Sail cargo trading still tough business case

Alex from New Dawn Traders recently took an e-commerce marketing course. That reminded him that he is a poor capitalist. To be successful, his company needs to sell a lot more products.

Once upon a time, he wanted to make high-quality products with a super low carbon footprint accessible to his local community. The arrival event of the sailing freighter that carried it all was an opportunity to celebrate the amazing achievement of the farmers, sailors and the ship. But the margin he charged for planning was so small that the pre-order price for the quality products was comparable to the best you can find in a supermarket.

Small margin

That small margin was justifiable because the arrival event fulfilled many valuable business functions – customers took their orders directly from the ship; lectures, tastings, films, parties and tours of the ship immersed customers in the ship’s journey, the life of farmers and the potential of a more human way of doing business.
However, this only works if the ship shows up on time.

Corona and Brexit

The voyages that failed, or were substantially delayed, left NDT with stock that had to be stored, and debts that could only be paid off with difficulty. Add to that the effects of COVID, Brexit and the political and climate crises, and the situation soon became dire. In the UK, few still feel they can responsibly afford NDT’s quality products.

Diversify

To solve that, NDT started diversifying, tapping into a wider network, trading between different suppliers and selling larger volumes online. So what was initially a straightforward business model closely aligned with its original values became a complex beast.
Alex: ‘That might still have been feasible when I had a team of six people, but with just myself and Jowan to do everything – from import bureaucracy, port logistics, marketing, design, engineering, packaging, fulfilment, customer service, etc. etc. etc… I’ve never felt so emotionally stretched and financially vulnerable.’

New investment needed

His belief in the viability of New Dawn Traders is unbroken, but setbacks are beginning to take their toll. For NDT to thrive in an unpredictable future, firm investments are needed, to engage in meaningful experimentation. A laser-sharp strategy must come out of this. To survive in the short term, it is focused on selling, and more selling.
While Alex does his best to become more technically and business savvy, NDT’s products remain unabridged.

Here is a small overview of what New Dawn Traders has to offer.

Source: NDT newsletter
Image: from organic cocoa beans to chocolate

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