Learn how August Effects founder Nicole Humphreys scaled her brand for the greater good with help from ShipBob.
Customer Profile
August Effects sells a line of unique products handmade in Bali that reflect the style of both Bali and California. By creating jobs and sustainable income for local people, and through partnerships with Bali nonprofits, August Effects aims to create positive change by giving back to the community.
Background
In November 2016, Nicole visited Bali, Indonesia for the first time and fell in love with the people, culture, and land. She was inspired to quit her job, move to Bali, and create August Effects, a unique line of handmade products.
From bags to blankets, Nicole’s products all support the greater good: for every purchase made, August Effects has committed to donate a new English dictionary to a child through the Bali Children Foundation.
Challenge
When Nicole first started August Effects, she was doing everything herself, from sourcing local materials to shipping orders for her Shopify store. Nicole set up a makeshift fulfilment centre in her basement, packing and shipping everything on her own. As her business grew and orders increased, packaging every order and working with USPS became time-consuming and unsustainable, but Nicole wanted to maintain control over the August Effects brand and customer experience.
She set out to find a fulfilment solution that could take the hassle out of order fulfilment without sacrificing the brand she’d built.
Solution
Nicole researched several different fulfilment providers before choosing to partner with ShipBob. She was impressed with the transparency of pricing and services provided by ShipBob, as well as the easy onboarding and tech integration with the August Effects Shopify store.
“Price won me over, and the ability to work and grow together,” says Nicole. She also knew that ShipBob would be able to keep the August Effects brand front and centre throughout the fulfilment process by supporting custom packaging.
Results
Working with ShipBob saves Nicole hours each week. “My time as a business owner is the most important, and now I have so much more of it to grow my business,” she says.
“I feel like I have a team member running my fulfilment — I’m never worried that a shipment won’t go out.”
Nicole Humphreys, Founder
Now, Nicole has time to travel for business whenever she needs to. Outsourcing order fulfilment to ShipBob allows her to focus on the bigger picture of product planning and marketing — and it’s paying off: August Effects products are now in 16 retail stores in the US, and online sales are booming.
In addition to saving time, partnering with ShipBob allows August Effects to offer the best customer experience possible, from checkout through delivery. “People always share how impressed they are that a shipment arrives 2 days after ordering,” says Nicole.
As August Effects grows and scales with ShipBob, their ability to make a difference does, too; last month, Nicole’s team was able to donate 102 dictionaries to the Bali Children Foundation. ShipBob is proud to partner with August Effects, and is excited to continue supporting Nicole and her team as their business — and positive impact — continue to grow.
Learn more
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