The document summarizes a consulting report for Folsom & Company, a men's grooming company that produces aftershave. It identifies that while the owner John wants to keep operations small, the company could benefit from expanding its product line and customer base. The report recommends introducing a line of beard oils and maintenance products to capitalize on the growing popularity of beards. It also suggests creating a women's aftershave product to further expand their customer reach.

1.
The Folsom & Company Consulting Report
Group 6 Members:
Nicholas Nieves
Saboor Meo
Merdzana Covic
Joseph Little
Eddie Golin

2. Executive Summary
Folsom & Company is a men’s grooming producer which focuses on crafting aftershave
products for men. The company is based in Chicago and is solely owned and operated by John
Costa. He handles everything from marketing, manufacturing, and shipping. Folsom & Company
has released five different kinds of aftershave all with distinct scents. John has started the
company off with a simple business and advertising plan, yet in order for him to grow his
presence he needs our help.
Problem
John, off the bat, did not seem too concerned with growing his business any further.
Folsom & Co has acted as the perfect avenue to gain enough revenue for his current standard of
living. What is interesting about our customer is that John is responsible for every single step of
the operation. He is the creator, advertiser, salesperson, chemist, tester, and face of the business.
John seems adamant about keeping the status quo of Folsom & Company. We would like our
advisory services to fit our client and his needs, and in order to do that we have to be realistic
with what the client is willing to do. Since it is a startup, there are many different paths the
company could end up taking. For instance, the company needs to plan out its course of action
properly because it is in its growing stages. Our consulting firm also understands that John has
some hesitancy when it comes to giving up ownership or expanding too quickly, so the solution
to his problem must be something that is tailored specifically for Folsom & Company. A
problem our firm has recognized is how many potential customers Folsom & Company is
currently reaching; we feel through some new product introduction and savvy uses of social
media we can truly create a substantial increase in the company’s level of exposure.

3. Research
The aftershave market is a very niche and unique market. It falls under the same category
as soaps, perfumes, and body wash (Shaftoe). For example, the market is driven highly by
consumer preference and taste. The market is virtually dominated by males and from John’s
presentation we understand that his present consumers range from 20 to 45 years in age
(Shaftoe). The market can have the same cyclical tendencies as the fashion industry. Currently
there is a men’s fashion trend where younger men are growing out their facial hair and shaving
less and less. Right now the market’s preference towards shaving isn’t there, let alone the usage
of after shave. The sales of the entire industry are highly correlated to male grooming habits
(Shaftoe). For instance, the sales of razors and aftershave declined due to this recent shift in
market taste and preference (Shaftoe). Also, many companies have come out with all in one
products that can be used as a substitute as opposed to the traditional aftershave. However even
with this current negative outlook, on average most men have started to spend more money in
this industry and in aftershave in general (Shaftoe). That means there is a lot of opportunity for
Folsom & Company to go out and grab more customers. Also, the demand for aftershave could
shift and grow alongside any popular trend
What is really strong about niche markets is the loyal following that these products can
develop. For example, Folsom & Company has a small social media following on Reddit.
These individuals are consumers that seek out new aftershave products and test them out and
review them. John already has an upstanding reputation among them due to his involvement in
the community. When making any changes to the company or expanding outwards, one has to be
careful to not drive away the current base when chasing after a new one. The loyal customers

4. must not feel that Folsom & Company is selling out. With the trend these days, for men, to grow
out facial hair this creates a brand new market of consumers that male hygiene product producers
can create products for. More men are deciding to grow their beards and new products are being
made available to enhance the beard growing experience. For instance, men are experiencing
some issues regarding itching and flaking that beard product producers are now looking to soothe
with products like beard oil. With statistics revealing that 17% of men and 35% of men ages 18
to 24 have facial hair (Pofeldt, 2014) more demands for facial hair products have occurred
recently. While conservative dress codes deter the growth of facial hair Experian Research
reveals that 94% of guys continue to use some type of facial hair products for the relaxing
sensation it brings to the face (Pofeldt, 2014). The beard and facial hair growing trend’s torch is
not being carried by the stereotypical biker, woodsman, or lumberjack. Instead, it is carried by
men “who are passionate about their style, career, family, and building independance” (Pofeldt,
2014).
While there are many restriction within the workplace regarding dress code, there are a
lot of employers become increasingly more lenient on the type of dress code restrictions it places
on its employees. The tech industry is much more lenient when it comes to dress code, allowing
a lot more freedom for expression in its employees as the job seems to benefit from this freedom.
The broader society as a whole has become increasingly more accepting of beards as we see
bearded men in a much larger share of fashion magazines, revealing that today beards are seen as
sheek and no longer a symptom of a man unkempt and detached.

