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196 | Blending Trends to Produce Unique Brands | with Linda Wang

Honest Ecommerce
Honest Ecommerce
Episode • Oct 24, 2022 • 23m

Linda Wang is the Founder and CEO of Karuna Skin and sister brand Avatara, known for being the first to bring Asian sheet masks to the U.S. 

Before starting her company, Linda spent 11 years in fashion merchandising, the training shaped her gusty instincts for spotting trends. 

Her interest in skincare stemmed from an ongoing struggle since childhood with allergies, rashes, and eczema. 

As an adult, her focus sharpened on resolving this deeply personal issue since it affects so many others around the world. 

She launched Karuna in 2009, sensing these revolutionary time-saving masks would be a hit among American beauty aficionados. 

The sharply-packaged retail line has gained the interests of beauty giants like Sephora, Ulta, etc. 

From her years of training as a buyer and knowing how trends work, in 2017, she launched her second brand Avatara, inspired by her teenage nieces by offering fun, quality, clean, and affordable skincare products launched in Target stores nationwide. 

During the last 12 years of building both brands, Linda encountered her share of challenges; increased competition, the explosion of interest in fast beauty, and the rise of more store brands entering the category. 

In 2018, the Karuna brand faced hardship as the sheet mask category became commoditized, and in response, she pivoted and created the Balancing Collection, a daily topical skin care line now available at Whole Foods Market nationwide. 

Sister brand, Avatara has also seen tremendous growth with Target, and anticipating more national doors rollout this year. 

In This Conversation We Discuss: 

  • [00:00] Intro
  • [01:13] Types of products that Linda’s brands have
  • [01:50] Linda’s first experience with sheet mask
  • [03:10] Linda’s brands’ idea came from her childhood
  • [04:52] From idea to the first physical product
  • [06:09] The initial challenges as a smaller brand
  • [06:50] Limiting SKUs for an initial launch
  • [07:51] Linda’s go-to-market strategy
  • [09:31] Marketing from a pre-social media perspective
  • [10:23] New brand vs new product line
  • [11:53] CPG brands target multiple specific price points
  • [13:58] Sponsor: Electric Eye electriceye.io
  • [14:18] Sponsor: Mesa apps.shopify.com/mesa
  • [15:07] Sponsor: Rewind rewind.com/honestecommerce
  • [15:37] Sponsor: Klaviyo klaviyo.com/honest
  • [16:25] How has D2C changed over the years?
  • [18:01] How Maslow’s hierarchy of needs became an asset
  • [19:27] Linda’s advice to up and coming entrepreneurs
  • [20:46] Founders/CEOs’ to-do lists does not shrink
  • [21:33] Take a gamble and start your own business
  • [22:01] Where to find Linda’s products

Resources:

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