Latest / Skin Anarchy / Philip Taylor, Founder and CEO of Carbon Theory

Transcript

Philip Taylor, Founder and CEO of Carbon Theory · Skin Anarchy

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Hi guys, welcome back to Skincare Anarchy.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is your host, Ekta, and I have another wonderful, wonderful guest for you guys today.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I am super excited because this brand has been definitely on my radar for a long time, and there's really true brilliance behind it.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Philip Taylor, who is the founder for Carbon Theory.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show, Philip.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: I am so honored to host you.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you're too kind.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: You're too kind.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's uh it's funny to be here.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's you know, I want to get started and I ask everybody this, and I know it's getting kind of old, but I want to know uh everything.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um I you know, I think uh, you know, the more I can understand about you and your background and your vision, the the more we can understand your brand.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: So could you get us started with um, you know, just what led you to this and all the good things?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um I don't know how far you want me to go back.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I guess for me, I've got as long as you want.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: We have as long as I want.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: All right, to give you a sort of a bit of a heads up.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, when I left school when I was 16, um, I actually did an engineering apprenticeship, which is a manufacturing engineer apprenticeship.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I've always been fascinated by products, I guess, um, ever since I was very, very young.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've always been fascinated by branding as well.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: I was obsessed with Nike as a kid.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still obsessed with Nike.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, exactly.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, this I think um, you know, sort of growing up and I went into a series of sales roles over the years, and um I just had this sort of background, which was an interest in manufacturing and an interest in branding and an interest in sales.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's um I think that's what sort of led me to the opportunity of coming up with with the brand.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: But I think what the key thing for me was um if we go back um to around 2016, yeah, um a lot of media um in the in the UK circle circles around um you know breakouts and acne in the mainstream media, and it always fascinated me as a kid when I had breakouts, um, that there was nothing on the shelves that was just great for you know a 15 or 16-year-old kid and that didn't you know burn your face off?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that wasn't one of these big pharma brands that you know which filled with all sorts of nasties.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I think that's where the initial idea came from.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it was I remember reading something of these awful stories about these these poor young kids that were going straight on these really aggressive medications and taking these pills that just play havoc with your body as a young person.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, and I just thought to myself, why isn't this something that's just on the market that is um accessible, um super, super effective, natural ingredients that just get your skin as clean as possible um and does the job it's supposed to do.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um that's where the vision came from for carbon theory.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, I I you know I love that, and I love that you said what you said about the the medications because I, you know, even being in the medical field, I am a huge advocate for skincare because of that reason exactly.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think that there are so many options that are on, you know, untapped, right?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, putting putting something like Accutane in a child's body is some of the most it can be so detrimental, you know, to their reproductive organs, to so many different aspects of their overall health.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I completely agree with you.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um I wanna I I wanna actually ask you, like, you know, when you were first coming up with the ideas of the products that you wanted to make, like what was the the initial vision that you wanted to really come out with first?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think for me it was that thing around like, you know, you know, looking at the space, you know, what looking at what was in the market, what was missing.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And um I guess for me, you know, when I was um a kid, like bar soap was always the thing that used to used to wash your face, and it hasn't been trendy for a long time.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I guess for like the last 20 years, 30 years, people have sort of uh moved towards liquid soap, I guess from a practicality sense as well.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: But um I think you know, there was, you know, when walking around the shelves in boots and sort of doing an evaluation of the market, is it what was going to pop out on those shelves that was going to make the difference?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, it was um it was a bar of soap, and not only that, something that was delivered in a pack that looked clinical, that looked like it came out of a lab, that looked like it was effective, with you know simple, simple instructions and super, super clear that would connect with that audience because we see so many you know wonderful brands, you know, that you know I admire that I see on the shelves today, single, you know, single ingredient brands.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, these are very complex um products, um, you know, where these you recommend it a stacker routine and do all this sort of thing.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, what I wanted to create was something that was sort of a one-stop shop of this is exactly what it says it does, it's you know, it's going to solve the problem that you're looking for, and it's super approachable.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And you can just pop it in your bag and take it home and hopefully it'll do the job it's supposed to do.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where the vision came from for the um which is the initial our cleansing bar, which um you know, I do describe as iconic now.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: I do think we we have the ability to say that.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, heck yeah.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean that I mean that was the thing.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, it was you know, it was around this cleansing bar, and so how it all began was I bought a lot of um soap ingredients online, and believe it or not, and um I watched uh a lot of YouTube videos on on how to make soap.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I made the first bars of carbon theory um in a kitchen in Islington in London.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, so just over sort of uh sort of pushing four years ago, and I'll be honest with you, it's not a very pleasant process.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's quite dangerous, uh, creates heat, it creates energy.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and particularly because I had charcoal in the product, um, it's incredibly messy.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: And we uh used to have a beautiful white resin sink, which no longer exists because it was embedded in the charcoal.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: But what what the process did, you know, it gave me an understanding of how to develop the product, how the product was made.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I got these in these samples out of it.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I shared these samples with some colleagues that I was working with, and they were like, look, it's pretty cool.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: We like it, visually looks cool.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, if you could, you know, get this right, you could be onto something.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where this sort of journey began.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I think that the way bet like some of the best products, whether it's in this industry or not, are are really through trial and error.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I I really like that, you know, you you took the first step and you experimented.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, people talk about, well, we don't want skincare, you know, that's like from somebody's kitchen, but it's like you don't understand if you do your homework and you under, you know, that that founder is understanding the chemistry there, understanding the reactions.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, you mentioned like the energy that comes out, and you the more you understand, we become almost like micro, you know, experts in this in these areas, right?
