Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / How this stay-at-home mum turned successful beauty entrepreneur used her hero ingredient to dominate, with Kopari Co-Founder Gigi Goldman

Transcript

How this stay-at-home mum turned successful beauty entrepreneur used her hero ingredient to dominate, with Kopari Co-Founder Gigi Goldman · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Gigi Goldman for Female Startup Club.
• 0:12
  Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of Female Startup Club. I'm your host, Doona Rasheen, and today I'm joined by Gigi Goldman, the founder of Kopari. Kopari launched as a D2C brand in 2015 with a collection of beauty, body, and skin products all made from their hero ingredient, coconut.
• 0:32
  In five short years, they've gone into more than 2,000 retailers worldwide. They've raised $20 million from a lot of different people, including high-profile celebrities like Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, and Carly Kloss, and have expanded their product range into sexual wellness and CBD. In this episode, we cover the hustle from the early days and the strategies they use to acquire new customers at scale, how they approach influencer marketing, and Gigi's top piece of advice for women who have a big idea.
• 1:03
  This is Gigi for Female Startup Club. Amazing. Well, Gigi, thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to learn about Kapari. And I'd love to get started with you telling me sort of the origin story and what led you to starting the brand in the first place. Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:21
  Perfect. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me. So we launched Kapari about five years ago. And prior to that, I was a stay-at-home mom for 12 years. And I was really focused on health and wellness, not only for myself, but my three kids, my husband. And I did a lot of research on healthy foods, healthy drinks, etc. And I started using coconut oil for...
• 1:47
  cooking in the kitchen, but I had read that it had so many hair and skin benefits. So I started using it on my skin, on my kid's skin, after sunburns, when they had rashes on my 87-year-old dad. I don't know if you've seen my big fat Greek wedding where they use Windex to solve all their problems, but that was me with coconut oil. I was obsessed. I'm like, you're crying, put coconut oil on it.
• 2:10
  And that's really when I had my aha moment. And at the time when we started, no one had really built an entire brand around coconut oil and all of its amazing byproducts, the water, the shell, like you can use every part of the coconut.
• 2:26
  The other thing is when we launched clean beauty wasn't mainstream. You could only find it in those like specific health food stores and all of the packaging kind of looked the same. It felt really serious. So we saw a big opportunity to bring clean beauty mainstream and do it in a fun, colorful, playful way.
• 2:48
  The third pillar of our brand that was really important to us was it was about more than product. It was about embracing our Southern California healthy lifestyle. So on our feed, even today, you'll see those palm trees, the beaches, bike riding, healthy food.
• 3:07
  we really look at beauty is more than skin deep. It's about how you feel. It's an overall lifestyle that makes you look and feel your best. So those were the pillars that we really felt motivated and inspired and passionate to start. And I think we did it in a very unique, approachable tone of voice and price point. So that's,
• 3:33
  That's how we got started. It's amazing. And I absolutely love the branding. I was browsing all your incredible products today, which is so exciting. I want to talk about the early days when there's four of you, four founders. Yes, there's four founders. How it came to be that you all met. I mean, I know that you and your husband obviously knew each other already, but how you guys came to be business partners.
• 3:59
  So my husband was in the beauty business for three generations. His grandfather started a small distribution and storefront in San Diego, and that grew to about 20 locations. So when I had that aha moment, I went to him. He was still working in his family business, but he was ready for a change.
• 4:19
  And I think whenever you're starting a business, not only do you have to believe in the idea, you have to be at a point in your life where you're ready for something new. So we went to our best friend from college, James Brennan, who we'd known for 20 years and was a serial entrepreneur. And we came with our little box of goodies and samples and ideas and we're rubbing it on them and spraying them. And he goes, you're never going to believe this.
• 4:44
  three people have come to me with a similar concept. And one of them was Kiana, who's our fourth partner. The world came together. The synergy was out there. The conversation was out there. And we just capitalized on it with our idea. It's amazing. And did you guys have that kind of vision to get it to where it is today? Or was it like, hey, let's try this out. Let's launch a few products, get it into a few stores. What was that early vision? Yeah.
• 5:13
  You know, I never dreamed that it would be where it is today, to be honest. But I'm the type of person where I just put one foot in front of the other and I say, anything's possible. Let's just do it. I rather at the end of my time not wonder what if, you know. So, I mean, imagine if we hadn't pursued it.
