#632 - Life-Saving Amazon Business
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Today we've got a newer seller who talks about how he started on Amazon. It all started by trying to develop products to be able to save his own dog and that launched a brand for him that even got him on the radar of Amazon who's featured his story on their website. How cool is that? Pretty cool I think.

Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast by Helium 10. I'm your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show that's a completely BS-free, unscripted and unrehearsed, organic conversation about serious strategies for serious sellers of any level in the e-commerce world. And for the first time on Serious Sellers Podcast in English, not the first time Serious Sellers Podcast overall, because he's been on our Spanish one, we've got Santiago in the house. How's it going, Santiago?

Really good, really good. I appreciate you having me over. Now, where are you located? You just said it was like 9.30 p.m. over there. Where are you at right now? I'm in Paris, France. Since this is your first time on the show, let's dive into how you got there. Santiago Galvez is not exactly a French name there. So where were you born and raised? Yes, I was born and raised in Colombia. I went to high school in Colombia. And after high school, I moved to the States and went to university there.

Worked for Procter & Gamble for... Where in Colombia were you? I was in Bogota. Okay. And then how old were you when you moved? I was 19 when I moved. Okay, so all of your school life, you were there in Colombia and then you went to U.S. for work or for school or both or what?

It was mainly because I wanted to go to an aviation school, right? And I actually got my first degree in aviation maintenance. So I used to work for fixed planes, used to work for DHL and fixed airplanes and stuff like that. But then, you know, everything changed when everything became kind of like a union in the aviation industry. And then I was not a big fan of the union. So I switched to business and I got my degree in business.

And where did you go? I went to Xavier University in Cincinnati for my undergrad. Oh, man. I know that mascot. What is the mascot there? The Musketeers. The Musketeers. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. They have a really they've always had a good basketball team. Yeah. OK. March Madness is my month. There you go. There you go. And so then what was your did you get a bachelor's degree from there then?

Yes, I got a bachelor's degree there. And then right when I graduated, that's when Procter & Gamble offered me a position. And I worked for Procter & Gamble for about 15 years, really developing their brands and doing some global expansion for the USA brands into Asia.

So it was a great, great, great company, great learnings and really built me up on really how to develop a brand from scratch into a multi-billion brand. So then you were working full-time job for Procter & Gamble and then from there you went to another company or you started being an entrepreneur or what was the transition?

One of the times that I was working for Procter & Gamble, that's when I moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and I got my grad school there in Phoenix for Thunderbird. And once I finished that, I actually worked for PepsiCo for about three years as a director of the CNG Convenience and Gas channel.

in the USA. And then after that, I did work for ADM on the supplements arena for humans. And that's at the time, that's the time that my dog got sick. And it pretty much led me into really deep dive down into the pet industry and how to really help my dog because he got a bacteria in his bloodstream and I was just trying to

come out with a solution and knocking on the shelf was really working. What year are we talking about right now? That was three years ago. So that was 2022. Yeah. And you were still in the US at this time or you were already in Europe? I was...

- I was in the US, I was in the US, yes. - Okay, so you're working for a company, and then your dog started having these health issues, and then, so at the time you were just looking into solutions just for yourself as a consumer to help your dog out, and then so what did that lead to? - Yeah, so then nothing was really helping him, and one of my friends was a vet, and he told me, "Listen, this is what's happening in the market.

Uh, the probiotics they are right now, uh, in the market are probiotics or good bacteria that doesn't survive when it gets to the digestive tract of the dog because of X amount of reasons. So I was like, man, let's just save my dog, man. Like just do whatever it takes.

You have no kids, right? No, no kids. Your dog is like your kid. Yeah, he's my kid. Yeah, Tango. He's right now 14 years old and kicking. So I'm happy about that. Yeah, bring your Spaniel. So then we just literally just, I was working for this company at the time that I was doing the research and building this formula to save the dog.

