The Story of a Brand Show

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

The not-so-simple syrups of Daysie were born because a similar product couldn't be found, says Tara Pate, Founder of Daysie.

During the COVID pandemic, Tara built an at-home coffee bar but needed some flavored syrups to make her favorite drinks. She wasn't impressed by the products she found on Amazon and couldn't find anything fitting the bill at the local Whole Foods.

"Honestly, down that rabbit hole, I went thinking backward like if I could create a product that Whole Foods would carry on their shelves because of the ingredient integrity, then perhaps I was on to something," she says.

Tara says her experience in CPG was a big help in creating the brand, from understanding the legal ramifications to building a community. Still, other challenges were awaiting her.

"I had no idea how to bring a product to America from scratch, and I had no idea about fulfillment and FDA regulations and what it means to be certified organic," she says. "So while I had one piece of the pie that I felt really confident in, there were nine out of 10 other pieces that I was completely lost in."

A one-piece that she struggled with was COVID-related. Tara initially launched Daysie as an e-commerce brand. Now that grocery stores and retailers are reopening, she's having to connect with brick-and-mortar establishments to become more omnichannel.

Tara says she also hopes that consumers find other uses for syrups other than coffee. She has seen social posts of people using it to make desserts, cocktails, and cocktails.

In Part 1, Tara talks about:

* Gratitude to her husband for his support. * An overview of the brand. * How she came about the idea for the new brand. * Early challenges. * The effect of the pandemic. * Other uses for the syrups.

Join Ramon Vela and Tara Pate as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Daysie, visit: https://enjoydaysie.com 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright guys here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to driving more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is normally a $500 package but for our listeners it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat in to their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Product development - not community engagement - was the priority when Le Mini Macaron started in 2015. However, things began to shift as Christina Kao, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Le Mini Macaron, the at-home gel nail brand, felt a community growing within her customer base.

"I thought, who are these people so engaged that they are coming back ten times to buy?" Christina says. "I saw one name buying seven times around the holidays and shipping it to seven different addresses as gifts. So I thought, this is amazing."

In 2019 and 2020, the brand doubled down on social media, and it has paid off with more than 142,000 followers now on Instagram - many of those followers joining in the past 18 months.

"Why do people buy brands? It's that emotional love," she says. "Today, everybody's launching brands. Everybody's a founder. There are so many options on the market that I think the evolution of the consumer goods business is “what else are you offering to people?” And it's that human side. It's that emotional love and attachment."

Recently, Le Mini Macaron began a launch with Target, appearing in 500 stores as of February. Christina says the relationship brings additional credibility to the brand.

In Part 2, Christina talks about:

* Building a community around the brand. * Doubling down on social media. * The attraction to a brand. * A tour of the website. * A rundown of the products. * Where consumers can find the products.

Join Ramon Vela and Christina Kao as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Le Mini Macaron, visit: https://www.leminimacaron.com 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright guys here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to driving more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is normally a $500 package but for our listeners it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat in to their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

The pandemic might have been catastrophic to many businesses and brands, but Le Mini Macaron, an at-home gel nail brand, saw its business explode. Christina Kao, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Le Mini Macaron, says the stay-at-home era was an unexpected benefit.

"People who used to go to the salon, and salons were closed," she says. "People were doing Zoom calls. They wanted their nails to look good from the waist up…We were very fortunate that we had a boom in the business."

Christina says that the brand began selling nail products and accessories and evolved through distributors, retailers, and sales channels. Though she didn't have any prior experience in the beauty space, her partner did. Together, they worked through early mistakes, including pricing. Through consumer feedback, Le Mini Macaron could tweak its approach, grow distribution channels and expand.

Another unusual aspect of the brand's start was that her co-founder was also her boyfriend. Although this has since changed, the pair still work together today.

"We deeply trust each other," Christina says. "We've had a pretty good outcome. I think we very much respect each other. We are aligned in terms of how we want to grow the business. We consider each other family because we've just known each other for so long."

She offers these words of advice for other couples considering starting a business together.

"You need to think about this carefully because it is going to be a tough ride," she says. "There will be power struggles. There will be communication challenges."

In Part 1, Christina talks about:

* Gratitude to her partners, friends and family members for their support. * An overview of the brand. * How the pandemic impacted the brand. * The brand's evolution over the years. * Early mistakes. * Her relationship with the brand's co-founder. * Advice for couples considering starting a business together. * The attraction of great nails.

Join Ramon Vela and Christina Kao as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Le Mini Macaron, visit: https://www.leminimacaron.com 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright guys here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to driving more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is normally a $500 package but for our listeners it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat in to their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Liz Whitman has been in the beauty industry for 15 years - as an entrepreneur, investor, and executive - but her "ah-ha" moment for her latest brand came when she was getting a facial.

The Founder and CEO of Exponent Beauty, a self-activated skincare system designed to deliver peak potency with each dose, was president of Red Door by Elizabeth Arden when a long-time aesthetician was bringing her up to speed on products and protocols.

"She spent a lot of time telling me why, as part of our protocols, we mixed masks and serums and treatments fresh before applying them to guests," she says. "I'm sitting there, my eyes are closed. ... And I go to the next logical question: if that's true, then how effective can pre-mixed retail products actually be?"

