Latest / Skin Anarchy / E.332: BeautyStat Cosmetics Now In ULTA & NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH Ft. Paul Wahlgren, CMO

Transcript

E.332: BeautyStat Cosmetics Now In ULTA & NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH Ft. Paul Wahlgren, CMO · Skin Anarchy

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: I am not sure what I'm saying.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: I used to use it.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: We are going to be able to do it.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Eka.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: How are you?
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Doing great.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: I am so excited to learn about all the growth that Beautystat has had lately.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: You guys have been really killing it.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's been quite a ride, I have to say.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we've we only launched um less than three years ago.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: So it's been um uh just a tremendous growth.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, it just is a testament of putting the right team of people together um and making great products.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: It makes such a difference.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where I want to get started is like really about um your your background, Paul, because I know that you know, we talked a little bit on the phone before um this recording, but I want you to tell us all about you know how you got um into this uh project and how Beautystat really came to be.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just the whole journey, if you could tell us.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, well, that's a it's a long journey, actually.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I I the one thing I think was really a good basis of my background is I grew up um in retail.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: I started working in retail stores at 14 years old.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: And believe it or not, my first job, I think, went from 14 until I was 29, worked for one company.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: I ran retail stores in consumer electronics.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: And that was sort of always the basis of, I think, um, later on in life when I got into the wholesale business is just really understanding retail and taking care of the customer and just providing great service.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: And that's one thing that has always been sort of a uh, you know, an underlying, um, almost an instinct for me is just take care of that customer, make a great product, uh, give them the information, educate them.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I've always come from that place of education throughout my life.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I've I you know been fortunate to have worked, you know, in the US and in Europe, and I did my master's degree in Europe, and that's what got me working internationally.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I was fortunate to work, you know, sort of fall into the watch and jewelry industry, working with high-end um watches and jewelry out of, you know, and I've worked in US, Middle East, Asia, Europe.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and all these, all these experiences I think just kept, you know, building until I fell into beauty about 10 years ago by meeting a couple scientists, Ron Robinson and Jules Aquino.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I sort of was fortunate.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: I got taken under their wing and learning a bit on the beauty industry, you know, and um, and then putting together, you know, and working with Ron on BeautyStat.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: It was just, it's been such a uh such a ride.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely no.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Ron is amazing too.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: I that's the first person I interviewed from the brand.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I I remember speaking to him, and he was walking me through the process of creating this beautiful uh, you know, brand and the unique, um, you know, just how unique it is in terms of the stabilized vitamin C.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we really went into the science and it was so cool to just learn about that.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but one thing I always wonder is about science heavy brands, um, you know, is like how to market them, right?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's like such a it's such a niche area, I feel like, in beauty.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, you guys are killing it.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: I love that, you know, beauty stat is being recognized for how amazing it is because you know it's very hard for me to see these like really science heavy brands get up there, you know?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think what helps is as you know, Ron is very personal.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I think the all the the the co-founders of the company, you know, I think we all bring something different um to the to the plate.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I think what was interesting is, you know, having somebody like Ron and um the team bring me under their wing is they educated me on the science to a point.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: And what I'm good at is sort of bridging that gap.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: And and he's always been good at breaking it down to me and say, how can I explain it?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: Give me a simple way.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to get too sciencey on people.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's one thing I think we've been able to, you know, um communicate well is okay, what is stable vitamin C?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: How does it work?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_02: And then how, you know, what does it do for the customer?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's one thing that um I think we communicate well is we try not, you know, we are a scientific brand backed in science, but we try to make it very simple for the consumer to understand.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: And everything that we do from the beginning is um, you know, safety first, consumer study, clinical study.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: So by the time we put a product in the shelf, we are very confident that we know the consumer has, you know, just something that will really, you know make the difference because there's a lot of products out there.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: I know there's great products out there.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: We want to be better and we want to be able to explain it easy for for consumers to understand.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's a wonderful brand.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's very um, you know, when it comes to efficacy, like you know me, like I'm a like I'm really like, you know, kind of uh very particular about that.