Ep 34: Colette Laxton, Knowledge is the Moat - Building the INKEY List

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Welcome back to She Commerce where bold brands, fierce women, and real talk collide.
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Today we are entering an industry that has somehow convinced millions of intelligent women that we need a chemistry degree, a 12-step routine, and an extremely flexible credit limit just to work.
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Yep, because skincare has become so overcrowded with tons of products, all the trends, terminology like hyaluronic acid that you could not pronounce before today.
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Wow.
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I think we should be real with our audience and share some of these shortcomings that we have.
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We're not perfect.
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We can't pronounce every word.
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Jackie's much better at it than me, but we did find your shortfall, hyaluronic acid.
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We know that consumers have so much to choose from, and they are just drowning in choice.
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But what we often lack is the confidence to know what a product actually does, where it belongs in our skincare routine, and whether we even need it in the first place.
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Absolutely.
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Our guest today, um total fangirl, by the way, helps build a brand by calling BS on all of that confusion.
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The belief with purple.
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Give consumers better knowledge, create formulas that work, and make effective skincare financially accessible.
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But before we bring this absolute queen into the conversation, it is time to spill the tea.
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Today we have not one, not three, but four stories sitting right at the intersection of women's leadership, brand building, beauty culture, and major retail transformation.
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First, a She Commerce woman, women in leadership spotlight.
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Kelly Siochetto.
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And Kelly, if I've mispronounced your name, I'm so sorry.
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I am not brilliant with knowing her best day for pronouncing things.
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Oh my God, you're not gonna let that go, are you?
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But Kelly, we are so pleased that you've announced your new role as vice president of sales in North America at Lancino with dear, dear friend and other uh Girl Crush, Julie Talbot.
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Kelly shared that she will work with the Lancino team and its retail and e-commerce partners to accelerate growth while continuing to support mothers and families through every stage of their journey.
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Kelly, congratulations.
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We love seeing another accomplished woman step into a major North American sales leadership role.
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And Julie, we see you continuing to build that strong leadership team and creating space for talented women to step into those influential commercial roles.
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That's right there is sisterhood in action.
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Hell yeah.
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And what makes Kelly's role especially relevant is that sales leadership is changing.
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It is no longer about getting the product onto the shelf.
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It's about connecting retail partnerships, e-commerce, Amazon, consumer health, data, and brand purpose into one unified growth strategy.
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Yes.
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And that commercial leadership with a consumer mission behind it is our kind of move.
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We love it.
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All right.
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So our second leadership story is both a milestone and a moment that deserves a little more examination.
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So we have Juliana Ascevedo, a 30-year Procter and Gamble veteran, has been named the first female CEO, the first female CEO in Gillette's nearly 125-year history.
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So Juliana began a PNG as a marketing intern in Brazil when she was like 10, became the first woman to lead its Latin America business, and will now lead the grooming unit that includes Gillette and Venus.
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That deserves such a celebration.
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But the appointment also arrives as several extremely senior women exit PG after careers spanning more than three decades.
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So here's a leadership question behind the headline.
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Is success having one woman finally reach the top of an iconic business?
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Or is it building a pipeline deep enough that one generation of women can exit without creating a leadership vacuum?
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That's definitely a question for Kirsten Riley and Cassie Bell.
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Yes, I was thinking you're get out of my head.
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Because representation at the top, of course, matters, but that retention and succession and sponsorship throughout the organization and cascading down from the leadership levels matter just as much, if not more.
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So, you know, obviously one historic appointment is progress, but a repeatable system is true transformation.
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Absolutely.
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Or hell yeah.
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Now this is our one of our favorite dust ever tea stories because Rhea Raj, the gorgeous, beautiful daughter of our friend, our dear friend Shri Roger Gopelin from the CPG Guys, becomes a new Mac girl.
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Oh yeah, she does.
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Let's sing from the boardroom to the beauty campaign, which is fitting for this episode.
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Rhea Raj is bringing her signature energy to MAC Cosmetics as the face of its cajal excess long wear smoky eyeliner.
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Mm-hmm.
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Oof.
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She has those gorgeous smoky eyes, just they're like made for it.
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Um, but this is more than just a recognizable face in a beauty campaign.
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I think brands are increasingly needing people who can carry a product beyond the shelves, right?
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Into culture.
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Someone with that visual identity, with an audience, with a voice, with a point of view.
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And that person is no longer simply appearing in media.
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They are becoming part of the media strategy.
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Oh, a hundred percent.
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The old model was endorsement.
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The new model, absolutely cultural co-creation.
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Strongest partnerships do not feel like a logo was placed beside a famous person.
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They feel like the talent, the product, and the creative idea just naturally meld together.
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Mm-hmm.
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So congratulations, Rhea.
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You are made for it.
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Yes, you're such a star.
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Um, and so beautiful.
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So the last one is uh moving away from just people to corporate.
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Um, it's a very big commerce story.
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So Kroger has entered into an agreement to acquire Giant Eagle grocery chain for$1.65 billion.
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So Giant Eagle has a substantial regional footprint.
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I was uh lived in Pittsburgh, PA, where their headquarters were.
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So I'm very familiar with it.
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Um, they also have a pharmacy, uh, private label capabilities, and really deep community relationships.
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So Kroger obviously brings the skill, the data, personalization, and that operating discipline you need at that level.
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So the so what now what is this.
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Can Kroger create the benefits of national scale without stripping away the local equity that makes Giant Eagle so incredibly valuable?
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Because customers do not experience an acquisition through a press release, they experience it through prices and assortments and pharmacy services, loyalty rewards, digital tools, and whether the people in their local stores still understand their community.
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Yeah.
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And that is the perfect bridge into today's conversation.
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Because scale matters, but scale only creates lasting value when the consumer still recognizes the core promises that made the brand special in the first place.
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Amen.
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Our guest today is Colette Laxton, co-founder of the InKey List, and one of the driving forces behind a brand that made clarity, knowledge, and accessibility feel genuinely disruptive in beauty.
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Colette and her co-founder Mark Curry launched the InKey List in the UK in 2018 around one foundational belief.
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Better knowledge powers better decisions.
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Rather than asking consumers to decode complicated language, luxury packaging, and intimidating routines, they built an ingredient-led brand designed to tell people what the product does, why they might need it, and where it belongs in their routine.
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Simple, right?
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So simple, but yet not.
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And Colette did not arrive at entrepreneurship through the traditional startup mythology.
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She spent decade, nearly a decade, uh at Boots, working across marketing, brand building, product development partnerships, and learning how founders, retailers, and consumers interact from inside one of the UK's largest, largest health and beauty businesses.
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Then came the failed ventures, the moments when the money was nearly gone, and the decision to try again with a belief that people deserve effective skincare without the unnecessary complexity or luxury makeup and markup.
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Based in Nottingham, the legendary home of Robin Hood, Colette and Mark like a joke that they set out to take efficacious skincare off the luxury pedestal and bring it to the masses.
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I love that.
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The belief has now grown far beyond a clever product proposition.
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The InKey list has expanded across major global retailers, direct-to-consumer and social commerce.
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But perhaps the most interesting part of the story is the system behind that scale.
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The brand built as InKey to answer real skincare questions made consumer education part of its core service model and used that direct relationship to shape product development, content, and commerce.
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So today we are going behind the clean packaging and simple instructions.
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We are talking about failed startups, founder resilience, because my lord, you have to be resilient.
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Loss reading, loss-leading products, margin discipline, because that sure takes discipline.
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TikTok shop, AI, global retail, and what it actually takes to protect a purpose while building a serious business.
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Colette, welcome to SheCommerce.
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Wow, what an introduction.
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Thank you so much for that.
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I'm gonna steal all of those words.
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Um, thank you.
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I'm I'm beyond excited to be here.
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Yes.
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We're excited to have you and thank you so much for all the products.
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So before we get into your founder story, we need to start there because my goodness, how generous.
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Um, you and the InKeylist team sent both of us incredibly, incredibly generous boxes of products to try.
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And I I can certainly say that I've genuinely enjoyed working my way through mine.
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Same here.
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And today, with before we started, when you and Laura told showed me or told me about how to use, let me try and see if I can get this right, hyaluronic.
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Yes, she did.
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Well done.
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Um I cannot wait to try it, uh, to try it later on tonight.
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The first thing that stood out though was how easy the brand makes it to understand what you're holding.
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Uh the products tell you what they do, the directions explain where they belong in the routine, and the entire experience removes so much of the guesswork.
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Yeah, I actually have the Dewey uh Hydromist on right now.
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And I love that I didn't have to like Google, stand in the bathroom, like, can I use this before this?
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Yeah.
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Um, it really, I think what you've done is create a skincare flow chart like on the mirror, on the back.
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And it just feels so simple, but not like basic or simplistic in a bad way.
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There's obviously a great deal of formulation and education and and clearly consumer thinking that goes behind making something feel that intuitive.
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And that feels like, you know, and that feels like the first commerce lesson of the episode.
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Clarity is not just copywriting.
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Clarity is part of the product.
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Yeah, exactly.
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So I'm sure that simplicity wasn't as simple to create.
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So, um, because from the consumer side, it definitely feels effortless, but that's the point, right?
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Uh, we know that making something feel effortless requires just an enormous amount of work behind the scenes.
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And that's what we want to dig into with you today.
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Amazing.
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And that brings us perfectly to the beginning of the story.
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Today, consumers see the products, the retailers, and the global growth.
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But none of this started with certainty or with a giant beauty industry budget.
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The story began after previous startup setbacks and reportedly with only about 10 pounds left in the bank.
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So take us back to that version of you, Colette.
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Why did you still believe the Inky list was worth one more leap?
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I think for me, we started with the consumer.
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So back to that kind of founding belief that better knowledge drives better decisions.
