The demand for herbal and organic products is rising in many parts of the world owing to factors such as rising disposable income, rapidly growing fast food industry, and urbanization in countries such as China, India, and Japan. These factors are opening new avenues for the market.

The other reasons that are fueling the demand for these ethnic products are,

i) The increase in buyer’s willingness to pay for new flavours and ethnic tastes

ii) Rising demand for ready-to-use spice mixes as convenient options

iii) Seasoning and spices have been witnessing a remarkable demand from the commercial and household sectors

iv) Health benefits associated with ethnic products like herbal teas, organic spices, etc.

According to Grand View Research, “The global seasoning and spices market size was valued at USD 13.77 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% from 2020 to 2027.”

Let’s take a look at this graph for more insights about this niche:

The stats make it clear that selling herbal and organic products online is a great idea. But, if you’re new to the online selling game, you might be asking yourself if you should start selling your products in a marketplace like Amazon or eBay or start your own online shop. Both options come with their own advantages as well as challenges, so which one should you use?

Let’s explore both the options for making a better choice!

Selling through Marketplaces like Amazon

Amazon Seller Registration

This is a great option if you don’t want to start your online business from scratch. You can simply find a good website and get yourself registered so that you can start selling your products through that portal.

Amazon is an option that you might consider but I have another suggestion for you. In my opinion, you should find a website that is selling similar products only. For instance, you can partner with ‘The Seasoning Pantry.’ It is an online global marketplace for spices, seasoning blends and tea products exclusively.

The benefit of listing yourself on a niche-specific website is that users landing on the website already know what kind of products they will find here. They won’t be distracted by different product categories (for instance, you go on amazon.com to purchase a shirt for yourself but you end up buying something else because it was on sale).

If someone wants to buy exotic herbal teas for health benefits, he/she should be encouraged to explore related products and categories only. And this is possible with a niche-specific website.

Here are some more benefits of selling your products through marketplaces:

  1. No investment required to build your website
  2. The website already has good traffic and so there are chances of more sales
  3. It will be easier for customers to find your products on such marketplaces

Launching Your Online Store

Exclusive Online Store For Seasonings and Spices – The Seasoning Pantry

The other option is to launch your own website. This option might be a bit time consuming and requires a lot of patience but it is the best option if you are looking at the bigger picture.

When it comes to establishing your own brand, there’s no doubt that launching your own website gives you more control of your brand image. Since many things like colour, font, layout are standardized for marketplaces like Amazon, you are left with no option to differentiate yourself.

You can use an eCommerce marketplace solution to launch an online store. Make sure that these solutions are fully customizable and affordable.

Let’s explore some more advantage of having your own website:

  1. Having your own website lets you create the experience you want your customers to have.
  2. Your own website can help you expand your clientele
  3. No need to pay commission to others on the sale of your own products

Wrapping Up

Though I would always encourage vendors to create their own websites, starting with a marketplace like Amazon is not a bad idea either. These marketplaces have strict rules but they have also built up a great reputation for themselves and can get your business some great exposure.

All in all, it’s best to spread out and sell your products across different channels initially, but the ultimate goal should be to grow your own brand and website.

Originally published at https://medium.com/@akankshachandan/start-selling-spices-seasonings-teas-herbal-organic-products-online-71f6add3cfd9