And we created some samples, we gave it to the dog, and that was the only thing that helped them. So that was a huge shift in my life. And when I say like, listen, like, I always wanted to have my own thing. This is, I mean, sad that my dog got sick, but this is a huge opportunity that, you know, it was brought upon me by Destiny and have a new formula that is actually going to help the dogs.

and we build it and I quit my job and literally just 100% entrepreneur. Well, hold on. That's a bit too much of a jump right there. So you're working full-time, full-time employment. Now,

Were you like, I'm just going to focus on this or I'm just going to quit my job with no income yet on Amazon? Or did you already start getting Amazon or other online income? Or were you just like, no, I got to focus on this and that's why I quit my job? Or you quit your job because you already started having some replacement income? No, no. I have a mentality that...

that nothing is always going to be perfect to cross the road. So if I start like tasting the waters, I might just do 10% here and then 10% there. So my mentality was like, let's just go full on, right? So I can really focus on it.

So I, I quit my job and then within two months is when I launched my brand. And now are we still about three years ago or where are we at about? Yep. Okay. Yeah. About two and a half years ago when we launched. So you had some savings, I would assume, you know, like it's not like your bank account was zero and you're just like, Oh, I'm going all in. And if I become homeless, I'm homeless, but okay. Had some savings. And then you're like, let's do it. And then, um,

Manufactured in USA? Yes. Yes. In Oklahoma City. So it's really close to Dallas. Yes. Where I was based at the time. And yes, no. So I had some savings and I just wanted to give it, you know, 100% don't have facet, you know. And I just, I went for it. And

And it's a decision that I will never regret. I am the happiest guy. I am helping dogs. The best gratification thing is seeing comments and emails from dog owners when they say like, oh my God, Max is back in action. Or, you know, my dog is not having digestive problems anymore. It's like, man, those things are so gratifying. They like, it just makes me happy that

I don't get those messages by selling coffin shelves. I can't relate. I can't relate. A little bit. Okay. So then what was your first full calendar year of selling? Was 2023 or that was in the middle of 2023 you started? So was 2024 your first full calendar year? Full calendar year was 2023. Okay. Full calendar year. Yes, yes. And then how did you do in sales that first year?

I mean, it was about $40,000. Okay. You know what I mean? It was really starting up. So then for profit then, you know, that's not enough obviously to have replaced your job. So like, did you just have lots of savings or did you have to like get other forms of income or how was the transition like then? Yeah, no, I had some savings. I had some savings that kind of kept me going. Also, like we have more profitable savings.

uh sustainable growth uh at the beginning especially for the supplements it takes a lot of education to the consumer um and and it's a really competitive arena um and there's also the other factor of you have to really understand if any of the listeners are in the supplements arena is that you always have to keep in mind the lifetime value of the product right like uh you you know

you might not make money on the first bag that you sell, but when the people come back and they continue to replenish their product, that's where you actually become sustainable. So it does take some time to be able to, one, educate, and second, to be able to be profitable with the lifetime value of the consumer.

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It was more of a personal reasons. I met a girl in Paris and we just kind of... That sounds like a Netflix TV show or something. Okay. Yes, yes. But it's just like this in life happens for a reason. When I moved to Europe, I started realizing the cost per acquisition for the consumers are like way, way less. Why? Because the supplements arena...

is more restricted here in Europe. So not all the brands actually are able to come in. So with less competition, the cost per acquisition is actually lower than in the States, right? So that's one of the reasons like, okay, we're at a long-term growth. You know, I'm here in Europe. It's something that I really want to kind of leverage is being able to

to leverage a lower cost per acquisition to be able to expand the business. So have you launched already in Europe or you're still planning to? Or you did already? No. Yeah, yeah. When did you start there? We are live.

That was about three weeks ago. We started in- Also brand new? Yeah, brand new. We just literally just started. We are in UK. In UK, we are in a field by merchant from the USA, which is not sustainable. Don't worry, it's because we're waiting for the VAT to come in for UK. Okay.

For France, we are already FBA. Now, is it the same ASINs or do you have to do different ASINs due to like maybe different formulation or different requirements or packaging or things like that? Or are you using the same exact ASINs as the US marketplace? Yes, yes. That's a really good question. I am using the same exact ASIN for a couple of reasons. One is just the ability for Amazon to

share the reviews from one country to another, it makes it so much easier for your conversion rate in the new markets. So that's something that I really wanted to leverage. The other reason why I was able to do that is because the formula that I have in the US was the same one that was accepted here. So I didn't have to change anything. So I was really lucky about that.