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We could see a market full of brands, full of products and full of confusion.
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People understood that they should be using skincare, but didn't know what was right for their skin.
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They were flooded with information, flooded with products, but were ultimately confused.
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And we knew that if we could just unlock that confusion, just get them to understand what an ingredient is, what it does, what it's going to do for you and your skin, and really start to get you to understand your skin, we could unlock something really magic.
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So the premise of simplifying skincare and giving people that knowledge to empower them.
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I knew we had something there.
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So was there one specific piece of consumer insight that gave you this conviction?
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Very much so.
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Um we could see, so this is back in 2018, remember the world pre-COVID.
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I know it's hard to remember now.
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Um, but the rise of Reddit was the real aha moment.
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So we could see, you know, we'd got um Facebook communities that were starting to build, but Reddit was this real moment where consumers started rejecting the kind of magic that brands were selling.
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They were turning to each other and saying, hey, what is this product?
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What's in it?
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And what is it gonna do for my skin?
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You know, it's called magic, but I need to know what is the ingredient.
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I really need to understand what it's actually gonna do for my skin.
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And when consumers start turning to each other, you think there's something missing here.
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They're not getting the right information from brands, they're not getting the right information from the industry, so they're using each other.
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They were going to the extremes of taking photos of their skin and saying, Hey, does anybody know what this is?
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Can anybody help me out?
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So we could see thousands and thousands and thousands of Reddit threads and said, Hey, imagine being the people that could come in and help, like truly come from a place of support to help them with their skin.
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So we didn't start with a product, we didn't start from an ingredient, we started from an insight that actually people needed help.
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Oh my god.
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I love that.
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So um as an insight veteran, that just makes my heart so happy.
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As a lifelong consumer, that makes my heart happy.
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Me too.
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Well, same.
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And look, if you started with Reddit, so that means you already got a jump on Agentic Commerce since that's where it you know was majority sourcing from.
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Absolutely interesting.
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Yeah.
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Um so let's put it a slightly.
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What what did failure teach you that success could not have?
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Um, I think back to number one always being consumer first.
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I think when you have a business and a brand, you are so wrapped up in your own world, your your own definition of what looks good.
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And, you know, I think there's an ego play here a lot.
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You know, I've got the best thing, I've got the best brand, I've got the best products, I've got this.
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Ultimately, unless you listen to the consumer, you aren't gonna really help to serve them.
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And I think a lot of the time when you're in that brand building world, you can get very, very lost.
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So I think failure kind of was that slap in the face to say, you know what, sometimes you're doing this for ego or you're doing this because you think it's right, you're not listening.
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And once you start listening to the consumer and understanding what you're doing wrong, there's that, that's really when the magic comes.
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And, you know, we had a few brands before the inky list, and you know, we were I felt like we we were willing it to succeed.
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You know, you're pushing water uphill, you're convincing retailers to take the product, you know, you're desperately trying to work out how to sell.
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That's not the answer because guess what?
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There's something missing.
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If you don't have that consumer pulse, there's something you're not doing right.
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So I think the failure for me is learning what you're doing wrong ultimately gets you to something that consumer actually wants.
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Actually listening to what the consumer is telling you, right?
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Even if it's different from ideas, yeah.
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It's honestly hard to hear.
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And and even with the inky list, the first packaging run we did, you know, that first order ta-da, out into the world.
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And my biggest job was to make the packaging educational and simple.
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And you can imagine the hours, you know, the every single word choice, you know, just to make it being simple is the hardest thing to do, we know.
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Um, and you know, the the the wording decisions, and I was so, so happy with every decision we've made.
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And then we had feedback immediately from a consumer saying, I don't understand how you use this.
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And I'm like, but it but it's so clear, but it's so clear.
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And then I and then I took a step back and said, hang on a minute.
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Just because I think it's clear, me doesn't mean it's right.
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So actually, the first three packaging runs, we changed our packaging every time because we were getting feedback from consumers and just just really, really, yeah, tweaking it to a point where anybody could pick up our product and say, Hey, I understand that, I know it's right for me, and I know how to use it.
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I love that.
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You talked about um the potential ego at play, but what I'm hearing the whole time is the humility to listen to your to your clients or your consumers tell you where you've gone wrong and working on that and the tenacity and resilience that just got you past that starting line.
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But you know, Christina, the brand was not built on resilience alone, it was built around a very specific reason for existing.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yes.
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So, Claude, you've said that the business starts with the why, right?
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Why when making decisions.
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And uh that sounds really powerful in a brand presentation.
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You know, we hear that a lot.
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Um, but it can be much harder when there is a retailer opportunity, a margin target, an investor expectation sitting across the table from you that uh tells us, tell us maybe about a moment where protecting that why cost more, maybe took you longer or forced you to say, you know, actually, no, we're we're not gonna do this.
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So it's hard to do.
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And as you say, the pressures on you as a brand is is constantly there.
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And and this isn't just at the start.
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This is, you know, even as you scale your brand.
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There was a particular moment.
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Do you remember the Sephora kids?
00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:23.279
The moment, you know, where the seven-year-olds came into the skincare world and started buying, you know, at four.
00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:25.519
Yeah, our daughter the same.
00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:38.559
Um, and we had a moment, and it was a kind of a very pivotal moment of saying, we we really believe in the beauty of knowledge, and our belief and power system is that children shouldn't be using skincare.
00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:39.359
They shouldn't.
00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:40.960
They don't need skincare.
00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:50.160
So we could have gone down the route of actually we could really play into this and really, you know, target, you know, we're we're an affordable price point.
00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:51.279
We're in Sephora.
00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:55.599
We could have said, let's clean up here, and a lot of brands did.
00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:59.440
But my kind of overarching why of, you know.
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.920
Making sure that people understand the right things for their skin.
00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:07.279
And the right thing for a seven-year-old skin is not to use skincare.
00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:09.519
We decided not to play.
00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:18.079
And that was brand damaging in terms of sales for a short period because you know everybody was kind of turning around and looking at these brands.
00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:26.319
But I feel so good to know that we see ourselves as a brand that truly is consumer first.
00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:28.640
We're going to make the right decision for them.
00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:36.319
And actually not playing into that Sephora kids temporary trend bump actually was the right thing to do for the brand.
00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:39.440
Um, but we could have quite easily fed into that.
00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:40.079
Yeah.
00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:44.480
So what what I'm hearing is there won't be a subline for for children.
00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:45.359
That won't be.
00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:46.799
Definitely not.
00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:50.000
My daughter, you're breaking her heart, but sorry.
00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:54.160
One day I tell her all the time, you're you're beautiful enough.
00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:54.720
You don't need to be able to do it.
00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:55.359
Exactly that.
00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:56.559
That's the skin we want.
00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:57.440
Keep that protected.
00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:58.480
Definitely, exactly.
00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:01.039
Skin gear.
00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:12.480
The the authenticity and the integrity um stand by those principles when there are dollar well, in this case, pound signs.
00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:16.960
Um you are leaving money on the table.
00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:25.279
That is such an incredible, and let's be brutally honest here, rare commodity.
00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:27.039
Yeah, courageous, yeah, for sure.
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:33.519
Um obviously attractive opportunity, wrong consumer, wrong fit with brand, and you you stood by those values.
00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:34.880
So we we applaud you.
00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:35.759
We applaud you.
00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:46.160
Uh and you know, something else you said earlier was uh resonated because you spoke about you were pushing, you know, water uphill, you were really trying to sell.
00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:53.680
And when you have a good insight, when you unlock a good insight and you see a gap in the market, you actually stop selling, right?
00:23:53.839 --> 00:24:01.599
And when you talk to people, they just they get it, whether that's a consumer, that buyer sitting across from you, um, investors, etc.
00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:08.480
So, how do you maybe separate that mission-driven conviction from founder stubbornness?
00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:09.920
Because you you spoke about that too.
00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:12.160
Like founders sometimes just can't see through that.
00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:15.599
They have a that conviction and they're gonna go for it no matter what.
00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:16.400
Yeah.
00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:18.000
Yeah, it's a tough one.
00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:20.880
And I think I'm eight years in now to the brand.
00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:25.440
Um, and I want to maintain that founder stubbornness as long as I can.
00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:27.440
And and you know what?
00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:42.640
It's just it's just learning when it's the right time to have that stubbornness and be really clear on who you are, versus, you know, as a business, you're scaling and and sometimes you might need to make, you know, decisions in terms of scale that that might feel a bit uncomfortable.
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:53.920
I would say, I personally though believe, you know, we've scaled very quickly and you know, sold over 90 million products, um, which I would, you know, was more than I could have ever have dreamt.
00:24:54.160 --> 00:25:00.160
I actually think that founder stubbornness has kept us on the right path.
00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:04.799
Because I think over eight years the the market has changed a lot.
00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:09.359
And back to the Sephora Kids moment or you know, that pivotal moment of COVID.
00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:16.000
And, you know, as we expand into different retailers, there's lots of different moments where you can start to lose who you are.
00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:26.000
And I think the key for me is you know, you need to think about expansion, you need to think about how you're building yourself for the future, but never lose sight of who you are.
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:30.960
And every big decision you make can send you potentially into a different path.
00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:34.799
Um, and and we have made a few mistakes, I would say.
00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:37.519
You know, we launch uh the inky list.
00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:40.400
So let me just just come back to what the inky list is.
00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:43.759
And an inky list is the ingredients list on the back of every pack.
00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:51.839
So whether it's food, beauty, or wellness, there's that ingredients, and they are the chemical names of the ingredients, which is brilliant because it gives you transparency.
00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:59.599
The reason we created our brand as the inky list is we wanted to take that very complex list of ingredients and make it simple.
00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:04.319
Now, my fundamental belief is that that doesn't need to just be in skincare.
