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LifestyleTranscript
00:00First up, we have Anne Beal joining us from Absolute Joy. Welcome, Anne.
00:09Hi, my name is Anne Beal. I am a physician and the founder of Absolute Joy Skincare.
00:15We are a clean, minimalist skincare line for people over the age of 35 with melanin-rich skin.
00:21So one of the first questions I get is, do we really need skincare for people with melanin-rich
00:25skin? And the answer is yes, for three reasons. One, when it comes to anti-aging, we don't age
00:32with fine lines and wrinkles. Instead, we age with hyperpigmentation and discoloration. So
00:37we need a different approach to skincare. Two, we are sensitive. In fact, over 60% of Black women
00:44say that they have skin sensitivities as compared to 35% of the general population. So we need
00:49products that are made without perfumes, dyes, or other common irritants. And three, when it comes
00:55to anti-aging, we have to think about this in a culturally consonant way. Most cultures
01:00outside of the Western world actually revere people as they grow older. Older people come
01:05with a certain amount of wisdom, knowledge, freedom, and a unique type of beauty. And that
01:10is exactly what we want to celebrate and to revere at Absolute Joy. So for us, we are a brand
01:17that one, is very much focused on people with sensitive skin. Two, as a physician, I make sure
01:22that every single formula is based upon science. Every single ingredient has a clinical trial
01:29or some type of trial to show that it is, in fact, very effective. And what we also have
01:34is products that are simple and easy to use because nobody wants to have a 12-step skincare
01:40routine. And I think that we fit very well with Aveeno because Aveeno has the focus on skin
01:45sensitivities as well as the fact that people of color have a different approach to skincare
01:50or need a different approach to skincare because of those sensitivities. So we launched in 2019
01:56with my first product, which is our Skin Refining Night Oil with Retinol. And since then, we've
02:01gotten a lot of great press coverage from Essence, from Vogue, from Cosmo, and others. We've also
02:06had great involvement with different accelerators. We were one of the first brands that was a participant
02:11in the Glossier grant for Black-owned brands, as well as very recently, we just finished the
02:17workshop at Macy's. But of all the things that I'm most impressed with, among our customers,
02:21we have a 40% repeat customer rate, which, as you know, is higher than the 23% average in the
02:27industry. And that's because when customers come and try our products, they know that those products
02:33work for them. But also, they have an experience where we are educating people about what works for
02:38their skin, whether it's through our blogs, our online presence, the reels. People know that when
02:43they come to absolute joy, they are having an experience to learn how to take care of their
02:47skin. So what are my plans for growth in 2022? Well, I have three things that I'm working on.
02:53One is our direct-to-consumer channel. What we are trying to do there is really focus on digital
02:58marketing. And my plans for this year are to have 15% month-over-month growth as we really lean
03:05into bringing in more customers. In addition to our digital marketing, we're also working on
03:10influencers, as well as we have a number of our customers who are very engaged. And so we have a
03:15loyalty program that's inviting them to bring in more people. Two, what we're working with is
03:20specialty retailers, especially those who are really experts in skin and skincare. So whether
03:25it's dermatologist offices or estheticians, we really want to be placed there in order to really
03:31align our brand with people who know about skincare. And so our goal for this year is to be able to
03:36double the number of specialty retailers who carry our product. And three, one of my goals is to be in
03:41a large national retailer. So as I mentioned, we just finished the workshop at Macy's. And what I
03:46didn't mention is that we were actually one of the finalists for the pitch competition. And so as a
03:52result of that, we've been able to be connected with a number of the buyers. And so we're going to
03:56have some follow-up plans to work with them. But one of the lessons that I learned is last year,
04:01I really didn't want to be the face of my brand. But the data really showed that whenever I came out
04:06and spoke about my brand, our customers really responded. So as a result, we are actually going
04:11to be rebranding ourselves, not just as Absolute Joy, but Absolute Joy by Dr. Anne. And so we're now
04:18asking you for $100,000 because what we want to do is use half of that money to really lean into our
04:23direct-to-consumer efforts and really lean into our digital marketing. But the other half is to focus on
04:29Absolute Joy by Dr. Anne and really to support the new inventory that we're going to need for this
04:35new look and feel. And our objective is to really have products that look elegant, that are elevated,
04:41that are clean, and also that demonstrate that there is a clinical mind that is behind
04:45all of our formulations. And with this new packaging, we will be very prepared to go and
04:51have further discussions with national retailers, not only like Macy's, but also Macy's, Bloomingdale's,
04:57and Blue Mercury. So with that, I thank you for your time, and I'll open it up for questions.