And so I am using the St. Mason's all across Europe right now. Yeah. So it was really a huge benefit about it. And that's something that I would recommend for any of the listeners is like try, if you are in the supplements arena, try to continue with the St. Mason's because that will help tremendously your conversion rate as you move forward with all the marketplaces. Now on the US side, how long did it take to get profitable? A year, a year in the supplements. Yes, yes.

Mainly because education, bringing in a new brand, right? It's always challenging. It takes a lot of, yeah, education really. People don't want to just give, like, my dog is my kid, right? It's the same for the pet parent, right? They want to make sure they're cautious. They want to make sure there's nothing that is going to even harm the dog, right? So it does take a lot of education. But after you see it in the orders in,

In Amazon, when like, okay, this username already had like 20 purchases, 30 purchases. It's like, okay, so then you build the loyalty there. And that's something that it takes time. So, approximately like a year to really become profitable in the supplement arena. Your story was also featured on the Amazon website where it talked about your brand and stuff. And then I believe in there, in my notes here that someone gave me, it

It says that even like 60% now of your purchases, I think, are from subscribe and save. Is that an accurate? Yes, it is the bread and butter. And the subscribe and save is a tool that Amazon gives us that I see a price list. As soon as anybody sells a supplement there, if you are a new brand, especially on the private label,

As soon as you can get into the subscribe and save, that's something that I highly recommend because it does, they spend more money, more loyalty. You do have some drop-offs there, you know what I mean? Because people sign up and then they just want to get the extra discount for the first order and then they come back, they don't come back and then you see them coming back later on. But it's definitely bread and butter for the business. So then was that the key?

of maybe why it took a long time for you to be profitable is because your cost of acquisition was very high with PPC, but then as the subscribe and save grew, then it helped your profitability.

Exactly. Okay. So then like pet supplements is very similar then to human supplements where your cost per click probably is insane. But then you're just like banking on getting that recurring revenue from the subscriptions. Exactly. Exactly. That's the long-term value. And that's why I was mentioning you might not make much money on the first or second box, mainly because of the cost per click is a really competitive thing.

arena and I mean probably supplements is one of the highest cost per clips categories that are out there in the Amazon departments or categories so definitely something that you have to keep in mind if any of the you know listeners are in the supplements and private label it's like you know probably not the first box but the loyalty and the subscribe and save tools the Amazon gives you it's actually something that is definitely going to help you become profitable. Is there anything you could have done differently you think in retrospect to

become profitable faster? Not a lot of people are patient like you who can wait a year to become profitable. Would you have changed something or is this kind of like, hey, you got to be, if you're going to get into supplements, a very competitive niche, you got to be prepared for a year-long battle to build up your customer base? Yes, yes. That's a really good question. I think something that I would recommend is

for the founders or owners of the brands to keep in mind that you have to test the waters with your formulas and you have to make sure that you're going to have really good feedback from the consumers. Luckily, I was there. But something to keep in mind is the cash flow, right? If you buy a lot of product from the manufacturer at once, because the more you buy, the cheapest

they're going to give you the product. So then if you try to maximize your process right from the get-go and try to get the cheapest product or the most economical price by buying bulk,

but then you don't have the turns enough to be able to sell all that product and it expires, then you're going to have a lot of scrape, right? Because this product does expire. So something that I will recommend for brands that start up, especially in the supplements arena, is keep in mind

You might not get the lowest cost if you buy less, but at least if you start with orders that are smaller, then you can start really learning how much your product's going to be turning. Then eventually you can estimate more or better before your product expires. So that's something that I would highly recommend on the cash flow and on how much they buy right from the get-go so they can really test the water. You might have to pay a little bit more at the beginning by lower quantities,

but eventually it's going to pay out in the long run as you really start learning what are going to be your turns of your product in each one of the formulas. Which one's going to be lower, which one's going to be faster, etc. Let's talk about your pricing strategy. I was just looking at your storefront. I see every single one, you've got the strikethrough price. And now unless there's an Amazon error, does that mean that...

