's going to drive the retailer to voice that. Because when the end consumer asks the retailer, hey, is this responsibly sourced? Or hey, where did this gold come from? Like Jordan said, they have not only the trust but they also have the confidence to come to us because we're responsibly sourced. So I think this year, as opposed to three years ago, we're getting the question from our retailers are you RJC certified? So again, I think more and more retailers are starting or continuing to be educated and are starting to get to that consumer level.

Speaker 1:

And I know and again it sounds terrible to be like it's all about the business but when I think all these points are driven by a consumer at the end, and I do think that, like you said, when the end consumer starts to care, it behooves the I don't want to say middleman, but the retailer to be educated so that they are able to touch upon those points, it's so fascinating that it's almost kind of like they have to happen almost simultaneously, or, you know, synchronously, so that they are able to. Because why does the? Why will the retailer educate themselves upon these things if, in the end, it really doesn't matter to their shoppers? It's a chicken and egg question, right? What?

Speaker 4:

comes first. Do you supply responsibly sourced jewelry or do you get asked for it, right? And so what we decided was we want to be ahead of that curve. So this way as people, because we recognize, you know, in our shopping habits, that that's something that we look for, or something that you know people around us look for, and so we wanted to get ahead of that and make sure that, if you know, if people were going to start asking for it, that our brand was able to say yes, we are. And you know, one thing that you'll learn about us is that and we say this to all of our sales reps, we say this to all of, like, our customers we don't like to say no right.

Speaker 4:

We like to say that, yes, we can do this for you, and not that we want to be everything to everyone because no one could do that.

Speaker 4:

But you know, it just gives again the retailer just another tool that we can provide them to be able to close a sale on their end. And again, not that it's all driven by commerce, because there's a lot of really good things that happen behind it, you know. But it's an, it's an awesome tool and it's an awesome thing that you know for us to be a part of, to be able to help drive our business.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, and you know what and it's the right thing to do and I appreciate that. But I guess related to marketing. On a lighter note, even I kind of wanted to ask you guys. So I went to your guys blog and I was doing a little bit of research, I was kind of starting to formulate some of my questions. I see, you know, as seen on the Bachelorette, I was like, wow, that's pretty cool. Scroll through a little bit more. And it's like I seen on the bachelorette. I was like, oh, pretty cool. And then it's like you guys are on there like, are you guys like the de facto, like jewelry for the bachelorette? I wanted to ask what is that experience like? Is that something that you just have an in-app now and you just are able to connect with them regularly? Um, what, what's that like? At this point, yeah, so um.

Speaker 5:

So at this point we've've been on, I believe, for this is our ninth season.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that's awesome.

Speaker 5:

So we've been. We work really closely with the stylist. They'll reach out pretty much at the beginning of each season when they begin to film. Tell us, you know, does the girls have her ear pierced? What size rings she is Um, and we'll send in a ton of product um for them. And from that, the stylist, depending upon you, know her outfits and all that jazz, we'll we'll choose what, what he wants to pair it with Um, but it's been wonderful for us as far as um know advertising marketing, just getting the name out there the retailers that choose to use the marketing behind it.

Speaker 5:

some of them get really creative with it. For example, we had a retailer in Alabama and at the time the Bachelorette was from Alabama and they hosted like a Bachelorette night and they brought in, you know all the jewelry that was worn on the show in that that season and, you know, through a bachelorette party. So for the retailers that choose to use the marketing behind it and understand the power that the bachelorette name has behind it. They've seen a lot of success with it, which has been really fun for us yeah.

Speaker 1:

So is that something that you kind of give them, your, your retailers? Is that something you give them a heads up on? It's like, hey, this is going to be coming, here's some ideas or strategies, or do you kind of let them figure that out themselves?

Speaker 5:

So, unfortunately, a lot of times we find out with the general public what is going on.

Speaker 4:

Maximum the morning going to show yeah, maximum the morning of the show, really.

Speaker 5:

The morning the day before. We'll try and go on you know Getty. Images or you know try and look on different sites to see if anything's been leaked.

Speaker 4:

My wife's a big fan, so she stalks all the accounts.

Speaker 5:

The answer is if we do find out before the episode airs, we try and send out an e-blast or post it to our social media as a heads up for our retailers. But other than that, once we know, once we see it on, we always post it on social media.

Speaker 1:

Man, that's really, really a neat thing. I've spoken with a couple of vendors and even individual jewelry designers that have been on the Bachelorette and I again, like I had mentioned before we got on. I personally don't watch the Bachelorette, but I'm learning increasingly. It is like an important product placement moment for the jewelry industry. For the jewelry industry, and especially for a vendor such as yourself, it does sound like something that other retailers, your retailers, could get behind as just like a free marketing moment. It's like, hey, as this was seen on the Bachelorette, this person wore it in this moment, like we have it in our store, and I could definitely see how someone would want to buy that.

Speaker 5:

Absolutely.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, and again, just another touch point, another conversation point for the retailer to be able to also have. Right, like customer comes in and they see that and oh, they're a big fan of the bachelorette, and now you can all have these conversations and you know, just another tool that we try to, you know, let our retailers use to their advantage, another tool in the arsenal, yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1:

That's great, wow, super cool. I love that. Thank you guys so much for your time. I think we'll probably end it right there Now, if someone is listening and they're interested and they want to maybe try out carrying Bravani, could you share where they could contact you as well as your different points on the web?

Speaker 5:

Yeah, so as a as a retail partner, you would go to color merchantscom. Bravanicom is completely consumer driven, we don't sell to the customer, but it's just a smattering of what we offer. And then, of course, you could follow us on social media. Bravani official.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, also, if you're going to be at any of the shows coming up, we're at rjo ijo atlanta. Obviously. We're in vegas at the plum club. Uh, as well as the select shows, yeah awesome.

Speaker 1:

Well, thank you guys so much for your time. A really interesting uh conversation. I think this is going to be uh one. I would love to follow up with you all to hear about, um, what you guys are coming up with soon. But thanks everybody. Go check them out on the internet and we'll be back next week, tuesday, with another episode. Thanks everybody, bye. Bye, all right, everybody. That's the end of the show. Thanks so much for listening. This week, my guests were Alison and Jordan Peck from Brevani and Color Merchants. This episode was brought to you by Punchmark and produced and hosted by me, michael Burpo. This episode was edited by Paul Suarez with music by Ross Cockrum. Don't forget to rate the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave us feedback on punchmarkcom slash loop. That's L-O-U-P-E. Also, make sure you subscribe for future episodes. It's the best way to stay in the loop. We'll be back next week, tuesday, with another episode. Cheers everybody, bye, thank you.

People on this episode