00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:09.599
We are making a complex category simple and easy to understand.
00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:15.200
So very quickly, we got overexcited and said, we we we could expand beyond skincare.
00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:19.519
And we decided to launch into hair care really early on.
00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:20.640
Okay.
00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:21.599
Terrible idea.
00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:22.880
Absolutely terrible idea.
00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:25.039
We hadn't established ourselves in skincare.
00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:34.720
I've got, you know, a team of 15 people in total in the business, and then you've got three people over here working on hair products, selling that into retailers, completely destroying the business.
00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:47.119
And and the insight was right that there's an inky list, and you can actually expand that into multiple geographies and multiple categories, but stay, stay true on the vision.
00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:53.839
And and that's your you know, your point, Jackie, on still not being able to pronounce the word hyaluronic acid.
00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:59.359
I have failed because I have not done my job, which is to help you pronounce the ingredient.
00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:02.079
So I think for me, today today we did.
00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:03.359
We're there, we're there, we're there today.
00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:06.000
But you know, I've still got a huge job to do.
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:14.799
So I think you know, you can get a little bit distracted and a little bit overexcited and kind of maybe just exactly that.
00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:17.359
And you know, retailers are giving you shiny objects all the time.
00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:29.519
So I think for me is like that founder stubbornness actually on and being true on who you are is really critical from the start to actually, you know, I've scaled eight years on.
00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:36.960
Yeah, and that founder stubbornness and that um uh just core insight to be true to who you are.
00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:48.880
Yeah, um, one of the boldest expressions of that purpose is your price point, which yes, which sounds simple until you look at everything else that has to happen behind it to deliver that price point, right?
00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:49.200
Yes.
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:54.720
Anyone can put a low price on a box, right?
00:27:55.119 --> 00:28:08.160
But the difficult part is delivering quality, efficacy, margin, innovation, and retail growth at that price year after year.
00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:14.559
What is the operational discipline behind keeping your skincare so affordable?
00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:19.680
You're making me sweat because it's a daily, it's a daily challenge.
00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:23.359
Um so again, I started with the consumer.
00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:28.400
Um, and we have a bit of an analogy actually that um we liken ourselves to IKEA.
00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:37.920
So when IKEA um think about the the price that they want to price their product out, they say, what does the consumer want to spend?
00:28:38.160 --> 00:29:01.200
So it might be a pint glass for a dollar, and they will do everything possible in their supply chain to get that to be a dollar because they know a consumer goes to an IKEA and they want to buy multiple um pint glasses, uh wine glasses, and they want to spend as little as possible to a point where they at one point they were selling square glasses because it was more efficient in terms of the shipping.
00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:02.480
Super smart, right?
00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:05.200
So in terms of the ways fit on the palette.
00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:23.519
So, same principle goes, start with you know, consumer first, you know, we want to democratize skincare in terms of incredible, efficacious products, the latest innovation that's kind of come from clinics or come from very, very luxury skincare and get it to a price point.
00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:32.880
And our perspective is that kind of under$25 bracket is that moment where you say, Oh, you know, this is a little bit, can I do it?
00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:33.599
Can I buy it?
00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:34.799
Do I want to try it?
00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:41.599
We want it to be something that people felt comfortable, you know, reaching into their wallet to buy and everybody having access to it.
00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:46.640
But what sits then behind that is a lot of pain and ongoing pain.
00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:51.519
Um so the most fundamental thing is the formulation in the bottle.
00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:55.759
So that formulation, we want to spend as much possible on that as possible.
00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:10.000
And you will see when you try our products, you know, you're not gonna get the stickiness, the tackiness, you're not gonna get the pilling, you're not gonna get, you know, as hiding, hiding behind actives where we don't have the active levels in there.
00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:13.039
You know, what is in that product is the most important thing.
00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:16.799
Then everything that sits around it, we mean we need to make compromises on.
00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:18.400
So look at our packaging.
00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:22.160
It's simple, it does the job, it's not exciting.
00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:27.519
It's it I I mean, the funny thing is, is I designed our packaging on PowerPoint.
00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:29.519
Like, seriously.
00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:31.119
I was like, I know what I want.
00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:33.920
I don't have any design expertise, but I knew what I wanted.
00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:34.880
It's classic.
00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:38.240
I mean, listen, the black and white, you're you're wearing your colours today.
00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.319
You just embody the live it.
00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:40.799
I live it.
00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:46.000
Um but again, back to you know, the the packaging itself, again, the print colour.
00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:49.119
For me, black and white embodies everyone's invited.
00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:51.119
Everybody should be able to access.
00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:54.480
Whether you're younger, older, male, female, I don't care who you are.
00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:58.640
I want you to feel like I could pick that bottle up and put it on my bathroom shelf.
00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:00.240
I don't want it to feel exclusion-y.
00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:03.200
I want everyone to feel like this is just part of my daily life.
00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:07.759
So we made loads of compromises when it comes to packaging.
00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:13.920
Um, however, alongside that, trying to be as recycle-friendly as possible.
00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:19.759
So all of our products are over 50% PCR, and all of our products are recyclable as well.
00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:24.079
So we're trying to do the right thing as well as you know, making them affordable.
00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:27.839
But then outside of that, it's how do we source our ingredients?
00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:36.319
So most startup brands will go to a supplier and say, hey, this is the product I want, these are the ingredients I want, this is the packaging I want, go make it happen.
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:38.480
And they effectively become the middleman.
00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:40.240
So they will put their mark up.
00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:47.440
We go direct to the raw material suppliers and actually often cut out that middleman.
00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:58.160
So again, we are getting the same grade of active from the raw material suppliers, but we're doing it in a way that's more um cost-saving to us so we can pass that cost on to the consumer.
00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:05.680
So every single part of our supply chain we have tried to make as efficient as possible so the consumer doesn't pay.
00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:11.519
Then it comes to operational, you know, internally, every penny counts.
00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:14.079
Any marketing dollar has to pay back.
00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:17.920
You know, we are very, very clear on the ROI of marketing.
00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:22.799
You know, I am traveling in economy, I am not staying in fancy hotels.
00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:33.279
You know, eight years on, every single penny counts because I want that customer to get the best quality product at the best possible price.
00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:35.519
Is that an easy way to build a business?
00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:36.640
Hell no.
00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:39.440
And sometimes I think, you know what?
00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:43.599
If I'd have charged double this, I could be staying in a fancy hotel suite right now.
00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:44.400
But you know what?
00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:52.880
It's worth it because I'm doing something right for the consumer, which is, you know, you cannot get this formula at this price anywhere else.
00:32:53.039 --> 00:32:54.960
So I'm super, super proud.
00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:56.960
I'm not selling cheap skincare here.
00:32:57.119 --> 00:33:03.839
I'm selling incredible skincare at a great price with knowledge that helps you to be empowered for your skin.
00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:04.799
Amazing.
00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:07.839
I I I love the reverse engineer mindset.
00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:10.559
It's so, you know, what is the willingness to pay?
00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:11.519
What's the price they want?
00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:12.880
And then how do we back into that?
00:33:13.200 --> 00:33:13.759
You make it happen.
00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:14.400
That's our problem.
00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:16.000
That's legally our problem.
00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:24.720
I think the fact that you choose coach over business when you go to a business, it it just shows the level of integrity you have.
00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:28.000
And again, I'm blown away by that.
00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:28.480
Yeah.
00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:31.599
But I do have I do have a tough question for you.
00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:39.519
When the mission, the margin, and the consumer cannot all win equally, who gets the final vote?
00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:42.000
Shall I give you an example?
00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:42.559
Yes.
00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:49.279
We um we made a loss on our hyaluronic acid for two years.
00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:51.599
My acid.
00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:51.920
Oh!
00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:52.880
Your acid.
00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:53.759
Your one.
00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:55.200
What kind of acid, Jackie?
00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:56.559
Hyaluronic.
00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:57.839
There we go.
00:33:58.000 --> 00:33:58.640
There we go.
00:33:58.960 --> 00:33:59.440
Nailed it.
00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:00.240
Nailed it.
00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:02.079
You can teach an old dog new tricks.
00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:02.400
See that?
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:03.279
I love it.
00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:03.680
Wow.
00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:04.720
No comments.
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:06.160
You went there.
00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:13.519
I mean, you're like the lady of dogs, the the cavalier King Charles of the dog breeds, Jackie.
00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:15.760
The fanciest of the foochas.
00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:17.920
I love this.
00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:18.719
It's taking a turn.
00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:21.119
We're we're we're in we're in dog territory.
00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:22.000
I love it.
00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:23.840
Colette, tell us your example.
00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:25.679
I I'm so eager to hear this.
00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:31.920
Yeah, so um fundamentally we believe that healthy skin is hydrated skin.
00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:42.480
So you can have all the actives, you can have all the, you know, all the fancy droppers and you know, all the treatments and the appeals and you know, all the things that are out there on the market.
00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:47.119
But fundamentally, most skin issues start with dehydration.
00:34:47.599 --> 00:34:49.679
So we said, what do we want people to do?
00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:53.840
Like Mark and I said, like, what's the fundamentals of skincare?
00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:55.920
You know, wash your face properly.
00:34:56.079 --> 00:35:06.880
Like when you see young kids doing all these things, and you know, my daughter's still got an a teller on her face, and I'm like, why do you want those dewy drops when you're when you've literally got an Attella on your face?
00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:10.480
Um, so wash, wash your wash your face well and hydrate your skin, right?
00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:11.760
It's as simple as that.
00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:17.599
So we said, right, how do we create a hyaluronic acid, which is, you know, the gold standard of hydration?
00:35:17.679 --> 00:35:21.840
It's a really easy, simple way to get hydration into your skin.
