I’m sure that it goes without saying that for the past 25 years, our fitness and yoga memberships have been BL’s bread and butter. In fact, approximately 70 % of our gross revenue comes from BL peeps wanting to workout and practice yoga. But over the years we have decided to add other layers to BL. When Chris and I go to Mindbody conferences, they refer to these layers as Black Boxes. Black Boxes refers to other areas, services or products that we can offer our community in addition to our memberships. I’ve already told you a bit about two of these Black Boxes…our workshops and massage program. So today I thought I would share a little about one of my favorite Black Boxes or additional layers that we have added to our BL menu over the years: RETAIL!!
Clothing was one of the very first things we added to BL but until we had the Link, the space for displaying retail was minimal!! BUT now we lots of space to sell a huge variety of fun apparel, yoga accessories, candles, Pretty Hunter Jewelry, greeting cards, barre socks…just to name a few!! We call this area Body’s Boutique. It’s always fun when you show up for class and get to be the first to see what’s new!! We also have a smaller area in the lobby of BL…right when you walk in the door. Both areas offer BL logo’d apparel as well. We always appreciate your sporting our logo and sharing BL with others when you’re out and about. Ray designs all of our logos and Claudia is in charge of our retail department. Both of these ladies do an amazing job assisting us with this BL Black Box!!
If you walk past the bosses office you will be Around The Corner!! This is my husband Dave’s retail space for displaying his custom made furniture, cutting boards and other items that he has created. He also has generated a lot of custom orders over the years from BL peeps who want something created with specific dimensions or a certain space.
I love love love that a few years ago we started offering Great Harvest products. I adore the owner of the Great Harvest on Maple Road just West of Haggerty. If you stop by his store, his name is Jim. I got to know Jim well when my daughter, Briana, did an internship with him one summer for her degree in Hospitality Business. The Great Harvest products we offer at BL are stock full of healthy ingredients and Andrea approved. We have granola, whole grain breads and my personal favorite…Trek Bars!! Yummy and healthy!! Recently we add Witzi Granola to our food section. The creator of this granola is Chris’ sister-in-law, Amy. Amy makes her granola in Ohio and recently Chris and I got a tour of her kitchen. She employs special needs individuals, including one of her sons, to help label and seal the granola bags. Her granola is different from the Great Harvest granola because is more like a trail mix…full of nuts and seeds and lots of other healthy ingredients. It also is a great alternative to those who are looking for gluten free options. Oh, and it’s delicious!!
Lastly, across from the food section we have our supplements. There are so many different supplements out there to choose from but as a Registered Dietitian I can stand behind this line. They send me their specs on ingredients, so I can personally vouch for their quality. The most important supplement on those shelves is the Multi Vitamin. According to the results of a 30 year study conducted on over 30,000 individuals, one of the most important things every person should do for health and longevity is to take a multi vitamin. It helps fill in the gaps in our diet. Our supplement is good for both men and women. The other supplements we offer are Vitamin D (another supplement everyone should be taking), Pro-biotics to help promote good gut health, Omega 3’s (fights inflammation), Osteo Prime (bone health), a natural sleep aid taken 45 minutes before bed and a handful of supplements to boost immune function (Zinc, Vitamin C and Elderberry gummies). Recently we just added to these shelves, CBD products that can be both rubbed on sore spots or tinctures to be taken orally to help with pain, sleep and anxiety.
So there you go…just a small glimpse into the many products that we offer as part of our Retail Department…or how I would prefer to look at it as Retail Therapy!! We love that we can provide this service to our BL community and we so appreciate you shopping with us and supporting our small business!!