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: So I I absolutely love that.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, and one more thing I want to talk about is is how great carbon theory is for all of the young men out there because I know that there seems to be a hindrance, right?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's a stigma around skincare that it's only for women, it's only for you know for girls, but that's not true.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, um, can you talk to me about a little bit about that?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Is like, you know, how have you approached, you know, really marketing this to um you know young men and and the male demographic?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think one of the key things for me, one of establishing the brand identity was this thing about the product being um you know a gender fluid product.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think um, you know, particularly with the cleansing bar, I mean, I think it's got quite a I think aesthetically it's quite actually quite masculine.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, I think one of the things that was pretty telling for me was, and you know, I talked about Nike earlier, we were very, very fortunate enough in our early stages to do some great partnerships with Nike in the UK.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think what Nike loved about the brand was that gender fluidity of it, but the fact that it, you know, it was quite masculine and it wasn't too dainty and looked too, you know, well, I can't describe what the word is, but it was it was a product that stood out beyond everything else that was on the shelf.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's funny now, you know, I walk down the aisles of many skincare stores now, and everything looks the same.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everything you see these gradients, you see these pinks, and you know, I think that's the beauty about carbon theory is that aesthetic, it just sort of stands there and does what it's supposed to do.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, particularly with a male audience, when you've got a product like that, um that aesthetically appeals, you know, you know, across multiple genders, um it's it's an easy win.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And also, I think I think the application of you know using a bar of soap, it's a really tactile object.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think for guys in particular, I think it works, you know, it it fits.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: My father to this day still uses a bar of soap.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he can't he can't let go of that.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, good lad, good lad.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the um, you know, what the the the thing about carbon our cleansing bar is is the efficacy of the product.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: I don't um I don't know any many brands in the world that can um deliver the um the efficacy and the proven efficacy through our reviews that we've got.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, we get emails every day from consumers just saying, you know, this has changed my skin, this is this has changed my life.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: I know it sounds dramatic, but it's true.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we've got 12,000 um five-star reviews on our own website, and all of these come accompanied with these incredible transformations.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and equally that's that's where the brand was born through those before and after images, because they got published in a uh um a newspaper called the Daily Mail in the UK, um, and that's where the whole brand exploded.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, we're very, very grateful for that.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And uh ever since then, the the cleansing bar has sort of taken on a life of its own.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's become an international success with all the beauty and priceline in Australia, um, and uh now obviously moving into Walgreens as well.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, congratulations, first of all, on all your success.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: So well deserved.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and you know, I I want to ask you a little bit about the cleansing bar because I know that the key ingredients are charcoal and tea tree oil.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: So can you tell me a little bit about why you picked those ingredients?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: What is like the real, you know, the the vision and the the motive behind that?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: So the so I think from a from a charcoal perspective, um the the the actual product itself, the the the small particles of charcoal um are proven to mop up and um remove deep down toxins and dirt from the surface of the skin, the incredibly absorbent.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then equally with tea tree oil, which when I was a kid was the first that first port of core.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: When you had a spot, you put a dab of tea tree oil in there, and not only would it help sort of dry that that area of the skin up, but it would also help to add to natural antiseptic and it would heal those breakouts.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the key was to sort of harness those two things in a in a in a combination within the bar.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, equally, you know, I know there were concerns around cleansing bars over hydration, so we added shea butter to the bar as well.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: And um, we work with um an incredible lab and manufacturer based in Glasgow and Scotland called Soapworks, and the business was set up by Anita Roddick, who founded the body shop.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um you we know that the the soap that we're getting out of soapworks is the best soap in the world, and um the guys that manufacture that so very kindly when I brought to them the idea and um the samples that I actually undertake, and they helped me develop the commercial formulation for the product.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, and we just you know, being honest, we absolutely struck gold with the product, and um, you know, I'm super super grateful for those guys, those guys.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, so that's where the magic began.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, you know, three simple active ingredients um that we brought together to transform, break out an acne prone skin.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: And um, it's been proven to do that.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: I love that you kept it simple.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: I love that you kept it, you know, really true to science.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, for me, you know, for me as a scientist, like that's what I really admire about, you know, brands such as yours, is that you know, when you keep things simple and you really focus on the science, there are so many wonderful things can come out of that.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I know you have also a facial cleansing wash, which seems to be very similar to the cleansing bar.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: Is that so?