• 5:32
  And today it's turned into this beautiful thing. I never thought, oh, it's going to be a failure, obviously. But I remember sitting at dinner with my husband one night and I go, can you imagine if our product is one of them, you know, in one of the major retailers one day? And that happened six months into our launch. They called us. That's crazy. Why? Why do you think it was that or what do you think got their attention and got you into those first group of retailers? Yeah.
• 6:01
  I think what first got their attention was two things. One, our unique marketing perspective. Two, our emphasis on clean and around that area of coconut. We had a very strong point of view, a very strong DNA from the beginning, and it was a very unique point of view.
• 6:22
  The other thing is, I think we were a direct to consumer brand. And at the time, the space wasn't as saturated. So I think that they saw that we were doing it well and doing it right. And so they called us. So cool.
• 6:37
  I want to go back to those early kind of few months before you got the retailers involved and talk about the kind of things you had to do in the beginning. I imagine you all had to put in some startup capital. This was pre you guys fundraising and what that kind of early hustle was like, the kinds of things you were doing to get in front of people and to find your customers.
• 7:00
  Yeah, I think the first thing I want to say is you really need to believe in your concept and be passionate about it because the hustle is so real. And by the way, at the time I had three kids, young kids. So it was really challenging. And of course, we had never launched our own product line. So it was a huge learning curve. And I was really a student of the process. I researched. I learned. I listened. I called people, asked for help.
• 7:30
  And you really have to absorb, learn, and move to the next issue. Or I always say a business is a puzzle. It's not like a checkoff. You're trying to fit all of these pieces together to create your brand. So originally, it was just the four of us. Our first hire was a digital marketing person who we had known in the past, and
• 7:57
  And we really just launched with four products. I think that there's this misconception that you have to have everything perfect and, you know, right and launch with a million products. All you need is one SKU that you really believe in. And you need to use that hero SKU to help establish your brand and use it as what we call like the gateway product.
• 8:24
  So your audience becomes familiar with it. If you talk about too much too soon, the consumer can get very confused. So we really focused our efforts on direct-to-consumer, Facebook advertising, which at the time was not as saturated as I mentioned, and then influencers or ambassadors. So we tried to get our product in as many hands as possible today.
• 8:48
  get people talking about it, get people passionate about it. And that's really what grew the brand. We weren't in any retail originally. So I think it's important when you're launching a brand to be ultra disciplined and focused in what channel you want to succeed in. For us, that was direct to consumer. It was based on our hero, Skew the Melt.
• 9:13
  And we just focused on those things and got the word out in a very organic, you know, way. Grassroots. Very grassroots approach. Yeah. And did you have that idea in mind to go out and raise venture capital funding? Or was that kind of out of the blue? Yeah.
• 9:30
  Originally, we had just raised money from friends and family, and it was really validating to see how many people really believed in us and the idea. So that gave us that confidence that we needed to kick off. Now, when every major retailer in the country came to us, we knew we would need capital to help support those retail partnerships. And that's when we decided to go out and work.
• 9:56
  you know, raise capital. Wow. And you guys have done a really big raise. I think I read it's about $20 million in total now that you've raised and you've got some really amazing high profile celebrities involved like Carly Closs and Mila Kunis. How did they get involved and how did you approach them?
• 10:16
  Well, our partner, James Brennan, who I said is a serial entrepreneur. He's launched Suja Juice and several other brands. He had a relationship with them. But again, to have that third-party validation from them was huge. They love the product. They use the product. They talk about it. So that was really a big win for us. And every time we raise capital, it's very purposeful. Okay. So
• 10:42
  It was to launch in U.S. retail. And then we launched in Canada, Southeast Asia, Australia, U.K. So you're always raising money to support your growth. Yeah, for sure. And you guys seem to be in...
• 10:58
  so many retailers, I think something like 2000 or something now. Yeah. So I imagine your life now looks very different in the, in the brand space versus when you first got started. What are the kinds of things that are working for you at the moment in marketing and how are you acquiring new customers at scale on, on such a large scale?
• 11:18
  I think for us, it's a couple of things. One, we still have a strong D2C business. We do a lot of Facebook advertising and you have to have that perfect balance between retention and attracting new customers. Your ambassador and influencer program is great.
