MERRIMACK 2.0

Merrimack 2.0

We’ve been a bit quiet on the social media front as of late while prepping some exciting new initiatives for you all. I’m very excited to personally share the news with you here! 

First, after a super busy and successful holiday season, we took a little pause for some much needed rest. During that rest period, I spent a lot of time plotting and planning the next stage of growth for The Merrimack Company. Below, I want to briefly recap 2022, which was our first year in business and then talk about some things to expect for 2023 and beyond. 

2022

As mentioned, 2022 was our first year in business. We launched the online store in February of 2022. It’s hard to believe we’re now celebrating one year in business! Despite still operating on a relatively small scale, we saw some incredible growth.

In Q2, we doubled our initial sales from Q1. In Q3, we doubled Q2 sales. And in Q4, we 4X’ed our Q3 sales. While we’ve obviously seen a dip from Q4 to Q1 thus far, in January alone we’ve already exceeded our Q1 totals from last year. 

I personally want to say a big thanks to everyone who supported The Merrimack Company in any way. Starting a new company isn’t easy, so it means the world to me that you’ve embraced this mission along with me. The Merrimack Valley is an area rich in history and culture and I love sharing my pride for this area with you all. Your support has also provided support to The Clean River Project and the amazing work they do cleaning up The Merrimack River.

In 2022, we popped up all over The Valley. From our very first pop-up store at Spicket River Brewery in Lawrence, to town days in Andover, Tyngsboro, Dracut, and Methuen; to the Bread and Roses Festival; to Concord Market Days; to multiple events at Tuscan Village, including our 6-week stint at their Holiday Shoppes; to The Topsfield Fair and many more.

We also popped up in some local media. Big thanks to The Valley Patriot for running a story and some ads for us - and inviting me onto their podcast. Another shoutout to Northshore Magazine for featuring The Merrimack Co. in their May issue. If you haven’t seen it, check out the write up on their website.

2022 also saw the introduction of our first brick and mortar store located in the historic and infamous Mill No. 5 in Lowell, MA. I’m so honored to be a part of this community. While the store is quite small, it’s been a great starting place and has allowed us to meet so many folks throughout the community and to grow the business

2023

This brings me to 2023. There’s a lot still in the works, so stay tuned for some more updates soon. We’ll be announcing things as they become confirmed - but let’s just say I’m super pumped for what’s in store for 2023 and beyond.

First, we’re moving! We’ll still be in Mill No. 5, but we’re moving down the hall into a bigger, brighter location! We’ve spent the week prepping the new store and it’s ready for you starting… now! Come check out the new and improved Merrimack Co store at Mill No. 5.

The larger space allows us to better feature our product, but also to expand the product line. We’re currently working with new manufacturing partners to bring some new products soon. Keep an eye out for those.

We’ve also brought in products from other makers that support The Merrimack Co’s mission and focus on our 3 main pillars: community, nature, and adventure.

First, we’ve expanded the dog line (because they’re everybody’s favorite adventure buddy) and now offer biodegradable poop bags and poop bag dispensers made from corn (and not plastic). We’ve also introduced organic, USA baked dog treats that support sustainable farming practices, and a bamboo doggy dish to hopefully replace the purchase of more plastic bowls.

Beyond an expansion of the doggy line, we’ve added a few items from local makers to our Mill No. 5 store. We’ve partnered with Mill City Mercantile in Lowell to offer two all-natural, USA made candle scents - The White Mountains and The Berkshires. The Merrimack Company will be the exclusive carrier of these two scents!  

We’ve also partnered with KAHA Coffee out of Amesbury, MA and will be the exclusive provider of KAHA Coffee in Lowell, MA. More of these partnerships are in the works and will be brought into the store soon. Stay tuned for more updates regarding future projects.

Another new initiative that I’m incredibly excited about is the inclusion of photography by artists located in The Merrimack Valley of The Merrimack Valley. The Valley is rich in history and nature. Let’s celebrate that together through these beautiful pictures. We’ve currently partnered with two local photographers who will be growing their collections in store over time. In the future, we hope to highlight “Meet the Makers” events at the store.

Beyond

As mentioned earlier, there are still a bunch of big plans in the works for this year and next year. I’ll refrain from talking about them for now, but look for an expansion of our retail footprint. We’ll also be at many more events throughout The Valley this year. We’ll be sure to update you on those plans as they’re confirmed.

Thank you again for the support in this new venture. I truly feel blessed to be able to focus my time and efforts on something so important to me and to have it be so well received by the community.

Stay Adventurous,

Ken