00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:26.880
How do we deliver a formula that is absolutely wonderful, multimolecular?
00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:32.000
So it's gonna go deep into the skin, plump that skin out, and give it amazing hydration.
00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:41.199
It's not gonna feel sticky and tacky to the touch because a lot of more affordable products do then suffer from the kind of not great texture and consistency.
00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:44.960
So, how do we make it feel good so people want to use it?
00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:51.519
And then we kind of couldn't make the maths math and said, well, actually, we can't cost this in.
00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:54.800
And we said, Do you know what?
00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:56.079
We're gonna take a bet on this.
00:35:56.159 --> 00:36:01.519
And we know if enough people buy it and we can scale it to a level, we will make money.
00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:08.639
So we said, do the right thing for the consumer, give them a product they're gonna love, and then one day it's gonna work.
00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:09.760
And we did it.
00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:13.760
So we sold our hyaluronic acid at a loss.
00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:21.039
And and can't that's I I mean, I know I've heard a lot of businesses and been in businesses where there's always that loss leader, right?
00:36:21.119 --> 00:36:23.039
That drives the traffic and interest.
00:36:23.199 --> 00:36:26.400
And um, but is there a tipping point for that?
00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:29.840
How long did you knowingly sustain the loss?
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:39.119
And you know, what did you need the product to maybe prove to beyond that immediate profitability to keep it at a loss?
00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:41.519
I think we were very lucky.
00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:50.480
We took a punt and um we've just got the most incredible story that three months into launching the brand, we had a call from Sephora.
00:36:50.880 --> 00:37:03.440
Um so within six months, we had gone from an online only UK indie small brand to being on the shelves of Sephora in the US.
00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:09.280
So I think for us that scale tipped way quicker than we expected, honestly.
00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:16.320
Um, but I would in a kind of a sliding doors moment, you know, how long would I have gone on for to have a Los Ender?
00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:22.000
Um, I think I think that particular product though, I was just so passionate and I knew the product was so wonderful.
00:37:22.079 --> 00:37:27.360
And when people used it, they would build that kind of real trust and advocacy for the brand.
00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:31.280
And and once you try it, you kind of think, oh, this is an interesting brand.
00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:31.920
Okay, I like it.
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:33.199
Okay, let's go back for more.
00:37:33.360 --> 00:37:40.079
So, you know, I was I was very confident in that product to know that it would it would play a really critical role for the brand.
00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:47.599
And is that how you explain the strategy to an investors or financial partners with that same conviction?
00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:54.960
I yes, and also maybe, you know, show the total margin versus the margin.
00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:55.920
Yes.
00:37:56.159 --> 00:38:02.159
This is one piece of you know of the bigger puzzle, and actually, you know, as a brand we can make it work.
00:38:02.320 --> 00:38:02.639
Yes.
00:38:02.719 --> 00:38:03.280
Yeah, yes.
00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:16.880
Uh um, well, obviously that story uh proves you are measuring more than just units and margin, and you're you're really measuring that relationship with the consumer and building that trust and being the credible go-to brand for them.
00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:23.280
And Jackie, I think this is where Ask Inky becomes really interesting.
00:38:23.599 --> 00:38:24.880
Oh, absolutely.
00:38:25.119 --> 00:38:34.800
So you have, you know, you have most businesses who still treat customer service as a department customer's contact when something has gone wrong.
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:46.320
You created Ask Inky as a place where people could ask skin core qu skincare questions, even when the answer might not involve buying one of your products.
00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:59.360
Is Ask Inky customer care, education, product research, community building, or your most valuable competitive moat?
00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:01.840
All of the above.
00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:14.880
So we have we have a we have a customer service which is very specific to if you've got an order, you know, for our DTC website, that is completely separate.
00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:21.360
So that is for me is is true kind of customer service, product specific, DTC specific.
00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:26.800
Um Ask Inky was built in 2020, and again, we took a bit of a leap very early on.
00:39:26.960 --> 00:39:36.960
We within our first 10 employees, um one of those we decided to become a free skincare support advisor, and it's called Ask Inky.
00:39:37.360 --> 00:39:45.119
So it's basically getting skincare support at any time, day or night, 365, from our team on skincare.
00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:46.960
And that was it.
00:39:47.199 --> 00:39:53.679
And um the job of the advisor and the KPIs for the advisor was about relationship building.
00:39:53.840 --> 00:39:58.800
They weren't tasked on selling products, and to this day, they're not KPI'd on selling products.
00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:06.239
It's about building a relationship with the consumer and helping them to know if they need support, we're here for them.
00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:16.400
If they then go on in three months, three years to buy us, if they're in a Sephora store and they say, That's the brand that helped me out when I was struggling with acne that time.
00:40:16.719 --> 00:40:23.599
For me, there's that longer-term advocacy build that can be delivered through that moment in time.
00:40:23.760 --> 00:40:28.079
If you can help somebody at the exact moment they need them, that's super powerful.
00:40:28.320 --> 00:40:35.920
And to the point where the Askinky team have a list of other brands' products that we recommend because I want them to have the right product for their skin.
00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:37.440
And that might not be my own.
00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:43.199
So I think that for us, really early on, it was really, you know, back to the why.
00:40:43.360 --> 00:40:44.239
Why do we exist?
00:40:44.639 --> 00:40:47.119
You know, we want to spread the beauty of knowledge to the world.
00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:50.159
We believe that better knowledge powers better decisions.
00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:59.440
Okay, brilliant, I can do it on pack, and you guys can see, you know, on packaging, if you pick up our product, it'll tell you what to use and when to use it.
00:40:59.599 --> 00:41:00.159
Brilliant.
00:41:00.400 --> 00:41:02.400
But sometimes people need more than that.
00:41:02.639 --> 00:41:06.400
So for me, I had to embody that truly through everything we do.
00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:11.360
So every social post that we deliver has to be informative, educative.
00:41:11.519 --> 00:41:16.880
Um, and when we set up our socials, I I KPI'd the team on saves.
00:41:17.119 --> 00:41:19.760
So not engagement and likes, but saves.
00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:22.960
So, how many people are saving my content?
00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:26.079
Because actually, that really means it's powerful to them.
00:41:26.159 --> 00:41:30.719
And our Ask Inky team are there in the comments supporting and helping people with their skin.
00:41:30.880 --> 00:41:35.440
So for me, Ask Inky is the embodiment of the brand as a totality.
00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:42.880
Um, and then we've now scaled that beyond, and we have an Inky Insider community um that is driven.
00:41:43.119 --> 00:41:54.639
We have nearly a million people signed up to our Inky Insider community where we use them and our Ask Inkey kind of insight that we get from teams to literally create products.
00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:59.440
So we know at any given point, any given week, you know, what is it that people are interested in?
00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:04.639
So right now we're in height of summer, coming into late summer, hyperpigmentation.
00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:09.039
That's that's the concern on the top of everybody's minds.
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:14.159
So, you know, we're understanding from Ask Inky, that's the kind of conversations that are coming through.
00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:19.199
From our insider communities, I'm now at a point where I'm getting on calls with them.
00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:24.960
We're asking them, and we've actually created a subsection of our brand called the Inky Lab.
00:42:25.199 --> 00:42:26.480
I don't know if you've seen this.
00:42:27.119 --> 00:42:32.559
Um, so the Inky Lab, um, I started it about nine months ago.
00:42:32.880 --> 00:42:36.639
And basically, this is community-driven products.
00:42:37.039 --> 00:42:37.360
Wow.
00:42:38.239 --> 00:42:40.800
So they actually help us to develop products.
00:42:40.960 --> 00:42:46.159
So I will we will do a type form where thousands of people will say, What product do you want to see?
00:42:46.239 --> 00:42:47.519
What ingredients are you loving?
00:42:47.599 --> 00:42:49.280
They'll give us all the insight.
00:42:49.920 --> 00:42:54.239
Then I will get on a call with about 500 people, it's absolute chaos.
00:42:54.320 --> 00:43:03.360
Um, so I have to mute everybody and we in the chat, and then I'll kind of unmute people and we'll start chatting and they'll say, I love this, but I wish it was more this and da-da-da-da-da-da.
00:43:03.519 --> 00:43:12.800
And we build it, and we actually delivered our first um community-led product, which was a Milky Toner back in February, which was truly community-driven.
00:43:13.519 --> 00:43:23.360
So for me, like Ask Inky, Inky Insider, Inky Lab, we've created this ecosystem of supporting consumers and bringing them into the brand.
00:43:23.519 --> 00:43:27.119
Look, I'm not the expert in everyone and everyone's skin.
00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:29.119
I want people to tell me what they want.
00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:34.000
I want them to tell us what they need from the Inky list, and then we can create it together.
00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:38.079
You're creating a beauty movement, Collab.
00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:38.559
Yes.
00:43:38.800 --> 00:43:40.239
You're very disruptive.
00:43:40.880 --> 00:43:52.719
You're creating a this incredible community who, first of all, as a consumer, I would be thrilled if somebody asked me my opinion about products that that I'm using.
00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:56.400
And to actually say when it comes out, oh, you know what?
00:43:56.639 --> 00:43:58.000
I contributed to that.
00:43:58.079 --> 00:43:58.239
Yeah.
00:43:58.480 --> 00:43:59.679
And how amazing.
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:07.760
Does that make your average consumer feel in terms of feeling like they have had a part in something bigger than themselves?
00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:09.199
It's that is fantastic.
00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:13.920
That is just the just the stuff that you get on the call, like yourself.
00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:18.480
You don't have, you know, a lower junior level employee running this.
00:44:18.559 --> 00:44:28.400
You are literally there having those conversations, like talk about you know, knowing your consumer, being really immersing yourself and be putting yourself in their shoes.
00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:30.559
You don't that's very uncommon.