• 11:36
  critical. I mean, that's how I shop. I think that's how so many people learn about products. They want to hear it from people they trust, from their friends. And then I think the third component is really our retail partnerships. I mean, for example, our lead retailer, Ulta, has millions of people in their loyalty club, millions of people who,
• 11:57
  who shopped their website and, you know, in the past went into their stores. So it's a great marketing platform for us as well. Yeah, I bet. I want to talk about influencer marketing and your strategy there a bit more. Do you guys do, you know, is it just gifting? Is it a paid strategy? What's the approach for you guys?
• 12:21
  I think it's always a combination of both. It depends on the influencer's reach, their engagement, their following. But I think the key to it, whether they're paid or unpaid or whatever size they are, is to create that relationship and consistency with them. So you can give them the product once and then if they never hear from you again, it's kind of a mute point, but it's that ongoing partnership and relationship that's,
• 12:49
  so that you guys can grow together. And you have to have people that really believe in your product and use it in their routine. And then I think even if, for example, they were paid at one point, they continue to talk about it because they believe in it. So I think it's a balance of it all. Yeah, absolutely.
• 13:09
  And I want to talk about your sort of the new categories that you've started to build into the sexual wellness and the CBD. Obviously, these are regulated spaces. It's a bit harder to advertise on, you know, the traditional kind of Facebook and Instagram. Definitely. How did you go about putting the word out there for those new categories?
• 13:30
  So just to take a step back from the beginning, our vision was to create products that mirrored the natural uses and benefits of coconut oil. And then we take that coconut oil and we kick it up a notch with other natural ingredients, whether it be CBD. And a lot of our products, we've got rose, we've got pineapple and papaya enzymes. So the vision from the beginning was
• 13:55
  to create that pipeline that mirrored the natural uses and benefits and then kick it up with natural ingredients. So that's how we landed on CBD. And that's how we landed on a sexual wellness product, because we understood that people were using coconut oil for that purpose.
• 14:10
  When you have a challenge with Facebook, I think your best alternative or with advertising in general, your best alternative is influencers. Because, again, they're able to talk about the product, how they use it, the benefits without those different types of regulations. So I think they're a great resource to talk about other products. I also think the landscape's evolving so much and the conversation in the ad space.
• 14:38
  is becoming a little more flexible. Do you have any particular moments from influencer marketing that have really stood out to you that have been kind of a step change that have leapt your business forward? Like any particular partnerships?
• 14:54
  You know, there's been times where we're like, oh, my gosh, what just happened? And then we realize it's an influencer that we didn't even reach out to, but heard about the product through friends or makeup artists, etc. So those type of moments are really exciting because you're like, oh, my God, who just talked about the product? Yeah.
• 15:14
  But I think it's not a one moment thing. It's about that consistent, strong growth, focusing on your hero skews, allowing them to bring consumers in. And it's never just that one moment. And I think everyone's like, what was the day it all turned? You know what I mean? Or what was that one moment? It's a domino effect, right? It's
• 15:39
  the influencers mixed with the advertising mixed with the retail partnerships, you know, there's so many pieces to the puzzle that it's when they all come together and they have that consistent growth is what you're really looking for more than that, like turning moment, you know? Yeah, for sure. And I want to know, I want to talk about rather some of the kind of challenges that you face at the moment, building the business when it's at the scale that it is now.
• 16:09
  Yeah. Well, I think, you know, COVID-19, quarantine, it's been very challenging for everyone, really. I mean, on a personal level, on, you know, a country level, on a world level, I think everyone's in a very uncertain place right now. So what we've really done is
• 16:33
  really focused on growth, but also really focused on building community and a conversation that everyone can relate to. So we've shifted a lot of our messaging instead about talking about product, product, product, like self-care. How are you really doing? How are you feeling? Because I think people need each other right now and we want to be there for people and give them the tools around wellness and how to take care of yourself when you're stuck in your house or
• 17:03
  Maybe your only opportunity to leave is to go on a little walk or connect with people via Zoom. So I think right now our focus is really on building community and giving people products that help in their self-care routine to give them that little moment of happiness. Yeah, absolutely. We all need it. It's definitely been a trying time.
• 17:26
  It's been such a trying time. And, you know, whenever we talk about marketing, I ask my team, what connects with you? How are you really feeling? Like, what do you want to hear about? Not like big campaigns or strategies. It's like it's coming from the heart now. And I think that's a good thing. Yeah.
