Tips for making the customer experience more engaging and approachable

Kayli Kunkel—founder of Earth & Me, the first zero-waste store in Queens, New York—is on a mission to make self-care more sustainable. Now with three locations across the city, Earth & Me functions like a peaceful, good-smelling corner store: Anyone in the neighborfood can stop by to browse the shelves of vintage clothing and home goods, refill their glass bottles of shampoo and conditioner at the refill stations, or take a free cutting from the plant propagation wall. 

However, Kayli knows that many of her customers are new to zero-waste practices: They may care about the planet but still purchase plastic products out of convenience. That’s why Kayli built Earth & Me around a community model, where she and her team introduce New Yorkers to a more sustainable lifestyle by making the customer experience more engaging and approachable. 

“Not only is this good for the planet, but this is also really fun. It smells good, it’s good for me,” Kayli said. “That’s why I named the store Earth & Me—because I’m doing good for the planet, but also good for myself.”

Over time, she’s encouraged zero-waste newbies like Yelp Elite Lina A. to make their shopping habits more sustainable. “I do purchase things in plastic to be honest, but to walk in a store that’s completely different than what I’m used to—that’s what intrigued me,” Lina said. “I’ve never seen a store like that.” 

To engage first-time customers like Lina, start by creating points of interest, such as Earth & Me’s floral aroma and sunny decor. Then, use customer feedback to find new ways to meet your target market’s needs and keep the community growing. Even in an industry with higher cost and education barriers, like a zero-waste store, these three steps have helped Kayli grow a thriving community and expand her business to multiple locations.

1. Create a “wow factor” to draw in new customers

Earth & Me draws in customers with its relaxing, peaceful ambiance, but the centerpiece of the store is the refill station. “When you buy something like a lotion or a shampoo, usually at the store you’re buying a big plastic container, then you’re using it and throwing it away,” Kayli said. “We just reduce that life cycle to refill. You get a nice bottle or you bring one from home, you refill it with a natural product, and then you come back and refill when you’re done.”

Kayli said it was an intentional decision to make the station eye-catching, with a display of large, glass bottles with neat labels and scents you can sample yourself. “People always get really interested. They’re like, ‘What is this? I’ve never seen this before,’” Kayli said. “Our customers are [not always] familiar with all of the ways that you can reduce your waste, so to me it’s really exciting to just have people stumble upon the store and have that exciting ‘wow factor.’”

As an added benefit, the refill station is also a frequently photographed and reviewed spot on the business’s Yelp Page—another way to generate interest for your business online. Yelp Elite Kristine N. writes: “The best part of the store is the refill station. They have dry pasta and grains, teas, soaps, cleansers, and so much more. You can use one of their containers or bring your own. There is also a refill happy hour where it is 20% off!”

2. Bring customers back with services that meet their needs

At first, Earth & Me focused on one-off personal care products, such as skin care and cleaning items. But as the business grew, Kayli realized that her customers had a greater need for bulk refills—they were looking for a way to more easily and conveniently tap into the benefits of a zero-waste lifestyle. This feedback helped her decide her business’s path for future growth and expansion. 

“When you’re refilling, you’re bringing glass bottles to the store, [and you’re] probably gonna go two boroughs over to do that,” Kayli said. “It really does have to be almost like a bodega model where it’s everywhere, it’s on every corner, and everyone can refill. That’s really become my mission with Earth & Me.”

As part of this expansion, Kayli also began widening her service offerings to meet her customer’s needs, including opening a women-owned cafe inside the store. A regular customer only needs a shampoo refill every few months, but by creating even more points of connection, Kayli keeps customers coming back to engage in the Earth & Me community.

“We have the community garden in the back, which we’ve cultivated and planted with a bunch of native plants that are good for pollinators,” Kayli said. “We also try to do a lot of community free swapping programs, [like] the plant propagation wall where people can bring in cuttings of their plants from home and give or get a plant for free. People love that. They’re like, ‘It’s free, really?’ I’m like, ‘Yes, it’s free. We wanna share this with you.’”

3. Keep the conversation going with online touchpoints 

Even if someone can’t make it to Earth & Me, they can easily find and engage with the business’s mission. On social media, Kayli regularly shares store updates and opportunities to participate in collective action, such as tips for calling your representatives in support of New York City’s Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act. 

“Social media is our huge touchpoint with our customers,” she said. “We have over 11,000 people on Earth & Me‘s Instagram that we connect with to share things about social justice and environmental justice, things they can do, sign petitions, street tree care—so many things you can get involved in.”

Touchpoints like social media, newsletters, and Yelp Connect can also help continue customer education. Kayli said: “We’re always sharing [information] about our new products and how to use [them] because a lot of the items are new and unfamiliar to people. I’m always trying to get behind explaining how things work and seeing it in action.”

Just as important, Kayli acknowledges that Earth & Me is just one way that her customers can make an effort to reduce plastic waste. She makes an effort to highlight other partners doing this work in their own communities and create a network that extends beyond New York City. “We are just one piece of this puzzle of sustainability, and we couldn’t do what we did without vendors and makers who care about the planet,” she said. “With every person that we work with as a partner, we want to share that same spirit for sustainability.”

These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear more from Kayli and Lina, or visit the episode page to read more, subscribe to the show, and explore other episodes.