00:44:30.719 --> 00:44:32.079
You are you are rare.
00:44:33.280 --> 00:44:35.760
I think I'm consumer obsessed, and I always have been.
00:44:35.920 --> 00:44:39.679
So from day one of the why to our brand, like why do we want to do this?
00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:42.000
We want to do this because consumers were on Reddit.
00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:43.599
They were on Reddit talking to each other.
00:44:44.079 --> 00:44:47.119
So, like that that's what got me excited to start with.
00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:48.639
So now I've got my own community.
00:44:48.719 --> 00:44:49.840
I don't need to go onto Reddit.
00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:52.880
I can come to my own community and say, hey, tell us, what do you want?
00:44:53.119 --> 00:44:54.800
Um it's the best feeling.
00:44:54.960 --> 00:45:00.000
It's the best feeling and the stories that you hear on the you know, the impact that we've had on their lives.
00:45:00.079 --> 00:45:06.880
You know, some people, you know, really struggle with their skin and to be the brand that they they feel comfortable coming to.
00:45:07.039 --> 00:45:10.159
You know, they don't feel like we're, you know, an elevated brand.
00:45:10.239 --> 00:45:11.840
You know, I'm like, come, ask me anything.
00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:14.079
Ask, ask, literally, ask us anything.
00:45:14.239 --> 00:45:15.119
So yeah, it's nice.
00:45:15.199 --> 00:45:18.320
It's nice to have built a community that yeah, part of the brand.
00:45:18.639 --> 00:45:29.599
That that direct relationship is so incredibly powerful, and you have nurtured that um so so gently and with so much compassion and warmth.
00:45:29.840 --> 00:45:36.159
You know, the but the brand also has to show up inside very different retail environments, too.
00:45:36.480 --> 00:45:37.039
Right?
00:45:37.440 --> 00:45:38.960
Very much so, very much so.
00:45:39.039 --> 00:45:40.480
And it's uh it's getting harder.
00:45:40.559 --> 00:45:49.360
The the the challenge um and the where where the beaut market is now, you know, from when we launched the brand, it was a DTC world.
00:45:49.440 --> 00:45:59.920
You know, do you remember everyone was obsessed with how big can you make your DTC, which I I get from a community perspective, but also it was incredibly expensive from a cat perspective.
00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:00.239
Yeah.
00:46:00.559 --> 00:46:12.400
And and then it was kind of the the retail, and you know, we're in retail, we're in stores, and then COVID hit, and then everybody went home, and it was back to DTC and and and e-commerce.
00:46:12.559 --> 00:46:16.880
And then the kind of Amazon boom came in, and you know, everyone said, Should we be on Amazon?
00:46:16.960 --> 00:46:18.000
Is that brand damaging?
00:46:18.079 --> 00:46:19.599
Or, you know, how does the Amazon play?
00:46:19.679 --> 00:46:21.039
And then let's bring in TikTok shop.
00:46:21.360 --> 00:46:32.239
So, even over eight years for me, the commerce world has just completely transformed and trying to play a role in each space is is a learning journey for sure.
00:46:32.400 --> 00:46:32.639
Oh.
00:46:32.960 --> 00:46:40.400
And obviously, when consumers enter through those different doors, those different channels, they have different expectations and different needs.
00:46:40.639 --> 00:46:52.639
So, how do you how do you protect that very clear, consistent brand promise while still adapting to those different retailers and those different consumer missions and occasions?
00:46:52.880 --> 00:46:54.000
And that's exactly it.
00:46:54.079 --> 00:46:57.599
It's understanding the consumer mission in each touch point.
00:46:57.840 --> 00:47:00.719
Now, it's not linear, and that's what you find more and more.
00:47:00.800 --> 00:47:11.920
You know, people are going, you know, starting on Amazon or starting on TikTok, and then they're in a Sephora and they're back on Amazon price checking, and you know, it's a constant um movement.
00:47:12.159 --> 00:47:20.559
But what we try to do is again back to the brand mission of I just want to give people the right knowledge, simplify it, and make it as easy as possible.
00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:27.840
So, in a retail environment, you know, I'm just about to get onto um a visual merchandising call to say, how is the shopper mission going?
00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:30.639
So we have a full field team out in stores.
00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:36.880
So they're telling me where a consumer's gravitating to, where are they struggling, where are we having to come in and help them?
00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:40.880
Because you know what, it's not clear enough the differentiation between your moisturizers.
00:47:41.039 --> 00:47:46.880
How does the visual merchandising give them enough information and enough proof, but also not overwhelm?
00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:48.880
So that's kind of the retail landscape.
00:47:49.039 --> 00:47:57.599
Then you've got Amazon, which is very like in your face, like tell me the price, tell me the benefits, make sure there's enough proof and reviews.
00:47:57.840 --> 00:48:06.239
So, like how again, how do I make sure that I'm delivering enough knowledge, but actually their mission is is way quicker and they're in a conversion journey.
00:48:06.480 --> 00:48:08.719
So, you know, how do I play that role?
00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:16.880
You know, and then TikTok is just a whole different world, and you know, I'm there on the live streams, you know, you know, that's for me my favorite.
00:48:17.360 --> 00:48:27.360
On a TikTok shop live stream, I can be the best version of me and my brand because I'm there talking through the products, explaining it.
00:48:27.519 --> 00:48:30.480
I've got the chat and people saying, but what are dark spots?
00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:32.000
Okay, let's talk about it.
00:48:32.159 --> 00:48:37.760
Like for me, that that two-way relationship with the customer who's shopping is my favorite.
00:48:38.159 --> 00:48:38.559
Yeah.
00:48:38.800 --> 00:48:39.840
Well, I have a question.
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:50.159
What happens when retailer data and your own community feedback and learnings you have from there maybe contradict or point in different directions?
00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:51.679
They do a lot.
00:48:51.840 --> 00:48:52.480
They do a lot.
00:48:52.639 --> 00:48:59.599
I think um also depending on the environment that you're in, we're often in a slightly more luxury environment.
00:48:59.920 --> 00:49:12.960
So actually, the retailer, you know, they will be about single hero luxury products and and and want us to focus on that one single hero, which is you know, where every brand wins.
00:49:13.199 --> 00:49:19.760
My perspective is, you know, I'm helping to build people routines, I'm helping them to understand their total skin journey.
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:29.119
So there is a little bit of a flex on I understand the environment that I'm in, and maybe I will hero, you know, the product, you know, the hyaluronic acid.
00:49:29.199 --> 00:49:32.400
It's like this is for everybody, you know, that's the one to highlight.
00:49:32.639 --> 00:49:42.000
But I also need to be true to me as a brand and make sure that people aren't coming to the inky list, you know, for that, you know, that gorgeous luxury moisturizer.
00:49:42.159 --> 00:49:43.519
They're coming to get help.
00:49:43.760 --> 00:49:47.920
So therefore, the routine building is actually really important for me.
00:49:48.000 --> 00:49:55.840
So it's it's it's just balancing the two of understanding the retail data and environment, but then also being true to yourself, the brand.
00:49:56.159 --> 00:50:01.599
Yeah, and I, you know, uh, beauty discovery, you're right, has been on this journey.
00:50:01.760 --> 00:50:07.599
And obviously, today, you if you talk about beauty, you need to talk about TikTok as you did.
00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:19.039
Um, and obviously, TikTok and the viability of that can really make a product, any product, famous before you know, you you even think about the the demand planning that goes behind it.
00:50:19.280 --> 00:50:22.400
So maybe uh Jackie, if you want to dig in there.
00:50:22.960 --> 00:50:23.519
Absolutely.
00:50:23.679 --> 00:50:29.599
You know, you have TikTok who rewards speed and novelty and and entertainment.
00:50:29.920 --> 00:50:35.199
Skincare requires trust, education, and realistic expectations.
00:50:35.360 --> 00:50:43.440
So, how do you succeed in that environment without allowing the algorithm to rewrite the entire mission?
00:50:43.840 --> 00:50:44.559
Yeah, it's tough.
00:50:44.639 --> 00:50:45.360
It's really tough.
00:50:45.519 --> 00:50:50.239
And I think we all as brands wanted virality.
00:50:50.320 --> 00:51:03.679
You know, at one point that was the kind of buzz, and obviously retailers loved it until they realized it actually doesn't work from a supply chain perspective at all because you know, you get that bump, and then by the time it's back in stock, you know, the moment's over.
00:51:04.320 --> 00:51:37.199
Um, what I will say is TikTok and TikTok shop specifically is very, very reliant on the affiliate community, which I love because affiliates are talking about your brand more than you are, which is brilliant, but also has its downsides because in theory they can deliver whatever narrative they want and they can deliver that, you know, the hooks and the sexiness and you know that, you know, kind of moving away from who we are as a brand, which is we want you to feel informed before you go on to, you know, purchase a product.
00:51:37.679 --> 00:51:45.440
It comes back to my ethos of knowledge and education, and we've built an affiliate community that we will educate.
00:51:45.599 --> 00:51:47.440
So we will get them on calls.
00:51:47.599 --> 00:51:51.840
We have um a live chat with them where we're educating them constantly on the products.
00:51:52.079 --> 00:52:07.760
So what even when they're talking about our brands and our products, they are well informed and understand our mission of knowledge versus you know, doing the the silly, you know, the very viral things that that brands are doing that kind of just instantly sells the product.
00:52:08.000 --> 00:52:14.960
So what I try to do is, you know, no matter what the channel is trying to maintain the integrity of the brand.
00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:16.239
What do we stand for?
00:52:16.320 --> 00:52:25.360
And if we're talking about the products of the brand, or someone on our behalf is, we want them to do it in a way that feels inky.
00:52:25.679 --> 00:52:28.079
We don't want them to sell a hype.