5.
Conformity is becoming decreasingly important in doing business; now companies see creating
restrictions on dress codes as counter to the ingenuity they want to help foster in employees. Top
down management strategies are no longer seen as the golden rule of fostering productivity in
the work place. Employees are experiencing more of a flat management style, “that requires
employees to be very quick witted and function independently. You don’t want people who just
do as they’re told. You want people who have the ability to think creatively” (Pofeldt, 2014).
Our research has revealed that the societal norms deferring the growth of a beard in men are
slowly diminishing and Folsom & Company could look to broaden its product base to include
this new breed of men.
The power of women has enough of an influence on men to have some say on what men
decide to do with their facial hair. Men often look to the possible appeal facial hair has to attract
women to determine whether or not to grow some. A study revealed some very important
findings regarding what women prefered to see in men. In the study, straight and bi­sexual
women looked at pictures of men sporting clean shaven faces, to light stubble, and to full grown

6. beards. “Volunteers were assigned to one of three groups. The first group saw only clean­shaven
faces, the second group saw only fully bearded faces, and the third group saw faces with all four
degrees of beard growth. The volunteers rated the attractiveness of the faces they saw on a scale
from very unattractive to very attractive” (Lewis, 2014). After this was done volunteers were
shown pictures of men with and without facial hair in combination. They asked the women to
rate which faces they found more attractive. The study found that both groups of women saw
men with stubble and beards as more attractive. But most importantly,
“the preference for facial hair was greatest in the group who saw only clean­shaven men, and
least pronounced in the group who saw only bearded men. Beards were rated as having
intermediate attractiveness by the group who saw both bearded and non­bearded faces. The
findings suggest that facial hair is most desirable when it's the exception, not the rule, the
researchers said” (Lewis, 2014).
Solutions

7. With the growing popularity of maintaining a beard, one advantage Folsom & Co can
take to attract a larger market is to introduce their own individual product line for beard
maintaining. Folsom can introduce various beard maintenance products ranging from various oils
and conditioners, all of which have their own specific scent. They already have five different
scents for aftershave, maybe there would be a way for John to implement this scent into the
beard oils as well. This way there could be a scent for every type of man, or a scent for any
occasion or season. Doing this will not only draw in more customers, but the loyal shaving
hobbyists would also buy these products just to try them. We have an advantage with the
goodwill that John has built up with the community, and Folsom and Company can use that for
future products and endeavors. Also, since John is trying to limit the amount of time he puts into
the business he would always assemble a limited supply of his goods similar to what he does
now. Many individual consumers would be attracted to the concept of being a part of something
exclusive since not everyone would be able to purchase the products.
Folsom & Company could also expand their focus to more than just men. They could
create a women’s aftershave to use after shaving their legs or underarms. Women are constantly
shaving, so the company can keep a steady revenue coming in. Women also deal with problems
like ingrown hairs from shaving. Folsom & Company could expand their base two fold by way
of fresh, new, aftershave products with female tastes in mind.
Based on our research, we found a lot about what women found themselves attracted to in
regard to facial hair on a man. The results were clear, they liked a man who stood out from the
crowd. We have a marketing campaign that will introduce this concept we learned from our
research. We know that the bearded look and the clean shaven look work in the right context. We

8. want Folsom & Company to introduce a dual series of advertisement videos to represent two
sides of the coin of the concept of staying one step ahead. One series of advertisement videos
will reveal a world filled with bearded men that champions the sheek look of the clean shaven
man. While, the opposing series will reveal the opposite, and champion the trailblazing bearded
gentleman. Our goal, through this campaign is to create a heightened awareness in men of their
surroundings, and influence them to pick a side counter to what is the norm. We want Folsom &
Company to represent the individual spirit and we want the man choosing to use Folsom &
Company to be considered as the most desirable. We would like to introduce a comical and
entertaining depiction of this duality that viewers would like to rewatch simply based on its
entertainment value. This advertising campaign would be mostly online. Similar to a viral
marketing campaign that piques users’ interest. Since there are two conflicting sides, there could
be small things like voting which look is better or small contests. This would mostly be done
through the main website and social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The idea is
to create a viral hype that will create a buzz, but this will also not be a traditional television ad
which might turn off the loyal hobbyist base that currently purchases Folsom & Company
products. The campaign would spark a movement not only in the way people shave but also the
way men view their surroundings. In fact, we are trying to create a new experience that draws
attention to one’s facial hair preferences. This campaign in addition to John’s social media
presence will cater to his demographic all the while implementing the research that was
conducted.
Conclusion

9. In conclusion, Folsom & Co is still in the infancy stages of their company but John has
put himself in a strong position. He has a revenue stream coming in from his current products;
with some strategic implementation he will be able to increase that. By researching the industry
as a whole, we came up with two marketing solutions that can help Folsom & Company grow,
while not becoming too big for John to handle. By expanding the brand to different oils and
conditioners, the company will increase their revenue tremendously and create a wider range of
customers all the while retaining their loyal customer base that they currently have. Advertising
with the new competitive approach will also allow the company to attract new customers. John
came to our consulting firm because he needs help in dealing with many different issues. As
consultants, we needed to make changes that would benefit John and increase his revenue. At
the same time, we understand that Folsom and Company does not have the goals of a traditional
business because one of our conditions from John is that we're not supposed to drastically
increase his workload or change the essence of what his company stands for. By implementing
the marketing and advertising changes recommended above, John will be able to reap additional
benefits with minimal added effort.

10. Work Cited:
Pofeldt, Elaine. "'Urban Beardsmen' Power Startup's Growth." ​Forbes​. Forbes Magazine, 27
Sept. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/elainepofeldt/2014/09/27/urban­beardsmen­power­startups­growth
/2/>.
Lewis, Tanya. "Beard Science: Women Prefer Men with Facial Hair When Rare." CBSNews.
CBS Interactive, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/women­prefer­men­with­facial­hair­according­to­study/>.
Shaftoe, Robert. "Aftershave Industry Analysis." ​Chron​. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
<http://smallbusiness.chron.com/aftershave­industry­analysis­79647.html>.