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I want to make sure like it's it's not enough to just be a science friend.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's important to have the efficacy behind um your products.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you guys definitely have that.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the eye cream is something I can't live without it anymore.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I use it every day.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's made a huge difference for people with my dark circles because, you know, as a woman of color, you know, we have hyper pigmentation issues, more so, but especially with under-eyed circles, there's very few products out there that actually work.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I remember when I had spoken to Ron, I was like, you know, um speaking to him about the eye cream too.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: And at that time, it wasn't even really about my results because, you know, it's been a few months and I've really seen results, you know, over time.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: But um I had asked him, I'm like, you know, you formulated this to be so perfect because not only is it skincare, but it's also just perfect for the under-eye area.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if we want to put on our makeup or we want to do something, you know, with concealer, it doesn't clump up because the skincare is working with the primer.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it's like you guys have covered so many areas, you know, and that's why I just I really love beauty set because of that.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: You guys have just really covered so many, you know, little niche areas that I look for as a consumer.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think it's also breaking down to like you mentioned the eye product particular.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: We focused on three major areas.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's under eye dark circles, it's lines and wrinkles and puffiness, and then putting together, you know, the combination of our stable vitamin C, our sort of core technology, with a bit of a what I like to call an anti-inflammatory cocktail, you know, um uh caffeine, magnolia, and hemp oil or CBD, which is a great anti-inflammatory, and the product works.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: And we knew we had a winner when we were testing it.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_02: We knew, you know, when we got it to the consumer study and we got great feedback, and then we did a clinical.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_02: Now it's racking up awards.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, just even of I mean, right out of the box, it won the Oprah O Award, right, you know, a couple months after launch, the Al Feature Beauty Innovation Award.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: And just recently, last fall, the Allure Best of Beauty.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: And now we just found out this, and I think I just put it in my deck.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: We run um uh from New Beauty um their best eye cream.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and again, New Beauty, as you know, covers dermatologists and plastic surgeons and is more sort of coming from the scientific realm.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: So we're very excited about you know the feedback it's got, but in the end, you know, the proofs in the pudding, so to speak, as they say, you you've used it, you know it works, and I think that's what consumers discover about our products once they start using them.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, by the way, it it was on my list too.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: My my top picks for 2021.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, yeah, be uncomfortable.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, no, I it's a it's a phenomenal product, and the whole line is just wonderful.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now, one thing I I do want to ask you, because you know, although there is that vitamin C component, I know, like for example, the face wash is like a um it's it's made to really balance out the microbiome, right?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, like I want to talk about that a little bit.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, why how did you guys pick the really important um areas of skin health?
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what was that process like?
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think I again I always defer to the scientist, you know, I'm I'm on the marketing side, but what I look at is as we've sort of built up this line, we had the core technology to start.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_02: And then we started looking at, we look at knee gaps for the consumer, we look at, you know, can we build a better mousetrap, so to speak, sometimes when we look at products and and as we looked at the the cleanser category and also realized we're sort of a brand that launched during a pandemic, a really odd time to be sort of coming into the market.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but we we did look at, you know, with the cleanser of you know, how are you working with the um the exterior skin, looking at antibacterial, antiviral, because a lot of people were wearing masks at that time, and we said, okay, how do we have something that cleanses without stripping the skin?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know, because we're trying to really repair the, you know, the barrier function and keep the microbiome of the skin in in good shape so that the skin is healthy and then the you know the other products work together.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: And that's really, I think, again, I don't want to be the technical guy, that's a question for for Ron, but it's really having a synergistic effect of that great moisturizing cleanser that has that metal, we use medical grade silver, really high quality silver, which has antiviral and bacterial, antibacterial qualities, which you probably are more aware of than I.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and it just sets up the skin great for you know for the vitamin C and for the moisturization and the other steps that we're developing as we sort of build out our sort of skincare regime for the products we're developing.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that it makes a lot of sense, you know, from a science background, it may, you know, when I look at it, it's like it's it's just clean, good science.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's how I see beauty.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like done it in a way where it's it's really consumer friendly, it's really, really easy to understand.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Now, one thing I do want to ask you, Paul, and I think I'm very curious.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know a lot about marketing, right?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: So I I always wonder like how that works because I know right now, especially in the skincare space, a lot of brands are coming out with this whole science washing, you know, right?