At the list price, you have gotten purchases there in the last 90 days at that list price? Or how are you able to maintain that strike through price? Yeah. So I have, so during the holiday season, I was actually selling it at $34.95. And now that we hit the January, I did lower it to $29.95.

to be able to continue to increase the turns. So it's really psychological when you see the 29.95, once you cross that price cliff to 30, the 3.0,

Like you do make more profit, but your turns go down, right? So I've been able to do that strikethrough mainly just because during the October, November Q4, I was at $34.95. But now I'm switching the strategy into $29.95 in order to be able to turn more profit.

And then it says here, extra 30% off when you subscribe. So is that a coupon that you always have on or that's just a promo that you have going on now? That's always on. And then that is only on the first order if they start it. And then after that, it's just like the standard 5% or 10% discount or something like that? Exactly. Exactly. And I mean, I'm getting...

I mean, 90% of the people maintain once they get a coupon. I mean, you do see some drop-offs, but they continue to stay there. And this is a product that has 30 sachets or 30 packs inside. So it actually lasts 30 days. So every 30 days, they pretty much come back. Unless they have two dogs or three dogs. But yeah, so that's a strategy. You have a 30% off right from the first order.

And then after that, yeah, it's a regular discount. The first product you told us is the story of how you made it. Was it the probiotics? Was that your first product? The daily one, yes. Okay. So then were all of your subsequent products also you had your own dog in mind? Or you were doing just general market research and trying to figure out how to expand the brand? Or what was the origin story of some of your other products that you started selling?

So with Tango, so the daily was the original formula that I used with Tango. And when Tango had it, we were battling some skin issues that he had. So then with the vet, it was like, okay, you need to give him omega-6s and omega-3s, but give him with the probiotics so he helps absorb better.

the omega-3s and omega-6s. So it's kind of like if you eat omega-3s and omega-6s, but it doesn't get absorbed by the body, then it's going to go out the other way. It's not going to be beneficial, right? So then that's why doing the combo probiotics with the incremental ingredient, that's what helps the overall health. So I had that. So there was the ingredient, but then on the side for Tango, I was giving him omega-6s and omega-3s. So then he gave me the idea of like,

well, why don't I just like, let's just have the original product, but then let's have three extensions of the probiotics with the incremental ingredient to help

to help absorb, the combo will help absorb the nutrition. So I did some research with Euromonitor and other, other Kantar and other, other sources. And I did see that, you know, the calming was one of the biggest problems that were there for the pet owners. Another one was the heaping joint, especially for senior dogs. And,

and omega-3s and omega-3s for allergies and skin problems. So that's why I came out with, okay, well, let's expand from what we have, which was the one formula that I had, into the four based on the fact that one, I was giving him omega-3 and omega-6 on the side on top of the product. And then for the other two is the calming and the hip and joint. It was mainly from the resources that I saw. It was amazing.

it was the developing market and developing opportunity. I noticed on your storefront here, you actually put yourself and Tango like front and center a lot here. What...

Was that something you decided early on or because, I mean, you got some like professional, you spent some time, you got some really, this is like a Hollywood level storefront here with some of the lighting and stuff. That's my house in Dallas. No, but it was something that I really wanted to share. They, um,

the community of the story really like um is you know i launched this brand really because i really wanted to improve the health and improve the dogs and share a solution to a problem that i had before that i didn't have a solution to so i did i did um i did hire a marketing company to do the the little short video and how we came into the how we came to life so so yes it's a little bit of a

investment to be able to communicate the story. Are you doing any kind of promotions to your store followers? Like I see you're doing Amazon, just looking all over your story here. I see you are doing like some Amazon posts and things like that. Are you able to leverage your store followers at all with advertising?

I can follow him with the Amazon, the followers in Amazon. I mean, we can do the promotions and then the people that lapse, the people they haven't bought yet or they visited but they didn't buy. So you can create those promotions to really retarget him. But that just pretty much limits, I mean, unless there's something that I don't know, but you cannot buy.

I can target anybody within the Amazon ecosystem, right? So, yeah. Are you building off Amazon community at all? Or do you have social media presence off of Amazon? Are you doing like insert cards to build this up, et cetera? Yes, yes. So I do have a direct-to-consumer website, pedicultures.com.