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: What is that?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's the difference between the two?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, they're pretty much this is the same product.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's what what we found is that you know we've had phenomenal success with the um the cleansing bar um globally.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but we've also always had that audience who um will never use a cleansing bar.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we've you know I've spoken to people before and um I've had a conversation with people that just said I would never use a cleansing bar in my regime.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, that's fine, absolutely fine.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I think from a practical sense as well, um, you know, believe it or not, you know, when we talk about millennials and Gen Z, they don't know what a soap dish is.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm a millennial, I know what a soap dish.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, good, but well, I'm glad you do, because I'm glad you do, but many don't, and we keep getting messages going, oh, you should sell, you know, you know, sell something that we can put this bar of soap on.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, you know, because it gets the black on the sink.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like um, okay, but the other thing that we did as well is it's it was the pack that it comes in, it's a resealable pack.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: So you can pop the soap back in there, it keeps it sterile and it's great for travel.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: But what we wanted to do was just really harness the power of the cleansing bar and really pick up that audience that you know didn't want to use a cleansing bar and get the same um quality of the ingredients in there, the same efficacy, but in a you know, a practical face wash.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we've achieved that.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's been super, super successful.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it boots in the UK.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's rivaling the sales of the uh cleansing bar, which we never ever thought we'd see, but we're very, very glad that it is.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: I you know, I love that.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I I also wanted to ask you a question because just from my own curiosity, is the difference between the UK and like the US when it comes to you know launching products.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like, can you talk about some of the you know the things you had to go through to get the line together, to get everything together the way you wanted?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, what what were some of the hurdles?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you don't mind my asking.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I I think the um we've been very fortunate in that in the US, uh, we've been in a very good position in terms of our SKU line and um our entry into stores because when we first launched into Boots in the UK, um, I approached Boots with the idea of carbon theory, the cleansing bar.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, I think it was just late in 2017, and we were on the shelves in February 2018.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: We launched, and we did the I launched into a category called Beauty Finds, which is um a test category for boots.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you have you've got the one the one product that went in in there to 180 stores, and you have 20 weeks to sell as much as possible to try and impress them.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: And only one in 20 brands gets out of that category.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um wow, yeah.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it's um it's it it's it's a tough place to be.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And and particularly you know, we were in a position where we, you know, we didn't have any cash to promote the product.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: So everything we were doing was on social.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, every every penny that I had had been tied up in the stock.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so what happened was we were we were selling for I think for two months, and um you know the numbers were sort of ticking over fairly well.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and then again, the magic started to happen when um our consumers started to send us with the before and after images um of the transformations from using the product.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'll be absolutely honest with you.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: I knew the product would get your skin clean.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I did not realize it could do what it does.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I hit a bit, you know, hit a bit of a gold mine there with that one.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And um, this I couldn't believe what this product was actually doing.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we took those images, and as I mentioned previously, we took them to the Daily Mail.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: The Daily Mail published a piece um that said, you know, miracle cleansing bar, six pounds from boots, you know, and selling out all over the place.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's when the whole thing just exploded.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And Boots sold three months' worth of stock in three hours.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, it was like it was it was at a movie moment.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think we did 3,000 orders online before we had to shut the website down because we didn't have any stock left.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: So from that point, boots are actually out of stock for five weeks, five to six weeks.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Which um now it sounds like a nightmare, but it's actually a good problem to have because boots saw the demand for the product was there.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: So what that enabled me to do was firstly, you know, have the ability to have some money in the bank because we'd actually sold something online.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: I I could go back to our manufacturers, and we opened a pre-order, and I think we did something like four to five thousand orders on pre-order before the product even came back.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: So that yeah, so the magic was there.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we sort of scaled through boots and introduced uh the moisturizer, then the face mask, and then the tonic.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: And um, that was um uh you know a longer project than what we've done with with the US market.