October 25, 2022

Kayla Houlihan | Founder of Tribe Skincare

38 minutes

In episode ninety nine of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Tribe Skincare, Kayla Houlihan.

Kayla Houlihan understands first hand just how debilitating acne and inflammation can be to a person’s confidence. It was her understanding of the impact skin heath can have on one’s confidence that led Kayla to study skin, and what drove her to want to help clients in clinic.

The idea for Tribe Skincare came to Kayla whilst running her own skin clinic in Geelong. Clients were presenting with all the signs of sensitive skin, and knowing just how many skin conditions come down to inflammation, Kayla wanted to recommend products to her clients that were suitable for sensitive skin but still delivered results. What Kayla discovered is that people with sensitive skin had very few active options- brands were creating simple cleansers and moisturisers suitable for sensitive skins, but there was almost nothing available that allowed those clients to reap the benefits of active ingredients without irritation.

Kayla entirely self funded Tribe, launching in 2017 with just four products. Well into the brand’s first year on the market, Tribe Skincare was bringing in over $90,000 per month. Last year saw Kayla and her team completely rebrand Tribe and shift the brand from being an ecommerce exclusive to available in physical retailers. That rebrand saw a 20% increase in sales overall and a 500% increase in sales from one product in particular, and this year Kayla launched Tribe’s Vitamin C serum to a 50,000 person waitlist with one bottle selling every 4 minutes in its first 12 hours post launch.

In this conversation, Kayla shares her strategy on choosing the right influencers to partner with, why a rebrand can be a double edged sword if you already have a loyal customer base, and the surprising findings that led the brand to STOP paid advertising entirely.