Part 3 · The launch plan
Chapter 13 of 14
Amazon launch
The question
How does Plantd launch on Amazon, and what does it earn?
The answer
As one listing for the six body creams, plus the Discovery Set and a 3-jar bundle, priced at $28.99 like the site. Each 8 oz jar leaves Plantd about $18.53 before ads.
Key number
$18.53
kept per 8 oz jar on Amazon, before ads (estimate)
What we found swipe
- The 8 oz sits with the premium indie creams, not the drugstore tubs. CYKLAR's 8 oz body cream sells at $29.00 ($3.63/oz, 4.5 stars, 1,063 ratings); the mass leaders run $0.36–1.30/oz.
- Amazon takes about $10.46 of the $28.99. 15% referral ($4.35), fulfilment $4.76 ($5.06 in peak season) and about $1.35 for freight, placement and storage. Estimates; weigh a packed jar to confirm.
- There is no way to ship US Amazon orders from Canada. Stock has to clear US customs into Amazon's US warehouses first, with an importer of record and a USMCA certificate.
What it means for Plantd
Amazon is the second engine after Meta: it catches the shoppers already searching "body cream for dry skin" and "fragrance free body cream", and it earns nearly twice a distributor jar. It only works if the border, the barcode and the photos are sorted first, so the launch is a sequence, not a switch.
The evidence
↑ Same price per ounce as CYKLAR's 8 oz, the closest indie comparison. The drugstore tubs below are a different shopper.
Source: amazon.com product and search pages, 6 Oct 2026. Plantd is the green bar; it is not listed yet.
Data as a table
| Listing | $/oz |
|---|---|
| OSEA Body Butter 6.7 oz | $6.42 |
| Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum | $4.74 |
| Kiehl's Creme de Corps 8 oz | $4.59 |
| CYKLAR Body Cream 8 oz | $3.63 |
| Plantd 8 oz | $3.62 |
| Kopari Body Butter | $3.09 |
| Weleda Skin Food 5 oz | $2.82 |
| Naturium Body Butter | $2.58 |
| Saltair Body Butter 10 oz | $2.20 |
| eos Body Butter 10 oz | $1.30 |
| Tree Hut 8.4 oz | $0.79 |
| CeraVe Cream 19 oz | $0.66 |
Do this first
In this chapter
The Amazon launch, step by step
The listing
A mockup of the listing: the six body creams as one listing with Nude first, a real Plantd photo as the main image, and standard A+ content.
What launches
Launch
Hand & Body Cream, 8 oz: one listing, six scents
Led by Nude (fragrance-free), Ritual and Vacay; every review counts for every scent. $28.99, or $26.09 with Subscribe & Save.
Launch
Discovery Set of Six
The gift and trial set, strong in Q4. About $54 kept per set (estimate). Kept out of the scent listing.
Launch
3-jar bundle: Vacay, Love, Nude
A fixed bundle, the same as the site ($78.99). Amazon can't do "pick any 3". Fees take a smaller share of a bigger order.
Later
The face line, facial oil first
At about $27.50 an ounce it sits 2–5 times above Amazon's prestige band, with no branded search yet.
Not on its own
The 2 oz jar
Keeps only about $7.98 after fees. It earns its place inside the Discovery Set.
Step by step
Timing. Peak fees and higher storage rates run 15 October to 14 January. A Q4 2026 gift launch only works if Brand Registry and US labels are done within weeks; otherwise the realistic launch is Q1 2027, on winter dry skin.
- US importer of record, customs broker and USMCA certificate
Amazon is not the importer, and there is no Canada-to-US fulfilment program. Without the certificate, Canadian creams pay 10% more duty.
- Trademark and Brand Registry
A Canadian (CIPO) trademark qualifies. File a US one too. Registry unlocks A+, the review program, brand analytics and video ads.
- Weigh and measure a packed jar
Every jar is "Large Standard". At up to 1 lb the fee is $4.76; over 1 lb it is $5.22. The listing must match the label's net weight.
- Barcodes
11 of 12 pass the check digit; the Spa 2 oz code (628942537016) fails. Fix it, and make sure the GS1 licensee name matches "Plantd" exactly, because Amazon checks.
- Studio photo on pure white
The main image must be pure white (RGB 255). 49 of 52 competing listings use one; about 20 add an open lid or a swatch.
- Listing and A+ content
Build from the mockup: brand and searched phrase first in a title of 75 characters or fewer, pain-first bullets, no "organic", "heals" or "eczema". Standard A+ until Premium unlocks.
- Safety data sheet ready
Limonene and linalool on the label can trigger a hazardous-goods review. An emulsion is unlikely to be classed hazardous, but have the sheet ready.
- First shipment
About 150–250 jars per scent, 200 Discovery Sets and 100 bundles: 60–90 days of stock, which avoids aged-stock fees (estimate).
- Vine reviews
Amazon's review program: up to 30 units on the scent listing (reviews pool across scents) and the Discovery Set, with a $200 credit for new Brand Registry sellers.
- Launch coupon and Subscribe & Save
A 20% coupon for 4–6 weeks with the list price held at $28.99; Subscribe & Save at 5–10% (47 of 52 competitors offer it).
- Sponsored Products, small budget
About $1,500–3,000 a month for months 1–3: exact match on each scent's search phrase, "body cream for dry skin" for discovery, and the CYKLAR, Kopari, Saltair, Naturium and Weleda listings. Cut search terms above 45% ad cost of sales after 20 clicks.
- Read review velocity weekly
30 Vine reviews in the first 6–8 weeks, then organic reviews. Stars and count go on the retail sell sheet.
- Add the face line, oil first
Only after Meta and the site have built branded demand and each face product has 50+ reviews. The facial oil is the best first test: it sits nearest Herbivore and Elemis on price.
Fees per unit
Estimates from Amazon's 2026 rate card: 15% referral above $10, Large Standard fulfilment with the 3.5% surcharge, and about $1 per jar for freight into US warehouses. Before ads and product cost.
Ads can take up to 50% of Amazon sales before an 8 oz jar loses money if it costs $4 to land, 43% at $6 and 36% at $8.
Go deeper
Full detail: Channel economics, Amazon comps, fees, listing copy and A+ plan
The operator layer behind this chapter. Inside:
- Comparable Amazon listings with prices, ratings and ranks
- The fee math for every product, and the launch mechanics
- The full listing copy, image plan and A+ plan
