Lynda Resnick discusses her new book, Rubies in the Orchard.
“In 1986, no one knew what a pomegranate was in America,” exclaimed Lynda Resnick, Aspen Institute Trustee and the businesswoman responsible for POM Wonderful, FIJI Water, and Teleflora among other brands. Now Resnick has a new book out aimed at letting Americans in on the secrets to her marketing success, Rubies in the Orchard: How to Uncover the Hidden Gems in Your Business. The three major themes of Resnick’s book are brand marketing, unique selling propositions, and creating community.
“POM is an eight-thousand-year-old overnight success,” said Resnick as she recounted the story of POM Wonderful before a standing-room-only crowd. After a $30 million investment in peer-reviewed scientific studies on the health benefits of pomegranates, Resnick watched her business explode, going from 120 acres of pomegranates in 1986 to more than 18,000 acres today. But, she says, the health benefits are only part of the story: “The bottle stopped people in their tracks in that sea of noise in the supermarket,” Resnick said, referring to POM’s unique bottle shape and placement in the refrigerated section of a supermarket’s produce aisle. “When I saw that bottle, I said, ‘That’s the one.’”
So what’s Resnick’s advice for struggling businesses? Have a great product, find a unique way to sell it, tell the truth, don’t listen to detractors, and skip the patents: “Patents are the worst,” she said, with a conspiratorial smile, “It’s better to keep the secret.”
