SEATTLE— For 11 years, Enrico Products has brought eco-friendly, sustainably sourced and hand-carved wood tabletop products to market, and the company is now ready to expand its mass appeal and market reach.
The company began in 2005 by serving the independent retail channel but in 2008 moved into the mass market with a private label program for Target. While the company still offers its own brand to the mass and independent markets, moving forward it is positioning itself to focus more fully on a private label program.
“Lower prices, repeatability, larger quantities, that’s a strength of ours,” said Chad Richardson, owner, Enrico Products. “I think a lot of people who see us at shows don’t realize that we have this whole other side to our business. We can bring them this type of product in a way that works for the mass markets and multi-store chains, and we can really help them reflect their brand.”
More than just a manufacturer, Jim Ratti, owner and founder, said Enrico Products is a product development and design company, offering uniqueness, new ideas for interesting products, quality manufacturing and customer service.
He said, “We really develop the products. We work with the factory to do our designs or modify their designs. That’s what we can do. We’re not just going to walk into a factory and pick something out of their catalog that you’re going to see all over the place.”
Richardson added, “We have the capability to design and prototype in our shop, and we have great relationships with factories that are willing to work with us on new designs in a number of wood materials. We’re so established in the independent market because of our customer service. They know if there’s ever a problem we take responsibility for it.”
Some of the company’s wood products include Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified teak, which certifies growers that harvest sustainably grown, environmentally sound, plantations of teak.
“The FSC logo means that this is certified to be sustainably grown and sourced all the way through the supply chain,” said Richardson. “FSC-certified teak is something that is really difficult to get your hands on. It’s something that consumers want and we have cool designs around it. We can also offer it to a large market.”
Ratti noted, “We have expertise in wood and all of our products. It’s a unique and very visual product and there’s a big demand for it. Although some would normally look at our products and say, ‘that looks really expensive,’ well, we’re in Target and we can design to their pricepoints.”