05:01Thank you, Dr. Anne Beal, for going through your pitch, such a strong pitch for your business.
05:09I'm going to turn it over to open it up to all of the judges to ask you some questions. And I believe,
05:15Melissa, you're going to go first.
05:16Thank you so much, Pauline. And thank you so much, Dr. Anne,
05:20for introducing us to Absolute Joy by Dr. Anne. I absolutely love the concept around it, and
05:28especially the credibility you bring by being owned and developed by a female scientist.
05:34And I also love the intention around targeting women ages 35 plus with sensitive skin.
05:40My question to you is, how do you source ingredients for your consumers with the most sensitive skin,
05:52and making sure that you're serving them properly?
05:55Sure. So I don't have to tell you that people with sensitive skin, for one person, it can be
06:00fragrance. For another person, it could be certain florals. And so one of the things that I do
06:06is make sure that every formula is actually really distilled down to only the most essential
06:12ingredients that you need, because every single ingredient that you add could really increase
06:17the potential that someone could have a reaction to it. The other issue is that none of my products
06:21have any perfumes, dyes, or superfluous kinds of ingredients. So one of the issues with beauty is
06:28that we tend to put in a lot of ingredients because they smell nice, or they look beautiful. And that's
06:33not what I'm interested in. I'm interested in something which is efficacious.
06:36But one of the things that I didn't mention is that actually, all three of my daughters have
06:40incredibly sensitive skin. And so every formula that I have before I even think about sending it
06:47out onto the market, I tested on my daughters, because they themselves are incredibly sensitive.
06:52And so I know that this is something that has been a concern for our family, but it's also something
06:56that is now an opportunity for us to be able to create products. And I know that if they work for
07:01my daughters, then they work for a lot of our customers. Thank you so much. That says a lot.
07:08Thank you so much for taking us through your pitch and a little bit about your business. Absolute joy.
07:15I'm very impressed when you mentioned the high repeat rate. I would love to know what you think
07:19the secret behind that is, or what makes your repeat so high? And how are you going to continue
07:25that moving forward with that 15% month on month growth you're striving for?
07:29Sure. Yeah. So I think it's really a combination of two things. And one of the things that I say is
07:34marketing gets you your customer the first time, but the product gets you your customer the second
07:38time. And so the products really work. And part of our focus is that we're not focused on the problems
07:45of skin, but what we're focused on is the health of skin. And because I use a lot of antioxidants, I use a
07:52lot of oils that are very rich in fatty acids that are really great for calming the skin. What I've
07:57discovered is that many of our customers are people who have a lot of skin sensitivities. And in the
08:03reviews, they've said, I've been looking all my life for something that works for me. And so they've
08:07really found something that really does work. But it's not just the products themselves. It's also the
08:12community that we're creating. Because part of my concern is that I want my customers to feel like
08:18they are in control of taking care of their skin. So many people in the initial research that we were
08:23doing said that they felt confused because there were so many options available. So a big part of
08:28what I'm trying to do is give people a place in the space where they can learn how to take care of
08:33their skin. They can learn what works for them, what doesn't work for them. So we have blogs, we have
08:37online events, we do a lot of reels and a lot of customer information. And so I think that people
08:42appreciate both the products themselves, as well as the information that we're trying to share.
08:47Great. Thank you.