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: So we started in 180 stores in boots, so we're up to 1200 stores in boots.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: We've pretty much maxed out what we can do there.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we've got the top shelf uh position in boots as well, which is fantastic.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then going to the US um with Ulta Beauty, we were in a really, really good spot where we had a you know an established product line uh with proven sales figures and enabled Ulta to have the real confidence in us to go in there and um they give us a really great spot.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually entered into their Sparked category, which were brands that have really had some great coverage across social media and some great PR coverage, so there was already identity behind the brand.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Ulta is an absolutely wonderful retailer that really really backed us.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: We had incredible um exposure in store as well.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: We had some great display stands that they sorted out for us.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and fortunately, we sold out within seven days of the full line in Ulder.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that was just absolute madness.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then in only so we were in 760 stores in Ulder, and then they doubled our store count after only six months.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: So the the brand has transferred so well to the US.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've been super well, you know, good product speaks, you know, honestly, Philip.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's like good science and good product speaks, and there's no, you know, there's no substitute for that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think you know, and that's something I I really try to relay on this podcast is you know, when you're looking for skincare products for everyone listening, look for the reviews.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the reviews on your website are just you know, they speak for themselves, you know, the before and after pictures.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: This is insanely good, like the results that you've you've gotten, you know, that people have sent in.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, when you're doing your homework, you know, everyone listening, make sure you check out the websites and you know, check to see if there's real people who've benefited, you know.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, this is the thing that that fascinates me about the industry, is um it's sort of a you know a trend now where you know we've got a lot of these influencer guys who sit on YouTube and are quite happy to sort of pull apart products because they don't like the particular ingredients that's in them.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, it's all about efficacy, and no one can question the efficacy of our product.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, when our consumers look at that, we're a performance-led formulation.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we deliver what we say we're gonna do.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, our ingredients, you know, we're 98% um ingredients of natural origin throughout all of our products.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing in there that doesn't need to be in there, but you'll always, you know, it's interesting how you've you know, I've seen some brands get like cancelled for using like uh you know something that you know it delivers a fragrance that an individual doesn't like, and it's just such a weird, weird place to be.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: So from a consumer level, that's why we're so happy with the reviews that we've got because it just proves the efficacy of the product.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I never try to get caught up in those types of things, but it's uh I do find it super frustrating.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: No, I think that you know, efficacy is definitely something that needs to become more um, you know, talked about in this industry.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there are a lot of things for me, like you know, from the science perspective that I look for in a brand, it's like, and one of the best ways to tell if it's working is the reviews.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it is.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, at the end of the day, everyone wants to talk about clinical trials, everyone wants to talk about all these like studies, but it's like, you know, to to do a cohort study itself, like if you think about it, this is in a way a cohort study.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: When you release a product and then you have people who are, you know, using it, testing it, showing you the results, that is a full-fledged cohort study right there.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I think that we, you know, the industry needs to be a little bit more, you know, understanding and that realize that there are a lot of facts behind, you know, what you've created here.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I I want to um move on and actually ask you.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I realize that the brand is very focused on acne-prone skin.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um what about like hyperpigmentation?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know that that often comes with um acne, you know, especially like cystic acne.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people deal with that, you know, especially darker skin tones.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: So have you thought about um moving into that category um with hyperpigmentation products?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I think we we've got um we it's one of the things that we don't actually put claims against now in our current line.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think we've quite cautious around that.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's the same with them scarring as well.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's very um, it's a place that's a little bit more um deeper than what we would class as sort of acne and breakouts.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: But I think we've got some great products.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, our exfoliating um pads, um, we've had fantastic feedback um on those for in terms of pigmentation and scouring.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and equally as well, I think we're looking at a range where we want to look at sensitive skin as well.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we're currently working on a line that is based around um uncentered and super lightweight ingredients, um, which we're going to add and extend because you know we understand that you know not everybody is a charcoal integer or consumer.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we believe that we can extend the um the carbon theory line out to um to to reach everybody.