00:52:28.239 --> 00:52:32.239
We want them to sell truly a um uh a support.
00:52:32.960 --> 00:52:37.760
You want them to inculcate trust as opposed to sell hype.
00:52:38.159 --> 00:52:38.880
Exactly that.
00:52:39.039 --> 00:52:39.840
And that's tough.
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:50.320
That's tough on a on a in a TikTok environment, and it's also really tempting because you can see incredible success when you play into the hype, but it's it's not who we are as a brand.
00:52:51.280 --> 00:52:55.840
So, what makes a product naturally right for social commerce?
00:52:56.079 --> 00:52:59.199
And which of them have performed well?
00:52:59.519 --> 00:53:03.519
Um, where you were genuinely surprised that it had?
00:53:04.400 --> 00:53:07.360
So I think social commerce is visual, visual, visual.
00:53:07.519 --> 00:53:10.000
You know, it has to play well on camera.
00:53:10.159 --> 00:53:11.760
So that's like number one.
00:53:12.000 --> 00:53:16.400
Um, I think also like storytelling, there has to be something to it.
00:53:16.480 --> 00:53:19.599
So, as well as that kind of fun visual, you know, what is it doing?
00:53:19.679 --> 00:53:21.440
What's the storytelling that sits behind it?
00:53:21.599 --> 00:53:32.480
I think we've had one product um specifically in the UK, we are the number one body product on TikTok shop, um, which is absolutely phenomenal.
00:53:32.639 --> 00:53:35.119
So, our glycolic acid body stick.
00:53:35.840 --> 00:53:49.119
What's quite interesting about that product is glycolic acid is has is trending and has been trending for about two to three years, and a lot of people are using toners and putting it onto cotton pads and hacking it all over their body.
00:53:49.199 --> 00:53:52.000
So there became this sort of trend of hacking.
00:53:52.159 --> 00:53:56.320
And we said, hey, there must be a better, simpler way for the consumer.
00:53:56.559 --> 00:54:16.559
So we took the premise of a glycolic acid and put it into effectively a cream deodorant stick because it could be used for multiple different benefits on the skin, but is done in a way that is gonna be uh that's gonna work, the actives are gonna be efficacious, but it's also super calming for the skin.
00:54:16.719 --> 00:54:18.400
It's not gonna irritate the skin.
00:54:18.960 --> 00:54:23.199
Now, what was brilliant about this stick, particularly, is it looked super visual.
00:54:23.280 --> 00:54:28.800
So you can very much show it's glycolic in a stick, and you're like, hey, but that looks like a deodorant.
00:54:29.119 --> 00:54:31.039
No, it's a it's a body product.
00:54:31.280 --> 00:54:33.280
Super interesting, like narrative behind that.
00:54:33.440 --> 00:54:33.599
Yeah.
00:54:33.840 --> 00:54:37.679
What we found works incredibly well is that product does lots of things.
00:54:37.840 --> 00:54:42.880
It helps with those KP bumps, it helps with underarm discoloration.
00:54:43.039 --> 00:54:47.840
Okay, it helps with dry cracked heels, it's got it's got nine different uses.
00:54:47.920 --> 00:55:02.239
And why that's worked really well on social commerce is that you can lean into one story and you end up with a really niche community that are like, oh, I've got KP or I've got discoloration, and you've got this community that are super engaged.
00:55:02.400 --> 00:55:11.519
And if you can lean into each solution in a very different way with the same product, you're activating a community that has a problem.
00:55:12.000 --> 00:55:17.199
So that product does lots of things and is super visual, and guess what?
00:55:17.360 --> 00:55:18.079
It works.
00:55:18.320 --> 00:55:27.519
So you can show those before and afters, and we can get that efficacy like landing through visual wow, like in three days, my skin literally has transformed.
00:55:27.760 --> 00:55:33.519
So I think for me, they're the kind of three social commerce kind of must-haves, I would say.
00:55:33.840 --> 00:55:37.280
Christina saw the product and I was just like, hmm.
00:55:37.519 --> 00:55:40.880
And then I I was reading in all the different, I'm like, this is brilliant.
00:55:40.960 --> 00:55:46.239
Like, why so and this is what we found with the Inky list.
00:55:46.559 --> 00:55:49.599
You know, it oh, let's let's empower people with knowledge.
00:55:49.679 --> 00:55:50.320
Uh duh.
00:55:50.559 --> 00:55:53.679
You know, let's create a glycolic acid and a stick that does things.
00:55:54.480 --> 00:55:58.400
I feel like we we have the kind of duh brand of skincare, if you will.
00:55:58.800 --> 00:56:03.840
But I didn't know that glycolic acid could help with all those, you know, different skin issues.
00:56:04.079 --> 00:56:10.400
And that's where I was like, I I need like at least a dozen more because yes, you want to use them on the different areas, absolutely.
00:56:10.880 --> 00:56:11.199
Right, yeah.
00:56:12.239 --> 00:56:17.840
I'm gonna have to leave you to do the rest of this yourself because I need to go try this now.
00:56:19.119 --> 00:56:19.760
Love it.
00:56:21.360 --> 00:56:22.880
I need to see your results.
00:56:23.199 --> 00:56:25.760
Oh my god, a before and after, absolutely.
00:56:25.920 --> 00:56:28.239
Although, do you need to see the before, really?
00:56:28.639 --> 00:56:29.360
Oh, I do.
00:56:29.599 --> 00:56:30.239
Oh, I do.
00:56:30.400 --> 00:56:32.480
I I feel like she she wants to.
00:56:34.800 --> 00:56:44.079
So going back to TikTok, um, Collette, does do you think that it makes skincare education better or louder?
00:56:45.599 --> 00:56:46.960
Oh, I'm very torn.
00:56:47.280 --> 00:57:02.800
I'm very, very torn because for me, the democratization of knowledge, and that'll come through TikTok, and that comes from AI and all the chat chat GPTs, and you know, the fact that knowledge is much more available now is brilliant.
00:57:03.599 --> 00:57:06.639
With that comes a lot of misinformation.
00:57:06.800 --> 00:57:17.440
Um, so what makes me nervous about both TikTok and and the AI world is that people can get incorrect information and not know who to trust.
00:57:17.599 --> 00:57:17.760
Yeah.
00:57:18.079 --> 00:57:40.480
And that for me is where we come in because you know, all of the content and the flooding of information, all of the kind of online information that you can get is great, but just being able to say, hey, like who can I physically trust here and who can I know that is going to give me the right information, that's where I still want them to turn to Inky.
00:57:41.199 --> 00:57:45.519
And back to that human element, there's nothing that really replaces a human.
00:57:45.679 --> 00:58:04.960
So actually, the you know, the role of Ask Inky and the role of you know, my team and the community we're building is brilliant, go in, go and get 90% of the information, you know, go do the deep reading, go do the research, you know, listen to your favorite influencer talking about the product, but actually just with a sense check for me on accuracy and trust.
00:58:05.280 --> 00:58:08.719
And that's the role I think that that I play now.
00:58:10.320 --> 00:58:15.360
And you know, skincare is so personal, and it everybody's skin is different.
00:58:15.519 --> 00:58:20.400
Um, you know, people deal with all different ailments, acne, aging, sensitivity, confidence.
00:58:20.480 --> 00:58:21.760
You you talked about that.
00:58:22.239 --> 00:58:25.920
Um so how does let's talk about AI, right?
00:58:26.000 --> 00:58:28.960
You mentioned that, you just uh pointed to that.
00:58:29.039 --> 00:58:39.199
So how can AI maybe process information at you know extraordinary scale to understand all those those different um needs and skin types?
00:58:39.360 --> 00:58:45.760
Um, but it doesn't automatically understand, you know, maybe the emotion behind the question, the question behind the question.
00:58:45.920 --> 00:58:49.360
So what should AI be trusted to do in skincare?
00:58:49.519 --> 00:58:50.480
We've seen a lot.
00:58:50.719 --> 00:58:54.320
And what, in your opinion, needs to remain human?
00:58:55.199 --> 00:59:09.039
I think I I as I said, I don't think anything can replace that kind of human, that that softer to your point, the emotion, the real understanding behind, you know, your skin issues can be caused by multiple different things.
00:59:09.119 --> 00:59:14.880
You know, there'd be lifestyle issues, you know, there's a lot, there's a lot more to it than just you know looking at a photo of your face.
00:59:15.199 --> 00:59:21.119
Now, the brilliance of it is, you know, thinking back to when I was young, you know, I was using alcohol wipes on my acne.
00:59:21.280 --> 00:59:28.000
So what's brilliant is you know, the skincare industry's moved on and the and the information's moved on, which is which is great.
00:59:28.079 --> 00:59:39.920
And actually, if you have hyperpigmentation, you know, researching and using, you know, AI and and using um the online world to help you to understand that is brilliant because you're learning more.
00:59:40.079 --> 00:59:45.519
You're learning about the causes, and actually you might be trying to fix it, but you're still out in the sun every day without an SPF.
00:59:45.679 --> 00:59:54.719
So just those basic fundamental kind of learning and understanding about your skin and about the skincare um category, I think it's brilliant.
00:59:54.960 --> 00:59:57.039
But I think nothing replaces human.
00:59:57.199 --> 01:00:02.000
Now, unfortunately, not everybody has access to a dermatologist, and that's the dream, right?
01:00:02.079 --> 01:00:05.760
That everybody can go to a dermatologist, have that one-on-one personal approach.
01:00:06.000 --> 01:00:16.000
But for me, what I'm trying to do is democratize that and give everybody access so we can be a brand that you can come to and get support, you can have that in-depth conversation.
01:00:16.159 --> 01:00:20.400
We have teams in stores that are skincare experts to help support you.
01:00:20.559 --> 01:00:25.280
For me, nothing beats that human-to-human support and connection.