I mean, I have the Instagram and the Facebook. I mean, they are great tools to really create awareness. I mean, to be fully transparent, a lot of times I see that we create some advertisement in Instagram and Facebook. They even go to the website. But then a lot of times they actually end up buying an Amazon product.

for X amount of reason, right? I think they just like the two-day delivery or one-day delivery or they just feel more comfortable, especially because it's a new brand. But yeah, the long-term strategy is eventually to continue to grow the percochos.com audience. Right now, we have about 2,000 followers. It's a lot of people

in mailing list and also in the Instagram and Facebook. But that's something that we also do try. We also do have the Insta cards that you mentioned inside of the packs.

They say, you know, learn a little bit more about education and tricks to help your dogs help, right? And they have the QR code and eventually takes them to our blogs. Then we constantly kind of continue updating tricks and stuff like that for the pet pets. We try to build a community that way, yes. What percentage of your revenue is from Amazon USA right now as opposed to website or anything else that you're doing?

I'm not saying USA, I would say probably about 70%. Okay, that's lower than I thought. So where's the other 30? Is it mainly from your website or are you on other platforms? About 10%.

10% on the website. Um, and also 10%, 10% of our website in petcoaches.com. Also 10% on our website in petcoaches.com.mx, which is the Mexico side. Uh, we had to have some great success in Mexico. How are you fulfilling the Mexican orders? By the way, for those watching on YouTube, I'm wearing one of my Mexican baseball. Uh, my parents have a house in Mazatlan in Mexico, and this is the team over there, Venados, uh,

I wanted to go red for today's theme. But anyway, so if I'm in Mazatlan, in my parents' house, I need to get something for my dog down there, I go to your Mexican website. Where's that order coming from? Where's it shipping from? So we manufacture the product in Oklahoma City. And then from that point, we ship it to Querétaro. And in Querétaro, we have 3PL.

they carry the inventory and once we get an order from a consumer in mexico then the 3pl ships are directed to the location of the consumer are you doing fba in amazon mexico too or is that one just fulfilling from us right now we're not doing amazon mexico right now uh we are just fulfilling um better cultures um there was uh a little bit of

The Mexican regulatory in Amazon, it's a little bit more disorganized than it is in Amazon USA. So there was just like a little headwind there. They failed. They're like, because this is our ingredient. This is a probiotic that we pretty much developed for the dogs, but they're not, they're recognized as a medication product.

in Mexico, but they're not recognized as a medication in the USA or any other country. So then what happened is when we launched there, they say, oh, no, no, these ingredients are medication. I'm like, no, they're not medication. So we're going back and forth with them right now to really clarify that because it's just, there's a supplement. It's not a medication. So right now we're just leveraging the percochos.com.mx website orders. Although we clarify that with the Amazon Mexico, yeah.

Mm-hmm. That mainly what it is, yeah. Okay. Favorite Helium 10 tool? I really think the key tracker is the bread and butter. I mean, it really lets you know the performance of your keywords. It's really important for you to know how you do it and how you

how you're tracking. And I think something that, I don't know if this has been rolled out to all the levels, but the heat map in the heat tracker, I think is priceless because it does let you see the trend and the graphic, the colors, the actually, you know what I mean? I'm a visual type of person, right? To be fully transparent. So like being able to see the things going, moving towards the right way, or even going towards the right path, it really kind of screams to me of like, okay, this is what we need to focus on this. We need to focus on that.

But there is a lot of great tools that Helium 10 there has. Atomic, you just save so much time to be able to create and even from your list of items or list of products or keywords that you're tracking, pretty much automatically create some campaigns. Actually, I think it just saves a lot of time versus going into the Seller Central and doing one by one and it's time consuming. Especially when you're selling and managing a couple of markets at once.

So saving time is really important and the accuracy of it. So it's pretty neat. Now, you know, some people might think Helium 10 Elite, hey, that's only for, you know, seven, eight figure sellers who've been selling for years. You're a somewhat newer seller. You've been an elite member. So how has it benefited you as a newer seller being part of that community?