• 17:47
  I think it's always, I think in social media in general, you, it's important to ask yourself, would this, would this be something that I would consume? Is this interesting for me? Yeah, I think it's, I think that's the beauty of social media in today's world. I mean, I'm sitting here talking to you in my bedroom in like my exercise clothes in the past, everything would have been more formal. And I think that it's allowed us
• 18:14
  everyone to be more authentic, to be real, to invite people into our home in a different type of way. So I think more than ever,
• 18:24
  people want reality. They want that authenticity, which has always been my mode of operation, but I'm realizing now that it hasn't been the world's mode of operation. So I think it's such a great thing today that we're able to connect in this real way. And I think, you know, with our influencer partnerships, even I've connected with so many other brands, even who are in this same space and everyone's coming together in a new way, which I think is a beautiful thing. Yeah.
• 18:53
  And I think another thing that's coming out of this is everyone's kind of focus on being able to build their own lifestyle design around work and, you know, being like, maybe we don't have to commute to offices. Maybe we can function like this and enjoy it and go into an office, you know, here and there, which I think is a really interesting thing.
• 19:13
  move forward. Yeah. I think the world will be forever changed. And I don't even think we realize it because I can't even comprehend that we're in like a pandemic right now. It's like hard for me to absorb. But I know on a personal level, my husband and I and three kids were moving at a pace that was
• 19:32
  not sustainable, but I didn't even recognize it at the time. I was on a plane probably twice a month, three kids in school, in sports, and we were having those family dinners, but we weren't really connecting because we always had to run someplace, run to an event. And during this three months, we've been more connected and more present and had more joy in our life,
• 19:57
  than we have in a long time. And I think that has forever changed me on a personal level, saying work smarter, not harder, and be present and enjoy these kids and this opportunity you have in work, instead of always checking off the list and moving on to the next thing. Absolutely, and I think there's so many people that are in that boat, especially, you know, the people that I'm talking to, they also feel that same way. And everyone kind of feels like,
• 20:26
  Oh, if they're looking back to their lives before COVID, they're like, yeah, I just didn't realize how bad my mental health was back then. And now I've had time to just reflect and just like unwind. Well, the whole world has really. And of course, like it's it's not the same situation for everyone, but a lot of people have been able to reflect in. Sorry, in these times.
• 20:47
  Yeah, and I think that's important. We all need that. And one thing is when you're moving so quickly, you don't have that time for reflection. And one thing I know at 46 years old is if you don't take care of yourself and have that wellness routine and that self-care, you can't take care of others or the community or your employees or your colleagues. It starts with you. And then that light that you build in yourself,
• 21:16
  can be given to everyone else. But if you aren't taking care of yourself and you feel dark and heavy, you know what? That spreads to everyone else too. For sure. Absolutely. Yeah. And with all that in mind, do you think now the direction of the brand will change because of COVID-19? And what does the future look like after the pandemic kind of resolves? I don't think...
• 21:41
  You know, I don't think the brand will change. I don't think I'll change. You know what I mean? I think I'll evolve, but the essence and the core of a brand will stay the same. The essence in my core will stay the same. We'll just build on it in a more beautiful way, a more reflective way, a more thoughtful way. I think we'll lean into the categories more that are working for us, like personal care and body care.
• 22:07
  But you don't want to change your essence or a brand's essence because that's how they were born to be. For sure.
• 22:15
  I want to talk about the initiative that I read about online, your Kopari village. Oh, my gosh. So cool. Can you tell us all about it? So that was one of the most amazing experiences of my career. And it was wonderful because my eldest son was able to join us as well. We traveled to the Philippines where we source our coconuts and we built a Kopari village, 20 homes.
• 22:43
  for people who lost their homes in natural disasters. And they're all involved with, you know, in the coconut groves and in facilitating our coconut byproducts. So we traveled there. It was such an incredible experience. The Philippines is absolutely beautiful. The people were so kind and we were able to do it because of all of our customers.
• 23:07
  you know, a dollar from every order went to this project and we hope to continue it in the future. I think right now our focus is really, though, on supporting frontline workers here locally because you have to be adaptable. And we couldn't continue with that effort when there was so much happening here in our own community.
• 23:30
  So we actually most recently teamed up with Brands for Better, which has almost 200 brands that raised more than $2 million to give to frontline workers. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Yeah. And it goes back to what I was talking about. Like these times have brought so many brands together, have brought people together. So in all of this darkness, there's definitely light.
• 23:59
  That's true. That's absolutely true. And I wanted to ask you what your number one piece of advice is for women who have a big idea or are wanting to start a business.