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: I was I know Ron contributed to that article on uh Beauty Independent, and I I also contributed to it.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I think that it's it's something that's a very interesting topic, you know, science washing.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like you know, there's very few brands that can really stand up and say, no, we're not doing that.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: We are really based in science.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: And beauty stuff is definitely on the top of my list.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to talk to you about the marketing of that.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: How do you sift through this, you know, this uh like I guess landscape where there's so many brands that are trying to claim, yeah, oh, really science heavy, you know, all that all that's well, you know, I I think what's interesting is it it just starts with Ron and Jules and our team, you know, starts with the the cosmetic chemist story.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I I start this when I talk about the training because I I always want to hammer home a couple key points.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, we are cosmetic chemists audited company, but there really aren't many out there.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I, as you know, doctors work with cosmetic chemists, celebrities work with cosmetic chemists, big brands hire cosmetic chemists.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: They are at the heart, and I think they're sort of the unsung heroes in the industry because people don't you know you didn't really hear that term much, but we we are pushing that term forward because we know these are the guys who have done tens of thousands of experiments over their lifetime.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: And when I look at our team, you know, um Ron, Ron and Jules and Donna and a couple of our core team members who really, you know, have decades of experience.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: When I look at their background, there's not a lot of people in the world in the last probably 40, 50 years who have their skill set.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_02: And when I say that, I mean tens of thousands of experiments.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's something that really drives us as having you know that performance on the product.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, our team really wants that product to perform immediately, like, wow, I love the way this feels.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I love the way it smells.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_02: Wait, and then they start using it.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_02: Then that breeds compliance so that person will use it tonight and they'll use it tomorrow.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: And then within a week or two, then those actives that we put in there that we've stabilized so they work start to work.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: And the customer actually sees the performance.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that at the core is probably the most important thing.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: And then I'm gonna switch over to the business side because again, you're the you're the doctor, not me.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: It goes about getting trial.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: And like you said, there are so many products out there.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, yeah, we don't want to be a to be blunt, a bullshit marketing story.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: We want to be product grounded in science that performs for the consumer.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: So trial was probably the most important thing for us because realize in mid-2019, you know, and we are that story where you know, a group of people came together to found this company, Ron sold a 401k to make the first production.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: We really are one of those true startup stories.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_02: And then it was like we turned on a website, and then you know, we started saying, okay, how do we we gotta tell the world about this?
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: And we, you know, we really focused on um a lot of trial doing obviously, unfortunately, during the beginning part, yeah.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_02: We we we did low prices, we gave discounts, anything to get people's hands.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: But then, you know, the the sort of PR machine helps with where Ron, you know, had some you know great context and knows a lot of people in the industry.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: We were able to say they took them seriously when they said, Hey, can I send you our product?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us what you think.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: And it was that you know process.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh myself and um Paul and uh a few of my other team members, we come from a wholesale side.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we did everything from day one of let's get the product in the in the um retailers' hands.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: And slowly over time, that is basically how we, you know, sort of built this up.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_02: It was not a, you know, it's it's the overnight success that has 40 years experience behind it, but took three years, and we're not really an overnight success yet.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: I feel we're still, you know, we're still building it.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: We're we're working hard every day to make sure that we keep, you know, delivering the promise for the consumer, delivering for our retail partners.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but yes, racking up the awards, getting in the press, because we can't advertise with magazines.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_02: We have no poll.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if somebody gives us an award or are they gonna put us in their top 10 list or say you're the best vitamin C of all time, that really shows and speaks testament to Ron and the team developing the products, I think.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: Now I want to Sorry, that was a long answer, I know.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, it was it was the perfect answer.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: I really wanted to know about that because you know it it's it's this thing, right?
