Five Star Tack

5 minute read

TL:DR

• New product and brand disrupt the traditional design and marketing of english tack
• Social media followers grow from 0 to 15,000
• Brand achieves a loyal customer base with a cult-like following

Jumping Into the Deep End of the Pool

Once upon a time, I had an idea for an e-commerce business. I was a lifelong equestrian and horse owner who decided she was going to sell high-end brands of bridles and strap goods a/k/a tack. At the time there were very few online stores in this space and while I thought it was a great idea, none of the brands I wanted to sell would let me open an account because I didn’t own a brick and mortar tack store. I was ready to give up until a good friend suggested I design my own line of bridles.

I knew nothing about manufacturing, or running a business, but I knew what leather quality I wanted, I was creative, and I had prior experience working in corporate and brand identity, so why not go for it? I had no idea what I was getting into but, that has never stopped me.

And Five Star Tack was born.

I wanted Five Star Tack to have a logo that people would associate with quality and style, the same association one would have with a Chanel or Gucci logo. The logo I designed was a stylized Celtic cross which paid homage to my Irish heritage and my former life as an 80s club kid. I incorporated the logo design into the bridles which no other tack company was doing. In a very traditional industry Five Star Tack was a disruptor.

In a few short years, I was able to build a brand with a cult-like following through word-of-mouth, social media marketing, and email marketing.

It’s not all about the design

While it was easy for me to design new bridles and strap goods, there was a lot that I had to learn. Here are a few of the many things I taught myself in establishing and growing Five Star Tack:

• How to source leather and materials
• Manufacturing and importing
• Managing Inventory
• Planning and designing the website using WordPress and Woocommerce
• Content and SEO writing
• Marketing to B2B & B2C customers
• Conversion rate optimization and A/B testing
• Email marketing
• Growing a Facebook page to more than 15,000 followers, and also establishing Twitter and Instagram pages

In addition, Five Star Tack was the first company of its kind to donate a portion of sales to charity.

The Realities of Online Selling

It was an incredible ride with both high points and frustrations. To be able to take an idea and bring it to fruition and success in the marketplace, and all that I learned along the way was incredibly gratifying. Even more gratifying was to be able to donate some of the business profits to charities involved in breast cancer research and the rehoming of retiring racehorses.

However, if I had known how difficult manufacturing and importing is, I probably wouldn’t have gone forward but, sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. As much as Five Star Tack became a success, the growth of large online tack stores selling their own line of bridles made it increasingly harder for me to compete. I had developed a brand with a cult-like following however, I couldn’t match the ad spend and purchasing power of the new “big box” tack stores and distributors. It became a battle I could not win.

After a ten year run, I sadly made the decision to close the business. While I felt defeated, it was an incredible learning opportunity and when I saw my bridles being used on some of the horses in the 2021 summer Olympics, I knew I had done something I could be proud of.