FILLING A VOID
Beautycounter CEO just getting started
Q When and why did you first start Beautycounter?
A In 2006 I watched a documentary called An Inconvenient Truth, which made me impassioned with the environmental health movement. I wanted to remove all the toxins from my home and my children’s home. I started changing everything in my family’s lives — from our pots and pans to the products we cleaned our home with, to the mattresses we slept on. But when it came to beauty products, I saw a huge void in the marketplace for products that were high performing but also safer for your health.
Q Your platform is built upon offering customers safe beauty products. Why is this important to you?
A Your health is your greatest asset. What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it. We are committed to building the systems to bringing safer and high-performing products to market.
Q Do you think consumers are finally realizing how dangerous certain chemicals hiding in products can be? Or do we still have a long way to go?
A Most consumers are unaware of the fact that there are questionable ingredients in the products they put on their bodies every single day. We are hoping, through our work at Beautycounter, we will increase awareness on this issue.
Q What made this the right time to launch in Canada?
A Our mission at Beautycounter is to get safe products into the hands of everyone, which now includes the Canadian population. Consumer demand has driven Beautycounter’s growth and that includes demand from the Canadian consumer.
Q How do you think Canadian consumers in particular will react to your mission of healthier beauty options?
A We have heard loud and clear from our clients with ties to Canada that they cannot wait for us to come to Canada. We know Canadians are smart and savvy and are paying attention to what they put on their skin. Additionally, we know they are looking for a business opportunity that speaks to them — to spread our social mission of getting safer products into people’s hands while also building a business that is financially rewarding.
Q Do you have a favourite product? If so, why?
A Our Cleansing Balm is my can’t-live-without. I call it my desert island product because it’s one of our products that works on so many levels — a cleanser, a makeup remover, an overnight mask. It even helps with cuticles.
Q You have a unique selling model for Beautycounter that offers online shopping and special retail partners. How does this work, and where can people find out where to buy the line?
A We are a Direct-Retail brand, which means we sell our products through an omni-channel distribution model. It brings scalability to the business and to our potential for positive social impact. You can find us online at Beautycounter.com, through strategic partnerships (such as J.Crew and Goop in the U.S.), or through one of our 15,000 independent consultants who sell our products and have built a financially rewarding business for themselves.
Q What is the price point for Beautycounter products?
A Our opening price point is $10 and we go up to $90 on single items.
Q Is there anything new for spring we should keep an eye out for?
A We are incredibly excited to have just launched our first baby collection. And the most exciting thing for us this spring is having just launched in Canada. We’re expanding our colour cosmetics collection by adding an incredibly exciting product that goes on your lashes. More to come.
Q Lastly, you’ve just launched in Canada. What’s next?
A We are just getting started. We are a movement for better beauty and we are charging ahead to continue creating highperforming and safer products, but also make our voices heard that everyone deserves transparency in the ingredients in the products they put on their skin every day.