08:50Thank you for sharing your idea with us. I loved hearing about your strategies and your
08:55three-pronged approach around focusing on digital, especially retailers, and then your desire to get
09:00into a large national retailer. You also spoke about the credibility that your name lends to the brand
09:07and how that brings your consumers back in. What thoughts have you had so far about extending
09:13that credibility through engagement with other healthcare providers to play a role in terms of
09:19recommending your product or guiding consumers and patients or those who need sensitive skin products
09:25into your brand? That's a great question because a lot of the initial practices that are carrying
09:32in our product actually are friends from medical school, friends from residency, people who I know all
09:38along. And so I think that it's actually really important. And frankly, within all of our practices,
09:43we tend to not have a lot of product that comes through, but I think it's really important
09:48strategically when customers come in and they see that your product is listed in a number of
09:53esthetician's offices or a number of physician offices, it really sends a clear message that this is
09:59a product which is embraced by other professionals. And so we do have an agenda to really push it out.
10:05If you know about marketing to physicians, we are very labor intensive as a cohort to try to market
10:11to. So we don't yet have a good sales force, an expanded sales force to really be able to go out
10:17there. So today, a lot of the work has really been by serendipity or people who are coming to us and
10:22asking us if they can carry our brand. And so as we grow and evolve, then we'll be able to develop the
10:29sales force to really be much more aggressive, I would say, in terms of going out there. But to date,
10:34it's really been more people coming to us rather than us going to people.
10:40I do have one additional question, if that's okay.
10:43So Dr. Ian, knowing that part of this competition is the grant funding, but another piece of what
10:50our winner will receive is mentorship from our Aveeno business and some of the partners you see here
10:57today as judges. We'd love to know what you would be looking to get out of that relationship piece
11:02and that mentorship with our brand moving forward.
11:06Yes, I love that question. So okay, so let's just be honest. I'm a nerd. I really like being in the lab
11:12and doing all the formulas and looking at all the formulations. But one of the things is I'm not just
11:17building products, I'm building a brand. And so part of what I need is to really wrap around and think
11:24about this, not only from a marketing perspective, but from a brand story perspective, as well as to think
11:29about this in terms of brand extensions. And that's really one of the things that I learned
11:34from the Macy's program that I was in, is that they're not just thinking about products or even
11:39brands, what they're thinking about is businesses. And so it really requires a much more business
11:43savvy way of thinking about it. So I would love to have someone who really understands this from a
11:48commercial perspective to be able to help refine my thinking in terms of how I position the brand,
11:54not only for what we're currently doing, but where we can go in terms of growth and brand extension.
11:59All right. All things we can partner on. Sounds good. Thanks.
12:04Dr. Ann, thanks for answering our questions. One last question for you. You've mentioned
12:09distribution in healthcare provider offices. You've mentioned prestige, such as Macy's. And
12:15you also mentioned the desire to be in the mass channel. And as you think about competing all three,
12:20there's potential channel conflict as you think about going to market. So as you think about how you
12:25partner with healthcare providers and retailers, what's your plan for addressing channel conflict
12:30or ensuring that as you launch, you don't create conflict that can be a barrier.
12:35I love that question. And so it's not so much conflict as it is, it's having a strategy in terms
12:40of how you're going to roll out your brand. And so one can start within say the more prestige channels,
12:46as you mentioned, and then either through brand extension or other offerings, you can then extend
12:51out. And there are many brands who actually have other offerings that they provide, or they provide
12:57their current offerings in another format in order to make it available in different types of channels
13:03and different types of retailers, but in a way that's consistent with the brand and where the brand
13:08is currently positioned. So it is a, there's no one size fits all, but it is definitely a consideration
13:13in order to really be able to map it out. But in general, one starts high with smaller volume,
13:18and then you work your way to kind of lower costs with larger volume. And I think particularly as
13:23a small brand, it's important for us to be able to do that because from an operational perspective,
13:28it is easier to manage the retailers with fewer doors than the retailers with more doors.
13:36Love that. Thank you so much, Dr. Anne. Really great speaking with you and hearing all of your smart
13:43answers. And so this concludes our portion with Dr. Anne, and now we're going to hear from our next
13:50finalist.
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