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know one of the other ones that we've had is like eczema, the cleansing bar for eczema's being you know, the feedback we get for that's phenomenal.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, it's it's not something that we actually um put a claim on.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Psyrasis, I know the amount of people that have come to me instead of used on the psoriasis and it's cleared it up, it's bizarre.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: But it's so it's um it might be interesting to do yeah, a stud a study on that, but for whatever reason, that cleansing bar has this magic formula um that just does what it's supposed to do.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that, you know, we won the Allure Best of Beauty Award for the cleansing bar, which absolutely.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Congratulations on that.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Allure always picks the best of the best.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it's well, it's well deserved, and and I love that you guys have gotten the recognition you deserve because you know, honestly, it's it's one thing to come out with a product that's very shiny and you know what I mean, like looks good on humanity, but it's a whole different thing to come out with a very good product.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that's an you know, it's a segue into me asking you about your packaging because I absolutely love it.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's such a it's a beautiful approach, especially like um, you know, I I was noticing your masks are in this pouch and you know, pouch like structure.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: So um when you were doing that, was it because of sustainability, or was it what was your uh you know reasoning behind how you package the project?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's a two-part approach.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, one, I think from an aesthetic perspective, I think I was the first ever person to put a mask in a in a sort of fluted pouch like that.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um I like the thing, so we put um hey, that's a huge thing.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: You just started a trend, yeah.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: But everyone's like, you know, we've never seen that before.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, and every retailer we spoke to, I've never seen that before.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've noticed some bigger retailers do it since, but uh, they hadn't done it before.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but what one of the things, yeah, you know, we talk about sustainability, those those pouches have 60% less plastic than a plastic tube or a plastic bowl.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it's um, you know, so from a sustainable level, we work and as a brand super, super hard to do that.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: Equally, we introduced a paper-wrapped cleansing bar um from you know the demands of our consumers.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, our new cleanse and wash, the tube is actually made from sugarcane.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so another sustainable material, 100% recyclable.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: So everything we do as a brand, we we very much focus on the sustainability element.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's the only way that you really can go forward at doing that.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know I I I think that I like that you mentioned sugarcane.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I was raised in India and I remember um in the villages, you know, sugarcane is.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: a huge thing you know and not only yeah yeah it is it really is um i and i love that i love seeing like you know good wholesome ingredients you know what i mean and and also discovering the potential you know i talk a lot about my research with you know like certain extracts and stuff and and i won't rant here about that but you know what i've re what i've realized in my scientific journey is that you know some of the most simple ingredients and simple things that are naturally occurring you know that's really the key to like the some of the biggest discoveries so you know when you when you mentioned eczame and psoriasis that's amazing um you know and I think I I've read a little bit about that I'm not making any claims you know of just a disclaimer but I know I've read about how charcoal um activated charcoal is very gentle on the skin and it's it's an antibacterial and I know that can maybe help with things like eczamine psoriasis.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: So absolutely yeah I mean it is again it astounds me the the the the feedback that we get the reviews that we get um it's you know beyond my wildest expectations that what the product can do but it's we you know we don't uh again we don't uh make bold claims against it but the feedback's certainly there that it's um it it can really really help with those conditions absolutely and then the literature is there too the literature supports you yeah um so you know I want to I want to ask you like you know what what's your long-term vision for um carbon theory you know what do you what is the the big goal in mind yeah I mean the big goal for us is to is to keep on going and doing what we do and I think um we've we it's I mean it's it's bizarre I still you know can't get my head around we start you know start with one product three just over three years ago and uh now we have full lines in like six thousand stores you know across four continents and wow the the key is to keep growing what we do and you know we've got plans um to expand in the UK um going into the the early part of next year we we you know we were talking to a big retailer in Canada about January which we um we've got a lot of work to do to make that happen and then beyond that we've got Asia we've got Europe and um it's really to make um carbon theory the number one brand in the world for um accessible acne uh and breakout treatment um and you know we we believe we've got a great team that can do that and you know I think um the the vision is to try and sort of you know look at the you know these big farmer brands and you know hope one day that there's you know we there's an acquisition there for those guys because you know we want to go out there and destroy those other brands that you know burn kids' face off and um yeah yeah exactly and and you know if if if if we're the brand that takes the place of one of those then we've done our job and I think um I think for me you know with the cleansing bar we just want to make that this global iconic product that provides affordable um proven uh treatments to young people globally um that you know if I I always say that you know if I was some kid in like Idaho or Nebraska who you know was suffering from acne and breakouts and had$10 and I could find something I could do what it's you know to treat what I what I had and it would last me for like three months you know that would be a godsend to me.