Oh my God. I mean, tremendously because it's a, it's a feel that it is a community, right? Like we have, you know, that touch base on the, on the Fridays and, and it's kind of like more sharing. We, I mean, we, we don't only strictly talk about helium 10, right? We talk about like things that have worked, things that have, right? Like for example,

You know, last Friday we were talking about, hey, you know, there are some reviews there that they are not relevant to the product itself. But we got one or two stars. They're talking about shipping or they're talking about something completely irrelevant of it.

So then there's like another person that proposes like, oh yeah, use this company to actually get those people to get those reviews to be removed because they're not relevant to the product itself. So just sharing, reapplying with other elite members, I think it's just really priceless and really get to know what other headwinds, other...

other sellers that have it. It makes you feel that you're not alone as well, right? So it's a really good community. I really enjoy it. All right. Well, if anybody wants to join and be on these calls with Santiago, h10.me forward slash elite.

Uh, and you guys can join that community. We'll, I'll be seeing you in, in, in just a little bit because, we're going to be in Germany, uh, next week at elite workshop. We have quarterly in-person workshops. If anybody wants to join who are not elite member, uh, you, you can, you can get more info, h10.me forward slash Berlin. You'll be able to meet Santiago and in person and myself, Kevin King will be there. So depending on when you're listening to this, this will be on January 24th. So there's still some time to get tickets. Uh, um,

There might have been a 50% off coupon, but still it's under 100 euros to go. Obviously, elite members don't have to pay

if they go. But it'd be cool to see anybody out there if you guys are in Europe. Now, what's the future hold? You're in the process now of launching across different European marketplaces. Are you going to keep expanding out this brand, try and start a different brand, go on other platforms? What's the next? We're here at the beginning of 2025. If we were to have a podcast, which hopefully we are, we

beginning of 2026, what would you like to be able to have said you accomplished, uh, this year? Yes. I think, you know, um,

Ways to grow the brand is like, you know, you got to get more people to buy your product, right? Or either to be more profitable with the same users. Something that I'm really focusing on for 2025 is really leveraging the Pan Europe program that Amazon has that it actually lets you expand throughout Europe, which will allow me to reach all the European markets with only two VATs.

uh, registrations. Um, so this is a huge opportunity, um, that I'm really focused on 2025 to be able to, to, to leverage the European market as much as possible. Um, and so that's what I'm looking forward to it, which reaches market, uh, also because it's an educated market. They will also have the funds for it to, uh, for, to, to, you know, uh,

to take care of their pets, let's just say that. But that's definitely something that I'm really trying to reach that and leverage the lower CPA than it is, than North America has. So that's something that I'm really focusing on as a 2025.

Okay. Awesome. If you were to give like a 30 second tip or some kind of strategy, it could be about a foreigner living in Europe. It could be about Amazon, could be about supplements, could be about anything, you know, taking care of pets, anything at all. What strategy would you like to close this out with?

I'm actually going to steal the strategy that I learned from our friend Kevin King when we were in Seattle back in September. He made a presentation and said that

When you really develop a brand and you want to make sure that you and you search for a product and you're trying to do a private label, start with the two second story that you're going to really tell your consumers and that is going to help you convince them. Right. I think having that, having the two seconds, start with the marketing video with the two seconds that is really going to help embrace that.

and convert the consumers, if you start with that, I think the other things would kind of pull together. A lot of times it's an afterthought. Believer Anatomy for me was actually an afterthought. And then I realized like, shoot, man, like this is the most important key. Start with that. You know, we always say, start with the end in mind. Well, why don't we, if we say start with the end in mind, why don't we just start with the two seconds video that is really going to help convert the people? I think that was a really priceless opportunity

a recommendation that Kevin Kin did back in September in Seattle. And I think that's something that I really want to echo for private label owners that go to launch. I want to start with the two seconds video. What is your product going to be so different that you can tell in two seconds and it's going to help you convert your consumers? So I think that's something that I really want to

make sure I echo and share with every other owners. All right. Well, Santiago, thank you so much for joining us. And, you know, we'll be seeing you in just a little over a week here. And then, like I said, hopefully 2026, let's bring you back and let's see how many of those things that you have on your list that you've accomplished and maybe even some more. So it's like a plan. So we're looking forward to it.