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you know, you hear about brands, they come up, and it is kind of like it seems like overnight success, but it's not.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's a lot of work and you know, and that leads me to Ulta because I am so stoked that you guys are in Ulta stores.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is such great news.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: I know that you know it this happened a little bit ago, but you know, um, I was very excited when I first heard that because I'm like, oh, this is wonderful.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we got to get this name out there, we gotta get the brand.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: So tell me about that whole experience from your side of it.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: How has that been?
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: I know that you've got a lot of celebrity coverage and stuff, so that's wonderful.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think I think it was a journey.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess I'll I'll pull back a little bit.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I mean, one of the um uh first companies I got our product into was Violet Gray.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: Violet Gray, as you know, was um a pretty good curator, you know, and there's some good retailers who really curate beauty well, as you know, Violet Gray is one of them.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: And also what I realized is a lot of beauty buyers from the big companies, they look at what Violet Gray is pulling in because they know the work that they do to pass the Violet Code that they have, you know, we send in, I don't know, say 20 samples and it goes to aestheticians and dermatologists and some you know, makeup artists and a whole wide range of people who try the product.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_02: So if you get Violet Code approved, you're already sort of, you know, uh it's another sort of validation I look at in this process.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: So as we started getting new, again, there are smaller retailers, but then you realize, well, the buyer at say, I don't know, Normstrom, I mean Marcus or whoever is looking at that, going, hey, what are the brands they're building and bringing in?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: That is what have you sort of opened the door, I think, to you know, other retailers.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: And then those retailers, it it really is a building effect.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, obviously we always wanted to get into Ulta.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: We were trying for three years.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_02: And then I think, you know, finally over time, they said, Hey, we we'd send samples, we'd give updates that, hey, we won these awards.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: And we said that you have to be, I hate to say it, but relentless, you have to be, you know, persistent with the buyers.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and just make sure and keep on the radar screen and without being, you know, without being, you know, sort of pushy, you know, it's finding a nice balance between, and we always we always would talk about that.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, we haven't reached out in a couple months, just wanted to give you an update.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: And then eventually, sometimes, you know, the planets align and they're they're like, okay, it's it's time to bring you guys in.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_02: And um it we we really just got in, um, we did this test, um, and you know, uh, obviously Ron being you know black, we had a BIPOC table that we're on and got our foot in the door.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: And now, you know, we're you know, in the next step, we're building to get into more stores um later this year.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it's it's not easy, it's a process, and and you know, we need a lot of resources to to back it up.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: So when you work with these big retailers, you got to be ready to have your product ready, have whatever they need for um point of sale materials, um, have the training in in place, have boots on the ground.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: There are so many things that you need to keep keep building the support for these retailers, but they are, you know, Ultra's just such a great company to work with, very professional.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_02: And I always felt like they were helping us.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: I felt like we had somebody in our corner as we started the journey with them.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, you don't always feel like that with retail partners, to be honest.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that has really been a a help um working with them is that they really, you know, they want you to win, they want you to succeed, and that's what we try to do.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I really like Ulta.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I've always towards them even more than Sephora, in my opinion.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's no not throwing any shade at Sephora.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: I love Sephora, but you know both great both great retailers, as you know.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_02: We just happens to be that Ulta came to the table first, you know, we we were interested in both of them because they're both, you know, amazing retailers.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: No, I but I really love Ulta because they always have, I mean, I've always found the coolest products, you know.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: Every time I go in there, I feel like I have something new or like a new brand.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, how has the response been, you know, since you guys have started uh you know, showcasing your products and all that?