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: And um yeah yeah and it's uh that's why I you know I really uh I'm I really love that product and uh I just want to take it on its journey and just do as much as we can with them.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and I absolutely support 100% what you're doing.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean your price points are phenomenal the accessibility that you've created for your brand is phenomenal.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: I mean it's it really shows that you you care about people's skin health and it really shows that you're trying to provide solutions.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know yeah yeah like I know like when I was when I was younger I remember like I like you know no hate towards Neutrogena not Neutrogena sorry clean and clear but like I remember you know being a kid and having that same problem you just described and I went to like my local pharmacy and I picked up clean and clear and unfortunately it just didn't suit my skin you know what I mean and it made me break out even more and I remember even as a child thinking like well I felt like betrayed you know what I'm saying because I knew that the company was huge and I knew that they had all these resources but I was like then why are you why did this make my skin worse so that can be such a huge detriment to a child's like self-confidence.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: 100% and exactly what you just said there I think one of the things for me about again with the industry is is that you know a lot of people have this aspiration to be sort of in Sephora and these sort of elevated retail beauty experiences.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the reality is we know very very much who our customer is and um our vision for the product and where it should be and given that accessibility so whilst we've had the good fortune of working with all in the US you know we know that when people look for a solution to a problem they go to a pharmacy.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you know that that same absolutely same in the UK with boots.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: And the other key thing is as you've just mentioned is so many parents buy our products for kids because they walk into a store and they'll walk into boots in the UK and they'll see the cleansing bar, they'll see the the the the the cleansing wash and it explains exactly what the product's supposed to do.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then we we we don't have any of this nonsense about I said this asset that and you know get five of these and try it with this and it's super clear what it's supposed to do.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we must yeah very much a farm you know that we fit that pharmacy market and we know that you know Walgreens is going to give us that expansion um there's 3000 stores by October to so many more Americans that can go in there get the product and help you know that's what we want to do.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah yeah and also you know I just want to throw out there for everyone listening there's actually a lot of literature around coal preparations being used in pediatric dermatology because it's very safe for children.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you know charcoal is actually very safe for children and especially for things like exomensorisis that we're talking about there's a lot of medical literature that backs that up and dermatologists actually do utilize those approaches.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: We just don't hear about it unfortunately.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: So you know I think you're you're doing much more than just creating a a skincare line you're really bringing a lot of um untalked about medical topics to the forefront by this you know what I mean so yeah yeah and I would love to see someone if anyone's listening if there's a PhD out there I'd love to see you do like a study or something on Phillips products you know what I mean just to see the science that'd be pretty cool.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, you know I just want to commend you on a beautiful line and I think you're doing a phenomenal job and everyone listening if you have not checked our carbon theory already please make sure you do.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: Philip, you know, just to close I want to ask you for some advice for all the young men and women listening that want to go into entrepreneurship or you know do something like this, you know, um if you have rewards of wisdom.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think you know the the amount of people that told me that people would never wash the fist with a bar of soap if I listened to them I wouldn't be still having this conversation right now because there was a lot.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what I would always say if you believe you've got the idea um you go with it you run with it and you just keep driving and don't worry about where you're going to get to just keep on doing it till you get there because that's been the key for me.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Just not listening to anybody else and just believing in the idea that I had and um you know if you've got that focus you've got that drive and it's all about hard work.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know I'll be honest with you you know when I you know when we first got involved with boots and I've you know you know you get 180 stores and all of a sudden I get a spreadsheet to fill out a new line formula which I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'd spend a lot of money and I felt like crying but I got past it I got through it and um it's the best thing I ever did.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: But it's all about drive determination hard work and just don't listen to anybody else's get out there do it and make it happen.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: I love that wow I really love that I completely agree with you.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah that's some solid advice if you're listening please take heed to Philip's words that is such good advice um thank you so much Philip this has been such an honor hosting you I'm a huge fan of Carbon Theory everyone listening please go check out the brand I will link everything in the art for this episode and yeah I just I hope you guys you know leave some comments leave some feedback if you have questions for Philip's team leave them in the comment section we will definitely pass them along and yeah thank you so much for your time again it's been an absolute pleasure thank you so much for having me thank you 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 this way you're able to tune in to amazing insights from experts brand founders industry leaders authors all the wonderful people that we host and that's very important for me because I love to hear from you guys and really understand what you love and what you want to hear more of.
• 30:27
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• 30:34
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• 30:40
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• 30:50
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• 30:57
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• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you