One time an unconventional name really worked.
What is “Cat Burglar”?
The question has been posed to us more times than I can count. It usually goes something like this:
A customer to our small farm approaches the balm display and looks over the scents. They pick up one or two, check the scent label and try to arrive at a decision about what smells best to them. Then they pick up the one labeled “Cat Burglar”.
Yes, it is a bit of a different name. When we first started creating skin balms from the beeswax collected during the honey harvest, we tried to find unusual names. We created a line called “Phantom Balm” named for one of the cats in residence. The same logic applied to “Reine Balm”.
The questions rolled in with those names. We quickly learned that in business, cute creative names are one thing, but when the names are so obscure the customers do not know what they are purchasing, it is a problem.
As good entrepreneurs do, we stepped back and reassessed. Too many times we found ourselves answering about the contents of these little tins. As we repeated that we used the names of our cats, we began to realize the absurdity.
Time to rename the products simply. Straightforward so there is no confusion. “Phantom Balm” is not going to either treat your phantom or turn you invisible. It is a soothing balm for dry cracked skin.
So we rebranded all of the scented balms under our new “Gert‘s Garden Balm” line. The new name was not so confusing. It was easy for people to understand this is a brand name.
But one balm name stuck and we are always willing to tell the story of “Cat Burglar”.
Most people who use essential oil blends have heard the story behind the Thieves blend of oils.
The story goes when Bubonic Plague was rampant in the 15th century, a group of thieves went from house to house robbing from the dead and dying. Even after repeated exposure to the highly contagious plague, the thieves did not get sick.
At long last, the thieves were apprehended. After conviction, the thieves were offered leniency if they would reveal the secret to their plague resistance. They disclosed they used a blend of cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, and TK oil as a defense.
We have incorporated those same essential oils into our balm. In keeping with our feline named business and with a nod to the 15th-century robbers, we call our version “Cat Burglar”.
Just to be clear, this name came about well before the current pandemic ravaging the world. The story of the thieves’ protection from Bubonic Plague with essential oils is folklore. We make no representation that our Cat Burglar balm provides any protection from any disease, germ, or phobia. What we do know is the balm is soothing to dry, cracked skin, smells delicious, and has a cool name.
Now you know the story, you can order your own tin of Cat Burglar with the button below.
