Below is a email interview with founder of J.R. Liggett, Jim Liggett. I hope you enjoy this little insight to the company and check out their products or read my review of the products that published earlier. As an update to the Shampoo and Conditioner bars, I haven’t touched my Davines supply in over a week and have noticed fuller, healthier looking hair. Enjoy!
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The origin story of J.R. Liggett’s is very sweet and I was wondering if the company is still family owned and operated? How many employees do you have?
Yes, we are a family-owned company, currently with 9 employees.
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Can you tell me about the production process for your products? Do you have control over the entire process, from sourcing ingredients to manufacturing and packaging?
Yes, we have 100% control over the entire process. We source the ingredients, create the formulas, create the names, and I design the packaging. Everything is made here in Cornish, NH.
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What are some of the biggest challenges or obstacles you’ve faced as a company?
Keeping everything we manufacture up to the standards we set over 40 years ago.
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How did you overcome them?
Just keep on keeping on.
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How do you engage with your customers?
We engage personally as human beings to another. I detest the term consumer.
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Do you have any community initiatives, loyalty programs, or a strong online presence?
We live in a small town and support it by hiring local people, donating to local causes such as the school, fire department, rescue squad, and elderly residents. J.R.LIGGETT’S has an extremely loyal following, so we periodically offer special discounts to our customer list. Yes, we do have a strong online presence with our website: www.jrliggett.com as well as Amazon, Walmart etc.
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I see that on your website, you have a strong brick and mortar presence on the east coast. Are you planning on expanding out west anytime soon?
We actually are distributed nationally to many different types of stores. We sell to natural food stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts, outdoor stores, pharmacies, travel stores, gift shops and many smaller mom & pop stores. We also have distributors in 5 foreign countries. Yes, the west is and always has been an important market.
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What has been the customer response to your products over the past 30+ years?
I guess in one word “loyalty,” people just like our products and keep coming back for more.
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Do you have any notable success stories or testimonials you can share?
Over the years we have had so many remarkable stories and responses to our products, you might take a look at the star ratings on places such as amazon. We sell products that are not just another one, but stand apart from the other and it only takes one usage to notice the difference. We have seen many competitors come and go over the years, the formulation is key.
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I need to know if the “Hair Soap” recipe card is framed and on display somewhere in your facility or have you hidden it away in a wall safe that is camouflaged by a large oil painting, like in the movies?
That is a very romantic thought, but we never realized just how far our company and our shampoo bars would go at the time the recipe card turned up. Unfortunately it was lost to time. But it is a true story.
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If I were visiting your home, what J.R.LIGGETT products would I find around your home?
HA! Everything we make we use ourselves, just the way it all started out years ago. The shampoo was made out of necessity like all the other products we make and sell. If you checked the bathrooms of any of our employees you would find the same thing, not because they get them for free, but because they truly prefer them personally.
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What is one piece of advice you would give a young J.R.LIGGETT (or another entrepreneur) in start up mode?
Winners never quit. If you truly have something good to sell, believe in what you are doing and persist you might just be successful.