OrganicKidz is currently facing a unique environment to create and grow its new line of products. As the world’s population becomes larger and resources are becoming scarce, people are moving towards an “eco-friendly” culture, where individuals are trying to use chemical-free products. Increased travel and communication have contributed to a convergence of common tastes and preferences in a number of products and categories. Also, there is a growing of shared preferences for convenience and disposable baby products in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, suggesting that many consumers have broad, even universal appeal. In North America - a high income country that is advanced, developed, and industrialized - there is a strong environmental sensitivity, especially when it comes to food products given to newborns. Recently, the Canadian government banned the sale of polycarbonate bottles as research has shown that a chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA) was leaking from polycarbonate bottles when they were heated. Jane Walters has seized this opportunity by creating a BPA free and shatter-proof product that would have great visual aesthetics that would appeal to consumers. Luckily, in order to support her idea, a family connection at a Chinese factory gave Walters the technology to produce the steel bottles, and the ability to pay for modules to be built for bottle prototypes.
OrganicKidz endures a demographic of a primary customer base from a low-context culture, where messages are explict and specific - reliance is made on words or numbers. In order to survive this market, there is always a need for continious innovation. From the late 2008 to mid 2009, sales climbed from month to month, even as the global economy slipped into a recession. As a growing company, OrganicKidz is looking towards geographically expanding their products into other markets. So, when they were offered a deal from Costco, who tends to price their merchandise to generate gross margins of under 10 percent, they were given a huge dilemma. As a test of ethics, a sale to Costco would draw negative reactions from her existing customer base since Costco would likely price even the lower end bottle at about $10 or less, producing a non-verbal communication with her other clients that could result in backlash, and potential of being de-listed as