GLS and The Caldrea Company—Taking Care of Business

Imagine a room that smells like your average household cleanser. Go on, take a whiff…are you smiling? If not, you haven’t been properly introduced to The Caldrea Company.

As a company devoted to “THE SPIRIT OF KEEPING HOME,™” Caldrea promotes a more graceful approach to homemaking. From the Green Tea Patchouli Dish Soap to the White Clover Linen Spray, Caldrea’s earth-friendly, aromatherapeutic products are delightful in both form and function.

Not surprisingly, Caldrea’s aesthetically pleasing style is evident in its packaging and promotional materials as well. The company recently enlisted GLS to print its annual catalog, which is used to entice upscale specialty retailers to stock their shelves with Caldrea products. As one of Caldrea’s most important printing campaigns, the catalog primarily targets retail buyers and rep groups, as well as trade and gift show audiences.

Marketing Project Manager Deb Ausen described this project as one of Caldrea’s high-end “beauty pieces” of the year. Although Ausen joined Caldrea right in the middle of the production crunch, she quickly began coordinating the various elements that were necessary to achieve an outstanding catalog.

Over the course of her career in retail marketing, Ausen had already worked with GLS while managing projects for other companies. She thought that GLS’ high standards for production and customer service would be a great fit for a job of this caliber.

“I know the expectations are high for luxury brands,” Ausen said, referring to how catalogs are sized up in the retail world. “Yet GLS made it fairly painless.” Despite her tight production schedule, Ausen said that GLS was able to pull everything together “in the eleventh hour” for Caldrea.

In general, Ausen explained, Caldrea favors matte coatings and softer colors in its marketing materials. Caldrea’s graphic designer for this project, Robyn Warmbo, worked with GLS Account Executive Jim Benedict to select the specific paper quality, inks, coatings, and finishing that would best reflect Caldrea’s brand.

The final catalog actually consisted of six different brochures, ranging in size from one to three panels. The brochures were printed on two different Heidelberg six-color presses. Due to the heavy flood of color in the design, the brochure covers were sealed with an aqueous coating to minimize fingerprints during handling. Next, the brochures were collated and tucked into a folded portfolio. This was accomplished using GLS’ automated jumbo inserter, which allowed for greater speed and quality, ensuring that each group of six brochures in the portfolio appeared in the right order. The portfolio was then slip-sheeted with an attractive die-cut wrap. Finally, the bulk of Caldrea’s 12,500 completed catalogs were shipped to retailers in January 2005.

“I know the expectations are high for luxury brands…yet GLS made it fairly painless.” Despite the tight production schedule, GLS was able to pull everything together “in the eleventh hour” for Caldrea. – Deb Ausen, Marketing Project Manager, – The Caldrea Company

Jim Benedict described the Caldrea catalog as a job well done, thanks to great teamwork. “Deb was great to work with,” he said. “She definitely hit the ground running and helped to keep the job on track.”

Ausen said she appreciates the grade of equipment at GLS, as well as the fact that the company continues to expand and invest in new technology. She is impressed by the range of capabilities at GLS—printing, production, collating, fulfillment and more.

“GLS has everything you need,” remarked Ausen. As a result, she doesn’t have to outsource to so many different places when she uses GLS.

According to Ausen, the response to Caldrea’s catalogs has been very positive. “It’s filled with glamour shots—a beautiful product line!” She believes the catalog will help communicate the company’s message. “It’s about taking care of yourself and your home in the same luxurious way.”

And at the end of the day, The Caldrea Company is also taking care of business. By working with printing specialists like GLS, Caldrea proves that producing a major catalog can be almost as fun as, well…spending a leisurely Saturday with a bottle of Lavender Pine Window Spray!