01:00:25.519 --> 01:00:26.000
Yeah.
01:00:26.239 --> 01:00:38.639
And obviously, technology has evolved those tools, but um, maybe uh let's step back a little bit because the founder judgment, as we've clearly seen today, still shapes the company.
01:00:38.960 --> 01:00:45.280
And um, much of that judgment was developed long before the in-key list was actually here.
01:00:46.239 --> 01:00:48.800
So yeah, let's let's spend some time there.
01:00:49.119 --> 01:00:53.760
You know, you spent uh almost decade at Boots before being a founder.
01:00:54.000 --> 01:00:57.920
So, what did corporate colette teach founder colette?
01:00:58.320 --> 01:01:03.760
And what did and what did the founder life force you to unlearn?
01:01:04.639 --> 01:01:05.679
Oh my goodness.
01:01:05.840 --> 01:01:17.679
Um so I will say it's quite interesting because I've got some young team members that have never done corporate, and it's fascinating to see the difference of growing up in corporate.
01:01:18.079 --> 01:01:19.599
I was very lucky.
01:01:19.760 --> 01:01:22.239
In a corporate environment, you get to learn a lot.
01:01:22.400 --> 01:01:29.039
And I was very curious, and I would say, you know, my one thing to people when they're young in their career is just be as curious as possible.
01:01:29.280 --> 01:01:31.440
I did, I think, seven different roles at Boots.
01:01:31.679 --> 01:01:36.880
So I went across kind of merchandising, visual merchandising, product development, marketing.
01:01:37.280 --> 01:01:48.559
You know, I did the full span and it really taught me the back end of my industry and really understanding, you know, what is the most important thing, a PL.
01:01:48.719 --> 01:01:52.639
Like you have to work out what you're doing, what is it making money?
01:01:52.880 --> 01:02:01.920
Um, but also the nuances of packaging, sizing, you know, all the real unsexy stuff I learned a lot of.
01:02:02.079 --> 01:02:04.000
And I also learned how to sell.
01:02:04.239 --> 01:02:08.719
Like ultimately, you know, in that corporate environment, I was selling myself on a daily basis.
01:02:08.880 --> 01:02:24.880
I was showing up to meetings, I was, you know, going up the career ladder, and it gave me, I think, a confidence that I that I'm seeing some of our more junior team don't have because they've kind of been thrown into the workplace and haven't written an email before.
01:02:25.039 --> 01:02:29.119
You know, they're there there's a lot of learning that's done there.
01:02:29.360 --> 01:02:30.079
So I loved it.
01:02:30.159 --> 01:02:33.199
I had 10 years in corporate and I wouldn't take it back for the world.
01:02:33.280 --> 01:02:35.679
And Boots were such a wonderful employer.
01:02:36.400 --> 01:02:43.519
Um, I think what I had to unlearn was some of the decision making uh back to the consumer first.
01:02:43.599 --> 01:02:43.840
Yeah.
01:02:44.000 --> 01:02:48.639
You know, it would be, you know, we we we we're launching another mascara, right?
01:02:48.880 --> 01:02:49.360
Why?
01:02:49.599 --> 01:03:02.719
Um, because we launched one in June last year and we need to replicate the sales, and and you're then therefore creating a new product because you need to, not because the consumer needs one.
01:03:03.039 --> 01:03:10.960
So there was a there's a kind of a I learned like true consumer first decision making from being an entrepreneur.
01:03:11.280 --> 01:03:13.199
Um, and let's talk pace.
01:03:14.239 --> 01:03:20.320
You know, you can I I'll I'll never forget being in corporate and um somebody leaving for maternity leave.
01:03:20.400 --> 01:03:28.480
And in in the UK, you get sort of nine months at least uh maternity, they it's quite a long and they would come back after maternity and say, So what's changed?
01:03:28.559 --> 01:03:32.400
And we'd be like nothing, nothing really.
01:03:32.719 --> 01:03:37.119
Um, and you know, decisions take so long, and there's a lot of bureaucracy.
01:03:37.199 --> 01:03:45.679
And I think what I learned immediately, you know, being an entrepreneur is you go, you have an insight, you have a gut feel, and you go, and we just move quick.
01:03:45.840 --> 01:03:48.159
And and again, that's a real learning.
01:03:48.239 --> 01:03:54.719
And I think again, like employees coming into the company are kind of like, okay, what's going on?
01:03:54.800 --> 01:03:59.440
And we've moved and we've gone on, and we've got three projects live at once, and it's it's a lot, it's a lot.
01:03:59.599 --> 01:04:01.599
But I think for me, I just thrive.
01:04:01.760 --> 01:04:02.880
I just thrive.
01:04:03.039 --> 01:04:09.440
I love having the understanding and the background and the insight and that kind of corporate, but I just love going.
01:04:09.840 --> 01:04:19.920
And you know, we have scaled incredibly fast because we just move, and I think that is so exciting being very, you know, an entrepreneur that can drive that mentality.
01:04:20.960 --> 01:04:30.400
But and so now we get to the hindsight question, the one that separates the highlight real from the actual founder's story, Christina.
01:04:30.719 --> 01:04:31.280
Yes.
01:04:31.519 --> 01:04:37.360
So, Cola, knowing what you know now, which is a lot, what would you do differently?
01:04:37.440 --> 01:04:42.960
And are there any mistakes that you would willingly make again because of what it taught you?
01:04:43.679 --> 01:04:47.840
So I've made so many mistakes I can't even write them down.
01:04:48.079 --> 01:04:54.800
Um but yes, um, I kind of one of our fundamental principles when we started the business was start at yes.
01:04:55.119 --> 01:05:02.480
Um, and when Sephora came in in after three months and said, we want to launch you in North America, we just said yes.
01:05:02.719 --> 01:05:08.239
Um, we had no entity set up, we had no warehouse, we had no supply chain available in the US.
01:05:08.320 --> 01:05:08.880
We had nothing.
01:05:08.960 --> 01:05:11.920
We had no reason to believe we could do it, but we just said yes.
01:05:12.159 --> 01:05:21.199
So I would willingly make that mistake again because we found a way, we did it, and it and it kind of changed the trajectory of our entire business and our lives.
01:05:21.360 --> 01:05:24.079
Um, but that was again a risky game.
01:05:24.239 --> 01:05:29.519
Um, and something that I would maybe not do again is um hire so quickly.
01:05:30.320 --> 01:05:36.960
Um I think you know, your your tendency is we're too busy, we need more people.
01:05:37.199 --> 01:05:49.280
And what I will say is there was a kind of sweet spot at under 50 people where you can move really quickly, everybody's engaged, and you can kind of really get the pace and that clarity.
01:05:50.159 --> 01:05:57.679
I think beyond 50 people, it we start to feel heavy and you start to get that division of teams.
01:05:57.920 --> 01:05:59.679
So I will say, you know, 50.
01:06:00.159 --> 01:06:04.079
Thinking about what do you truly need in terms of staff?
01:06:04.480 --> 01:06:07.440
More people often means more problems.
01:06:07.599 --> 01:06:14.559
So that's probably something if I was to start again, I would kind of reassess, you know, who do you truly need?
01:06:14.880 --> 01:06:17.599
And therefore, if you need more people, why?
01:06:17.760 --> 01:06:21.599
And actually, is the thing that you are doing, is it worth it?
01:06:22.079 --> 01:06:22.320
Yeah.
01:06:22.559 --> 01:06:22.719
Yeah.
01:06:23.519 --> 01:06:24.000
It's right.
01:06:24.159 --> 01:06:28.079
Yeah, just being more thoughtful about you know why and when you expand.
01:06:28.960 --> 01:06:29.199
Exactly.
01:06:29.519 --> 01:06:35.760
Um what is one rule women find founders are expected to follow that you would happily throw in the bin?
01:06:36.480 --> 01:06:37.280
We can do everything.
01:06:39.199 --> 01:06:40.000
Wait, we can't?
01:06:40.639 --> 01:06:40.800
What?
01:06:42.079 --> 01:06:46.000
I I I felt I felt actually the pressure of that for a very long time.
01:06:46.239 --> 01:06:52.800
I think I now I've become much more confident to think I can I can only do what I can do.
01:06:53.199 --> 01:06:55.039
I'll give it my best shot.
01:06:55.280 --> 01:07:02.800
But I think the pressure to, you know, be on and be smiley and and do everything and do the house and do everything.
01:07:02.880 --> 01:07:04.960
And yeah, like it's just a lot.
01:07:05.119 --> 01:07:05.679
It's a lot.
01:07:05.920 --> 01:07:09.119
And I I think I struggled with that for a while.
01:07:09.280 --> 01:07:14.079
Whereas now I'm like, pay, like, but there's no food in my house.
01:07:14.320 --> 01:07:15.599
We'll we'll deal with it.
01:07:15.679 --> 01:07:16.320
And you know what?
01:07:16.480 --> 01:07:18.960
I'm hungry, but I'll there are services though.
01:07:19.840 --> 01:07:20.239
Exactly.
01:07:20.320 --> 01:07:22.639
And I but also I would beat myself up about that.
01:07:22.800 --> 01:07:24.960
You know, it's my job to make sure there's food in the house.
01:07:25.039 --> 01:07:27.920
And you know, no, I've done a 90-hour week, there's no food in the house.
01:07:28.079 --> 01:07:29.679
Okay, we will live to your point.
01:07:29.760 --> 01:07:31.599
Yeah, we'll we'll order something in, it's fine.
01:07:31.760 --> 01:07:37.920
So I think it's just becoming more comfortable with myself about uh we I don't have to do it all, and I that's okay.
01:07:38.079 --> 01:07:39.920
Yeah, and giving yourself that grace.