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um great, you know, great great that the fact that with the test, they already said we're taking us to the store.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: So that to us was like, oh, we had a we had like a sigh of relief when we found it like, hey, okay, we we got past this next hurdle.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: Because it is a it is it's a progression, and that's what sometimes, you know, you you can't lose the fact that when you get in the door, great, now you got to prove yourself.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: And once you prove yourself on this little you know, stand, then it's the next level.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: Then they'll give you a little more space.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: You have to prove yourself on that level.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: Then you go to the next display or a larger display that you can put up more of your assortment.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: It is a process.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: So um don't think it's a light switch and you turn it on and everything's great.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_02: It is a building process, it's an evolution, and you have to evolve with them and grow.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_02: So that's very important, you know.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_02: Now tell me about Haley, because I know Haley puts Yeah, that was just that was amazing how that came together.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that again, that's that is all Ron.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: Ron, um, Ron knows Haley.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: He's been doing some consulting and helping her, and you know, she really wanted uh, you know, help us.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_02: And during um, you know, Black History Month, um we knew she was gonna I thought she was just gonna do a post.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: And then suddenly she did this great little, you know, professional video.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: You know, she has about forty some million members on.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: you know, Instagram followers.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, she has a great following on YouTube and just this this professional video.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then of course the nice thing is is you know, we've I didn't realize as we know, we've becoming sort of TikTok famous.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_02: So we're uh we're and I love the headline that it puts TikTok famous and internet favorite brand.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, love it.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_02: And then um yeah then all of a sudden some of the press covered it.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: So we had people pick that up and talk about Hayley B, which would help amplify it.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: And it just of course amplified us being at Ulta as well.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um because the bottom line is you you have to shout and you have to keep shouting it from the you know the the treetop so to speak that hey we're here we're in Ulta we're a great product give us a try you know it's um it it just helped it was just you know the planets aligned at the right time and um it all worked out well so no I really love that and I love that she gave um the brand such a spotlight because you know this is one of my biggest pet peeves Paul honestly is when celebrities promote the wrong brands and I'm just I sit there why don't do that you know so when she did that I was like finally you know she's standing behind the right brand this is the right kind of product and you know I I have a huge appreciation for for what you guys have done honestly like both from a science perspective and also as a consumer you know you make the science accessible that's what I love you know the accessibility products and the how you know in the even with the packaging it's simple but sophisticated it's it's everything you really want as a consumer without the over the top yes right so definitely yeah no how has that been though like how was that whole process of like coming to that nice balance of like you know packaging and what the consumers want what was that research like for you like from that marketing standpoint we we we just always wanted to keep it simple in a way and have it be about the product um and the performance I mean again I I really go back to you know performance we do safety testing first we do consumer studies we do clinical studies think about it indie brands don't normally take that approach to it but that also speaks to the rigor that our team has of being you know they used to work in the billion dollar company so we bring that to a startup that we bring that that um discipline of how we develop a product to market the one advantage is we have our own lab you know we you know we're up in New Jersey area our you know contract manufacturers are up there our whole company is based up there so we basically you know can move fast in a way and if you know we're going down the right road and it's amazing sometimes when I see a lab sample and I'm looking at the you know the formula number like wait this is number 300 variant 51 I'm like okay wait how many thousands of variations have we done but that's that's what you do to get to the right product you have to you know we we you know we'll if if we get it right quick great but that doesn't always happen sometimes it takes that long and and we want to have the great products out there and I think that is so important.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: It really does start with products and then we wanted to keep the message clean and simple to the consumer that here is a great product that's safe that performs um funny enough beauty stat is the brand but the corporate name is simply active cosmetics and that was by design we want to use as few actives as possible and have as maximum efficacy that is a little bit of our mantra you know we want those we want that instant wow effect that the consumer likes and then that midterm and long term benefits.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: So you know people yeah we want them to like a product and use it and use it again and that's why we've we've realized over time we have a great um repeat purchase on our products because the products work not because of you know any other reason I think yeah no absolutely I could I definitely can vouch for that as a consumer you know I I think your products are phenomenal you know every single one I've used is just like it has its own place in my routine you know it has its own plates like I can't replace it you know and that's what I find that to be I think the most intriguing part of the brand is that these are not only just efficacious products and really science heavy products but they're things you really like you end up loving in your routine.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know it's like once you use the craft for everyone listing once you use this eye cream I promise you you're never going to use another one.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's really and that's not just like me saying that it's it's like once you and like you said like once you apply it once you feel the texture of it and then you start those results and it just keeps it's like you know when they say like you keep unfolding all the different layers and just keeps getting better and better and better.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly what it is.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I you know very rarely do I come across brands like that.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I think you know from a marketing perspective I can definitely see how that kind of led the way you know is what you just said like the quality it led the way.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: Now you know one thing I want to ask you is so what is next for beauty style?