• 24:12
  Just do it. Have the confidence in yourself. Be optimistic. Be passionate. Be a student of the process. But don't hold yourself back. Like, I know we all have that voice in our head, that voice of doubt. But I'll tell you what, I was a stay-at-home mom. I'm not brilliant. I didn't go to Harvard. You know, like, I'm a hard worker with grit and understand you will fail. But it's how you get up.
• 24:41
  and keep moving forward that defines you. I love that. Thanks. Okay. We're up to the six quick questions, which I ask every woman that I speak to. I love it. Number one is what's your why? Oh, that's such a good one. I think my why is I want to show my kids anything is possible.
• 25:07
  I often speak to women and that and every woman that I've spoken to with children, that answer is linked to their kids, you know, wanting to make the world a better place, wanting to show them what's possible. It's a really nice, a nice answer. It's something you can't learn in school. You can't buy it. You have to show it.
• 25:30
  Question number two is, and we kind of touched on this before, so it's a bit of a repeat, but what was the number one marketing moment that's made your business pop? I think, like I said, it's those three things are direct to consumer, digital advertising strategy, influencers, and our retail partnerships. Number three is where do you hang out to get smarter?
• 25:58
  With other people in the industry. Anyone in particular? Conferences, I think really, you know,
• 26:08
  talking to other people who are in the brand. Like I have a lot of friends in the industry and I'll just call them and ask, what are you doing? How are you doing it? What's your experience with this retailer, et cetera. So I think we've got a really good network of other female founders or even male founders that I speak with and get advice from.
• 26:28
  Yep. Amazing. Power of the people, power of network. Exactly. Question number four is how do you win the day? And that's around your AM and PM rituals that keep you feeling happy and successful and fulfilled.
• 26:42
  So I think this is a really important question, not only for me, but for everyone to define them for themselves. There's three things that I know I have to do to have a good day. That is meditate. I read kind of a prayer inspiration from a book.
• 27:00
  And I exercise. If I do those three things every day, I know I'm going to have a good day. Even if there's problems or whatever the world presents, I know I'm in the right headspace. The other thing that's very important to me is eating right, because that gives me energy. It makes me feel light. And it gives clarity of mind. And finally, I'm going to have a good day.
• 27:26
  My skincare and my body care routines are my escape. So when I go into the shower, no one, everyone knows not to bother me. It's my own 10 minutes of peace. And I love the feeling of the water. I love the smells of all of our body washes. I love putting on our coconut melt after. And I put my robe on and it's like that 10 minutes of self-care really energizes me.
• 27:55
  And I don't wear a ton of makeup. So having like glowing skin for me gives me confidence, especially at 46, because my skin could be dry or wrinkly or whatever. So just having that hydration and glowing look makes me feel good and smiling.
• 28:14
  Love that. Love that little end out on there. Yeah. Question number five is if you only had $1,000 left in your business bank account, where would you spend it? Building community through ambassadors, through our customers, just build your community. Amazing. And final question is how do you deal with failure? And that can be around a personal experience or just your general mindset and approach.
• 28:45
  Um, first I'm very kind to myself. So I forgive myself for the failure. I, I try and stop that voice that can be really hard on myself and say, it's okay. But the number one question is, what did I learn and how will I do it differently next time? Failure is okay. Making the same mistake over and over again is not.
• 29:07
  For sure. And I have to ask you, what are your favorite products while I've got you here? I know you mentioned the melt before. Oh my gosh. The melt, if I went to a deserted island, that is the one product I would bring because you can use it as a hair mask, a body moisturizer, a makeup remover. Not that I'd have makeup in a deserted island, but you can use it on your elbows, your heels. Like it's,
• 29:32
  it's why we started the brand really, right? My kids use it. My husband uses it. My 87 year old dad uses it. So the melt is definitely one of my hero skews. The lip glossy. I have like one in my purse, one in my bedside, one in my car, one at my desk. I can't live without it. I'm completely addicted. And then, of course, I love our aluminum and baking soda free deodorant because
• 29:59
  It really works. It smells amazing. And it just makes me feel good that I'm not using aluminum and baking soda. For sure. They sound all really cool. I'm going to check them out afterwards. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I've had the best time talking to you.
• 30:17
  I'm so grateful to be here. And I want to say I'm so proud of you for launching this podcast and pursuing your dream because it's contagious. You know, when everyone starts pursuing their dream, other people are able to do the same. Thank you so much for saying that.
• 30:37
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 31:01
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 31:24
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favourite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 31:41
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 32:05
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 32:28
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.