01:07:40.159 --> 01:07:43.360
Yeah, um can you complete this sentence?
01:07:43.760 --> 01:07:51.920
Better knowledge powers better decisions and better leaders can change the world.
01:07:54.480 --> 01:07:57.679
Yes, yes, I love it.
01:07:57.840 --> 01:07:58.559
I love it.
01:07:59.920 --> 01:08:03.360
We're now moving into our rapid fire questions.
01:08:03.440 --> 01:08:05.280
Um, question and answers.
01:08:05.440 --> 01:08:11.280
So don't think about it, just say the first thing that comes into your head when we answer when we answer this.
01:08:11.519 --> 01:08:11.760
Okay.
01:08:12.000 --> 01:08:15.039
So, one skincare myth you would erase forever.
01:08:15.679 --> 01:08:17.840
Stop overexfoliating your skin.
01:08:18.319 --> 01:08:21.520
Why are we glamorizing exfoliating too much?
01:08:21.680 --> 01:08:23.680
It is ruining your skin barrier.
01:08:24.239 --> 01:08:26.239
I can tell you're passion about this.
01:08:27.600 --> 01:08:32.399
Okay, the NK Lis product most like your personality.
01:08:34.319 --> 01:08:38.079
Okay, the exosome hydroglow complex.
01:08:39.359 --> 01:08:47.359
Because it's a multitasker, it's gonna hydrate, regenerate, renew, and give you the most glow.
01:08:47.600 --> 01:08:52.479
It packs a punch, um, and it's a little bottle.
01:08:52.640 --> 01:08:54.560
And it's and it's vivaceous.
01:08:55.520 --> 01:09:00.159
You see, Colin, you can do it all just like the oh my.
01:09:00.479 --> 01:09:03.199
I'm gonna listen back to this and think, what have I just said?
01:09:05.760 --> 01:09:09.119
All right, most overhyped beauty buzzword.
01:09:09.920 --> 01:09:18.880
So hyperchlora spray, everybody's obsessed with it's this and antimicrobial spray, but everyone seems to think it's it's the world.
01:09:18.960 --> 01:09:21.840
And it it if you put too much on, it's actually not good for your skin.
01:09:21.920 --> 01:09:23.279
But everyone's obsessed with it at the minute.
01:09:23.520 --> 01:09:24.319
Oh, good to know.
01:09:24.479 --> 01:09:28.560
All right, what purchase under$30 brings you unreasonable joy?
01:09:28.720 --> 01:09:30.239
Doesn't have to be in skincare.
01:09:30.880 --> 01:09:31.760
Oh my goodness.
01:09:32.000 --> 01:09:36.239
Under$30 or sorry, under 30 pounds.
01:09:36.560 --> 01:09:38.560
The a red lipstick every time.
01:09:38.880 --> 01:09:40.880
Yes, Jackie, Soul Sisters.
01:09:41.199 --> 01:09:52.800
I honestly I'm feeling slightly under the weather today, and um, I've been in five hours of back-to-back meetings and came on here, and I was like, okay, where am I gonna get my energy from to make sure that this is a good podcast?
01:09:52.880 --> 01:09:53.600
And do you know what I did?
01:09:53.680 --> 01:09:56.479
I put my red lip on and I was like, let's go! Every time.
01:09:56.800 --> 01:09:57.199
Let's go.
01:09:59.680 --> 01:10:03.039
What is your founder's survival song?
01:10:04.159 --> 01:10:05.520
Am I allowed to swear?
01:10:05.760 --> 01:10:06.239
Absolutely.
01:10:07.039 --> 01:10:07.199
Okay.
01:10:07.680 --> 01:10:18.800
Um it's actually it's actually quite embarrassing, but it's the only thing that if I am working out or I'm like in a rut or I need a little moment, it's Brittany Spears work.
01:10:20.960 --> 01:10:22.960
Oh, that is a good one.
01:10:25.119 --> 01:10:27.279
It really, it really gets me pumping.
01:10:27.359 --> 01:10:29.600
So if I just need a minute, I'm like, okay, let's go.
01:10:29.680 --> 01:10:30.079
I'm ready.
01:10:30.239 --> 01:10:30.479
Uh-huh.
01:10:32.000 --> 01:10:33.760
Terrible example, but it's true.
01:10:34.000 --> 01:10:35.039
No, it's a good one.
01:10:35.520 --> 01:10:35.760
Love it.
01:10:36.159 --> 01:10:36.560
Love it.
01:10:36.800 --> 01:10:37.119
All right.
01:10:37.199 --> 01:10:38.560
And what last question?
01:10:38.720 --> 01:10:41.279
What do you wish people asked you more often?
01:10:41.439 --> 01:10:43.680
Maybe not about the company, but about you.
01:10:45.760 --> 01:10:55.520
Oh, um, I would say that kind of beneath the hood, um, I'm actually, I suffer horrendously with um imposter syndrome.
01:10:55.840 --> 01:11:08.720
Um so I think I would want anybody listening to this to know that, you know, I'm passionate, I'm excited, but actually I spend most days thinking I can't do this.
01:11:09.840 --> 01:11:10.479
But you do it.
01:11:10.640 --> 01:11:12.640
But you do it and you do it brilliantly.
01:11:12.960 --> 01:11:14.000
So, so brilliantly.
01:11:14.079 --> 01:11:15.199
I mean But it's real, you know.
01:11:15.279 --> 01:11:22.319
I I wouldn't want people to think, oh, she's off there doing this amazing thing, but actually, no, we're all just humans struggling to get by every day.
01:11:23.039 --> 01:11:30.319
After this episode, Claude, I think you're gonna have a lot of people having a girl crush on you because I'm fangirling.
01:11:30.560 --> 01:11:31.199
Yeah, totally.
01:11:32.000 --> 01:11:32.479
Hard.
01:11:33.199 --> 01:11:36.239
Ah not just about the hyaluronic acid.
01:11:36.399 --> 01:11:37.439
No, no, no.
01:11:37.600 --> 01:11:39.199
Also, exosome now.
01:11:39.520 --> 01:11:41.840
Oh, yeah, get that on twice a day, every day.
01:11:41.920 --> 01:11:44.880
Like my skin does a glycolic stitch.
01:11:44.960 --> 01:11:45.199
Oh, yeah.
01:11:45.359 --> 01:11:47.359
Oh, I've just done a massive sales pitch, haven't I?
01:11:47.600 --> 01:11:49.520
And I want to try the Milky Toner.
01:11:49.600 --> 01:11:50.319
I mean, all of it.
01:11:50.720 --> 01:11:51.199
All of it.
01:11:51.439 --> 01:11:51.920
I love it.
01:11:52.079 --> 01:11:53.760
Well, thank you so much for having me.
01:11:54.079 --> 01:11:55.520
Oh no, it's been our pleasure.
01:11:55.600 --> 01:12:06.319
But before we make this official collect, who is we want to ask, who is one woman whose work or voice or business more people should know about that really inspires you?
01:12:06.560 --> 01:12:09.760
Ooh, that is a great question.
01:12:10.079 --> 01:12:11.520
One woman.
01:12:11.840 --> 01:12:20.319
Well, uh, do you know what's hard is because I am inspired by successful women in the public space.
01:12:20.960 --> 01:12:26.800
And this doesn't quite answer the question, but I have a group of women that I've collected along the way.
01:12:27.199 --> 01:12:32.159
Um, and we have a a group chat that's called The Cheerleaders.
01:12:32.399 --> 01:12:32.720
Oh.
01:12:33.359 --> 01:12:38.479
And we are all we all have um very different jobs and careers.
01:12:38.640 --> 01:12:52.079
Someone owns an agency, someone works in retail, obviously, I've got a brand, and we all have very different careers and very different journeys, but we inspire each other and cheerlead each other every day.
01:12:52.239 --> 01:13:00.399
And they, for me, every single woman in that group inspires me more than you know, somebody I've never met before.
01:13:00.479 --> 01:13:02.560
Oh, just they're real.
01:13:02.720 --> 01:13:10.399
I I know that you know, she's struggling, she's got three kids at home, and but she's doing this incredible thing, and it's like seeing and connecting with these amazing women.
01:13:10.560 --> 01:13:16.640
So for me, more inspiring is you know, women that are actually doing it rather than someone on a s on a screen, maybe.
01:13:17.119 --> 01:13:18.399
Can we be your V list?
01:13:18.720 --> 01:13:22.159
Um, hell yeah! Get in the chat, get in the chat.
01:13:23.279 --> 01:13:25.119
You you can't I love that.
01:13:26.560 --> 01:13:33.600
Uh well, with every episode of SheCommerce where we are building our growing network of female leaders and advocates.
01:13:33.760 --> 01:13:42.079
And Colette, will you take the pledge with us to pay it forward, amplify women's voices, and help shape the future of commerce and beauty?
01:13:42.640 --> 01:13:44.479
I absolutely shall.
01:13:45.119 --> 01:13:45.680
Amazing.
01:13:45.920 --> 01:13:46.479
Amazing.
01:13:46.800 --> 01:13:53.439
Colette, thank you so much for giving us the real story, you know, the belief and the business model and the lessons behind the brand.
01:13:53.760 --> 01:13:57.520
Yeah, because this is obviously not just a story about skincare.
01:13:57.680 --> 01:14:12.159
It's a story about giving consumers that power and knowledge to make their own decisions and to build the confidence within them and to obviously build a company that's brave enough to trust them with that knowledge.
01:14:12.560 --> 01:14:23.279
And to everyone listening, keep building the brands, the careers, and the relationships like the cheerleaders that move plummers forward.
01:14:23.760 --> 01:14:29.680
Yeah, so just one thing left bold brands, fierce women, one sisterhood.
01:14:30.000 --> 01:14:31.600
Ah lovely.