Eco mailer boxes & Men’s grooming: Fiáin

What's the secret recipe of creating a successful small brand?

At Packhelp, we love looking into the success stories of our customers and how they came to be.

Here, you’ll look into the story of Fiain - an Irish brand that creates top-notch grooming and lifestyle products.

We got in contact with Dara, who’s part of the Fiain team, to share the ins and outs of the brand’s growth and success.

In this article, you’ll see how Fiáin:

• Identified a market gap and created a solution for that particular niche.
• Pays attention to details, from the raw materials to their branding strategy.
• Have a passion for everything they do.

Read the complete inspiration below.

Take us back to the beginning - how did everything start?

We both had regular 9-5 jobs but weren’t fully satisfied with that we were doing. This led us to the belief we need something else. After a while, we've identified a relevant gap in the men’s gifting market. There was a big limitation in there in regards to products available for men, and we started coming up with a lot of product ideas. We started considering taking the jump to leave our jobs and do this.

I even remember our close friends saying we were crazy for even considering to leave our steady and well-paid jobs. But at the end of the day we did it and Fiáin was born. We started to see the results practically overnight and were really happy to see happy customers returning and becoming the best advocates for Fiáin.

What convinced you to take the entrepreneurial jump?

Caitríona and I were determined to do something we both loved. We knew it would be a risky move, but this desire to chase our dream told us to do it. Of course, there was so much to learn and many sleepless nights to go along with it, but at the end of the day, we are following our dream.

You mentioned you catered to a niche market - tell us - what makes Fiain’s products different from what’s already out there in the market?

We produce a range of unique grooming and lifestyle goods for men. Our products include grooming supplies, like shaving brushes, bowls, soaps and razor blades, as well as men’s accessories, like bow ties, key fobs, leather wallets, fragrances, and gift sets.

The thing about our products is that we put love, passion and attention to detail to every single one of them. All of our products are produced right here in our Galway workshop. That’s why we created our slogan “We’re an Irish brand with a passion for good design”.

The origin of raw materials is also very important to us. Although it costs more, we prefer to offer our customers superb quality products that can’t be compared to the mass-produced offerings.

Let’s talk packaging! How does the Fiain packaging story go?

I must say that one of the biggest challenges as a start-up business is the high cost of packaging. Originally we found companies offering high minimum order for custom packaging. That would have put us in serious economic pressure.

So we first decided to use generic packaging. We quickly learned that this would not cut it. In this day and age, customers are expecting first-class packaging and fabulous design.

Fortunately, we found Packhelp! It was amazing to find a company that offered low minimum quantities of custom packaging. We also loved that they offered eco-friendly packaging.

What packaging did you use for Fiain? How did the design look?

We decided that Eco Mailer Boxes were just what we needed to display and mail our new shaving and cologne inspired candle ranges. We use the Eco Mailer Boxes in 3 sizes and double them up as custom gift boxes and mailer boxes. They work perfectly for both purposes. Plus, we’ve had very positive reactions from our customers.

In regards to the design, we were fortunate to collaborate with a very good branding agency who worked our the design for us. We wanted something simple, yet striking, something that represented the brand. We also loved the ease of the online editor and how simple it was to incorporate our design and create our packaging instantly.

Branding seems to be a pretty important thing for you - did this have a role in Fiain’s packaging?

We’ve come to learn that branding is extremely important to the success of a brand. It has to be cohesive and communicate everything you have to offer. We wanted our design to be wild and simple because that is what Fiain represents. Caitríona and I wanted to communicate these values in our products, packaging, and experience.

What are Fiain’s plans for the future?

We’re planning on expanding by opening a brick and mortar pop up store. This would be our first venture into the world of retail. Time will tell if we decide to dip further into the physical retail world or stay on the online side.

What’s important to us is to stay on top of our customer’s needs and changing trends, and be able to offer the products they are looking for. This means we will be introducing more and more product lines.

As our product range grows, we also hope to grow along with Packhelp and explore more of the different packaging they have to offer. We are very excited about what the future holds!