Coast to Coast as US Fulfilment Partner
B2B Case History
Skinny Tan was catapulted to becoming a global self-tanning products success story after its founders, entrepreneurs Kate Cotton and Louise Ferguson, made the most lucrative pitch ever seen on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme in 2013. Now owned by InnovaDerma, the range of iconic Skinny Tan products, which are vegan and made with a high proportion of naturally-derived ingredients, are sold across five continents.
In the US, since 2016 the Skinny Tan brand has relied on the expertise of Rhode Island-based Coast to Coast Fulfillment to pick and pack its products and dispatch them efficiently to consumers across the entirety of the United States.
“As a business we have been picking and packing goods, and managing information technology, for almost 40 years, and we are very much the ‘invisible distribution’ partner for our clients,” says Jeff Wyant, co-owner of Coast to Coast.
“The work we do for Skinny Tan involves managing volumes of orders that tend to fluctuate according to the season, with Springtime generating up to 13,000 orders a month across a range of 45 different products.”
He adds: “American demand for Skinny Tan, as well as the product range, has grown in the four years we’ve been working with the company and it’s essential that orders continue to be turned around rapidly and shipped swiftly to the customer. But whatever particular distribution or logistical issue our clients come to us with, we pride ourselves on working in partnership to ensure every detail is expertly taken care of.”
Jeff adds: “The US is a great market to export to, and there’s so much opportunity. But it’s on a different scale to Europe. Our British logistics partners and businesses know that with our knowledge and experience of fulfilment and distribution we’ll keep them in seamless compliance with the rigorous requirements of wholesale buyers throughout the United Sates.”
Gary Rees, owner of Northampton-based fulfilment group Synergy Retail Support, which works with British high street names such as Morrisons, Tesco and Primark, referred Skinny Tan to Coast to Coast back in 2016 when it wanted to start selling and shipping from a US location.
Within 10 days of receiving the merchandise, Coast to Coast was shipping Skinny Tan orders to US customers. “We are confident our clients from the UK will get the same exacting attention to detail in the USA with Coast to Coast,” says Mr. Rees.