Amazon, Ecommerce & Inventory Strategy — 2026-04-05

Weekly client call with Doudlah Farms covering Amazon performance, inventory management, new product listing readiness, organic listing violations, packaging updates, and Walmart marketplace re-entry.

Attendees

Asymmetric: Mark Hope, Mylene Tingson, Gilbert Barrongo, Avokerie Onorimuo, Faith Amerson, Karly Oykhman
Doudlah Farms: Lucy Doudlah, Mark Doudlah, Jason Doudlah

Overview

Amazon sales continue trending upward with ROAS reaching 386% (up from <300% the prior month). The team reviewed inventory imbalances across SKUs, confirmed pricing and listing readiness for the new Blue Haven Cornmeal product, discussed ongoing organic listing violation complaints filed against 20+ competing sellers, and aligned on QR code additions to product packaging. Walmart account re-creation is in progress using an alternate email to bypass a legacy account conflict caused by an EIN change.

Key Topics

Amazon Performance

• ROAS: 386% for the last 30 days, up from <300% the prior month. Campaigns are improving in profitability as bids are being reduced gradually to shift clicks from sponsored to organic listings.
• Sales trend: Upward overall; a single Prime event day generated ~$5,000 in sales.
• Top performers (last 30 days):
• Popcorn: ~$16,000 — remains the #1 SKU
• Black Beans: strong performer
• Yellow Cornmeal: performing well, holding ahead of Old World Popcorn
• Margins: Overall margin at ~39%, up from ~30% in June. Target is >40% to cover costs.
• FBA fees: Noted as a significant cost; team is balancing inventory levels to avoid both stockouts and excess storage fees.

Inventory Management

Current inventory status reviewed via the inventory macro spreadsheet (blue-colored worksheet). Key signals:
- Red cells (column H): Zero or ≤20 units — critical stockout risk
- Yellow cells: <4 months of inventory — watch list
- Columns Q/R: Over-inventory items (>12–30+ months)

Stockouts:
- Black Beans (1 lb): Currently zero FBA inventory; 30 units inbound from AWD. Amazon contacted to resolve. Algorithm impact expected for this SKU and kidney beans only.
- Kidney Beans: Also at or near zero.

Overstocked:
- Small Red Beans: ~57 months of inventory — 30% coupon applied.
- Other items with >30 months inventory: 30% coupons added; items with >12 months inventory carry lower-tier coupons.
- Coupons are working — one item dropped from >12 months to 6 months inventory since last review.

Coupon strategy: Once inventory reaches acceptable levels, coupons are allowed to expire without renewal.

Inventory rotation concern: Lucy flagged that Amazon does not appear to use a first-in, first-out system for non-perishable items. A customer received expired beans (3-year shelf life), suggesting very old stock was shipped. The team noted this is a known Amazon limitation for non-perishable products; FIFO service exists but is expensive.

Upcoming planning: Karly to coordinate with Mark Doudlah on a full inventory audit and order list, accounting for harvest season (reduced shipping capacity) and the need to stock up on Old World Popcorn and Blue Haven Cornmeal.

New Product: Blue Haven Cornmeal

• Status: Ready for Amazon listing. ASIN enrolled in Seller Central.
• Pricing: $17.99 for 1.5 lb — confirmed to match Burning Desire Red Cornmeal (same product, different corn color).
• Sizes: 1.5 lb only at launch. 5 lb and 25 lb bags deferred — insufficient packaging inventory and seed stock to scale yet.
• Action: Gilbert to update pricing in the product data sheet and on Amazon.

Organic Listing Violations

Gilbert filed complaints with Amazon against 20+ sellers appearing in organic search results without certified organic products (marketing fraud / misleading organic claims).

• Initial response: Amazon replied that no violations were found on the reported ASIN.
• Follow-up: Gilbert resubmitted with 22 ASINs documenting the same violations.
• Status: Awaiting Amazon's response to the expanded complaint.
• Context: Competing sellers (e.g., Amish Country Popcorn) appear in organic search results, benefiting from organic-keyword traffic without holding organic certification. Lucy and Mark expressed frustration; discussed potential attorney outreach as a parallel strategy.

QR Code — Packaging Update

• Decision: Add a dynamic QR code to the back of all product packaging.
• Destination: Links to the Doudlah Farms website homepage (single QR code across all SKUs).
• Dynamic system: Asymmetric manages the QR code via a backend system, allowing the destination URL to be updated without reprinting packaging.
• Design: Doudlah Farms logo to be centered within the QR code graphic.
• Next step: Karly to coordinate with Jen (designer) to add QR code to all packaging files currently being reworked.

Walmart Marketplace

• Background: Previous Walmart seller account became inaccessible after Lucy updated the EIN number from Doudlah Farms (DF) to Doudlah Farms Organics (DFO). Walmart's support was unable to resolve the entity change despite extensive documentation provided.
• Current approach: Creating a new Walmart seller account using Mark Doudlah's personal email (mark.r.doudlah@gmail.com) to bypass the existing account conflict.
• Fallback: Lucy's personal Gmail (sherry.doudlah@gmail.com) available if Mark's email also encounters issues.
• Status: In progress.

Website

• A song button has been added to the Doudlah Farms website. The team is considering adding a lyrics video to accompany it.

Key Decisions

Action Items

• [ ] Gilbert — Update Blue Haven Cornmeal 1.5 lb pricing to $17.99 on Amazon and in the product data sheet
• [ ] Lucy Doudlah — File complaint with Amazon regarding 3-day pickup delay (Oct 10–12)
• [ ] Karly — Review inventory with Mark Doudlah; prepare order list covering Old World Popcorn, Blue Haven Cornmeal, and any other low-stock items
• [ ] Karly — Coordinate with Jen to add dynamic QR code (with Doudlah Farms logo) to back of all packaging designs
• [ ] Karly — Create new Walmart seller account using mark.r.doudlah@gmail.com
• [ ] Team — Create lyrics video for website song feature

Related

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