In a quiet corner of Appleton, Wisconsin, Ben Wolfgram and his father embarked on a retirement project in their garage that would transform their lives. Their weekend hobby making unique glassware has blossomed into BenShot, a thriving small business with 45 employees and $7 million in annual revenue - and Amazon, they said, has played a pivotal role in their growth.
In 2015, Wolfgram and his father began experimenting with embedding bullets and other objects into hand-blown glass to create distinctive barware and home decor. With a background in art and woodworking, they saw an opportunity to capitalize on the popularity of hunting and whiskey culture in their rural community.
“When we started in my dad’s garage, we were not intending it to be a business,” said Wolfgram. “But it took off, and now it’s a full-time job for both of us.”
Seeking to expand beyond local art and gun shows, the pair turned to ecommerce, launching their own website and opening a storefront in Amazon’s Handmade store in 2016. As he was building his brand, Wolfgram used social platforms to spread the word about their products and point customers to their Amazon listings.
“Everybody trusts Amazon,” he explained. “Everyone knows if you order it and you don’t like, you can return it. So, it immediately gave our potential customers a level of trust that we couldn’t have with our website.”
Now that business is booming, Wolfgram uses Amazon for his highly-coveted gift sets and best-selling bullet and sports glasses. His own direct-to-consumer website has their full line of products from guitar pick decanters to limited edition patriotic glasses.
“Amazon helped us a lot with building brand trust,” Wolfgram said. “We started doing $500 a day at our first art show and right now we’re doing $25,000 a day on our website because one of our creations just went viral.”
That creation is Benshot’s presidential commemorative glass which drove a spike in sales after becoming a social media sensation. Wolgram credits Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) with taking the pressure off their in-house fulfillment team and helping to handle the influx of orders.
“As an employer, I believe it’s crucial to look out for our staff’s well-being and manage their workload, especially during unexpected surges in business. FBA allowed us to scale quickly without burning out our team, which was a win-win for everyone involved,” said Wolfgram.
Wolfgram estimated that Amazon charges him 25-30% to list his products, manage his FBA inventory and ship his products next-day to customers. “Overall, we know that the shipping costs are good, the fulfillment costs are good, the storage costs are good. And so, in general, it’s fair for us.”
Another program critical to Benshot’s success is Amazon’s Brand Registry. Brand Registry helps sellers protect their intellectual property (IP), manage listings, and grow their business, regardless of whether they sell in the Amazon store – for free. With so many unique and popular products, Benshot’s is able to fend off copycats and work with Amazon to remove infringing listings.
“We have 14 patents and trademarks now and Amazon has been stellar at helping us protect our products with those patents,” said Wolfgram.
As BenShot looks to the future, Amazon remains a central part of their growth strategy. The company plans to increase its advertising on the platform to reach new customers, leveraging the synergies between social media marketing and Amazon to drive sales.
“If we had to just sell out of Appleton, Wisconsin, there’s no way we’d be doing $7 million a year,” Wolfgram said. “Amazon has been integral to our growth.”