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Because I would love to see you guys make do a mask I'm an I'm obsessed with masks.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: Funny funny you mention that without I don't want to get I want to don't want to get too deep into next products but yeah we are working on a um a mask um that I think will go hand in hand with the cleanser and I think um what's really nice is we are using the medical grade silver in that product too.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: So I think you're gonna see Ron talking about the silver story a little bit um this fall when we bring that out looks like that'll be out in Q3.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: The other product that we've been interesting um that we're working on is we're working on a um a peel pad.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_02: And what is really I think interesting in it is not what we have but what we don't have if that makes any sense so it does not use any glycolic acid.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_02: We use different acids in it.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_02: So it's a a triple sort of a triple action um peel pad and using um again I I think I technically have this right uh thalophilic acid polyglutamic acid and lactic acid.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: So those are the three acids and glucosamine.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_02: So it's a really gentle um daily peel pad that you can use.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_02: And then again we're working on to have the clinical results to show what what you get with that over that period of time.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I like that it doesn't it doesn't irritate it's a non-irritating pad.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_02: And that's why I think it's interesting that we don't use glycolic acid.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's a little bit of the story we're gonna talk about on that product is what it doesn't have in it maybe to a point.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: That that sounds amazing and it also sounds like it's uh helpful for hydration too because polyutamic acid is great for that I mean that's really cool.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_02: I mean you better you Ron better come on my show first I'm just gonna I'm gonna go message him we will we'll we'll we'll have we we need to have a reboot with Ron talking about the uh the new products um give us a little while uh you know six eight weeks and I think you'll be ready and and hopefully we'll get some uh lab samples over to you as soon as we have them which is very soon we should be able to have you actually be able to test it.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very excited I'm very excited I can't wait to watch the brand grow and grow and grow Paul this is just it's a beautiful project and you guys are just doing it so perfectly so you know hats off to the whole you know the whole team and you know Ron if you're listening I missed you come back to the show you know make sure I get him on yeah we're we're gonna get him on again I actually uh I I want to get him on because the science watching topic is something I really want to hear more about so you know um we I know Ron contributed to that article and I loved what he wrote and so you know I had reached out to him about about that and I just I just love the team you know I love what you guys stand for which is just it's transparency it's it's a good product you're not hiding anything from the consumers you're not putting anything off out OBS like you said you know it's it's just what it is and it it's good stuff.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: So you know I I'm a huge I'm a huge fan and everyone listening if you are not on board yet if you have not tried doing stat I highly urge you go check them out.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna be tagging everything in the episode for this and I'm also gonna be putting up Ron's episode that we did a while ago just so you guys can uh listen to both episodes and you know just check them out you guys like honestly it's a great great brand so thank you Paul this has been so great thank you Edgar I appreciate the time thanks for connecting I know it took us a little time to get together and I appreciate it.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: I know but it was worth the wait.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: So all right well I'll be here for you anything else you ever need.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely no I I want you guys on as much as you can you have the time for so I'm very excited about the future.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah everyone listening please uh give us a rating on Spotify and iTunes or wherever you listen to our show uh let us know what you thought about this episode if you have any questions for Paul's team um just leave them in the comments and I will pass them along.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you again hey guys so I hope you love that episode please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform we are available on so many different platforms so wherever it is that you're tuning in just go hit subscribe you will be immediately notified when we publish new episodes.
• 30:34
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• 30:50
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• 30:53
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• 30:58
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• 31:04
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• 31:14
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• 31:20
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• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.