Fast forward through a move to the West Coast and lab research that confirmed her suspicion that a skin-care solution was needed.

"It's wonderful to come up with something wildly innovative that truly works," she says.

Liz has some words of wisdom she's gained after her career as an entrepreneur.

"In some ways, I envy first-time founders on the emotional front because not knowing what's ahead is somewhat amazing - you have no fear whatsoever," she says.

Liz offers these tactical suggestions to would-be entrepreneurs.

"There are tons of people willing to give advice and feedback and share learnings, and it's never been easier than it is today to just get in touch with pretty much anyone through the Internet (and) through various social platforms," she says. "Don't be precious about your idea. Kick it around...Ask them what they like about it, etc. And that's really important and very hard to do. And I think this is in life in general, not just with entrepreneurship, but you have to create a safe space for real feedback."

As for the future, Liz says to expect the unexpected from her brand.

"I think you can fully expect that anything coming out of Exponent will be a think-outside-the-jar approach to new product development."

In Part 2, Liz talks about:

* Her background in the beauty industry. * The "ah-ha" moment for her new brand. * The four phases of development for Exponent Beauty. * Advice for other entrepreneurs. * Her continued attraction to starting new brands. * A guide to the brand's website and products. * The importance of establishing consumer trust.

Join Ramon Vela and Liz Whitman as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Exponent Beauty, visit: https://exponentbeauty.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Rising acquisition costs and the return to in-store shopping have eCommerce marketers double-clicking on their retention strategy.

Now more than ever, brands need to focus on lifetime value. Yotpo is proud to announce Yotpo Subscriptions on Shopify, making retention easy and affordable for growing brands.

Take 8 minutes, or less, to add a recurring revenue channel to your business.

Download Yotpo Subscriptions from the Shopify App Store today https://apps.shopify.com/yotpo-subscription 

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Exponent Beauty wanted to provide the best clinical results with their skin-care line, so even the packaging is the result of two years of research and development, says Liz Whitman, Founder,, and CEO of Exponent Beauty, a self-activated skincare system designed to deliver peak potency with each dose.

"I feel like beauty trails the food industry but lags by about a decade," Liz says. "If you think about this movement towards fresh foods and made-yourself, anti-pre-packaged, watered down, bottled up things - that's exactly what we're doing right in skin care. We're saying there's a reason why these ingredients are great. They're active ingredients. They're very fragile. And if they're pre-mixed, watered down, and bottled up for 18 months on a shelf before you take it home, it's just not going to be as beneficial as making sure you're mixing it fresh."

Liz says maintaining the integrity of active ingredients is paramount in clinical skin care.

"Our point is, even if you put in the optimal amount of active ingredients into a liquid form at the time of manufacture, you're going to see that degrade very rapidly," she says. "We're working to change that."

Liz says she took the top-selling products on the market and sent them to a lab to determine the concentration of active ingredients.

"Within eight weeks ... those products lost 40 percent of their active ingredient concentration on average," she says. "That's why we have introduced this line of powders that you then mix because when it's in powder form, it is protected from that degradation."

Of the three years of R&D before Exponent Beauty launched, two-thirds of the time was spent on the dispenser and packaging.

"Formulating with powders is not an easy endeavor, right? Because what we're trying to do is to get to part a powder and a liquid to mix quickly into something that you want to put on your face," she says. "Kudos to our product development and chemistry teams for figuring that out."

In Part 1, Liz talks about:

* Gratitude to her first supplier - her grandmother - Who supported her when she had her first business idea in third grade. * An overview of the brand. * Feedback so far to the brand's products. * How the food and skin-care industries are similar. * Testing for active ingredient degradation. * The advantages of mixing your products fresh vs. traditional storage. * Why the packaging design is so important.

Join Ramon Vela and Liz Whitman as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Exponent Beauty, visit: https://exponentbeauty.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is brought to you by Yotpo.

Rising acquisition costs and the return to in-store shopping have eCommerce marketers double-clicking on their retention strategy.

Now more than ever, brands need to focus on lifetime value. Yotpo is proud to announce Yotpo Subscriptions on Shopify, making retention easy and affordable for growing brands.

Take 8 minutes, or less, to add a recurring revenue channel to your business.

Download Yotpo Subscriptions from the Shopify App Store today https://apps.shopify.com/yotpo-subscription 

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

A chance encounter with a rock star helped Luis Gramajo and Hans Schrei, Co-founders of Wunderkeks, a chance to give back to the LGBTQ community.

Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of Imagine Dragons, found the brand on Instagram and ordered cookies. Once Hans and Luis found out, they reached out to the singer to tell him their story. Wunderkeks ended up partnering with Dan and donating $1 per dozen cookies sold to his charity Love Loud, which builds safe houses and offers counseling to the LGBTQ community.

The initial reaction was more negative than they expected - a lot of hate emails and messages followed from customers who didn't know the pair was gay. Eventually, the tone turned more positive.

Customers now connect with the brand's message and mission.

"We don't sell cookies - we sell an experience, and it's kind of like a self-care type of thing because you need to enjoy your cookies," Luis says.

The cookies are individually packaged and delivered as a dozen in a pink box. They're meant to be conversation-starters and shared, Hans, says.

"Who's not going to start a conversation with the right food - with cookies involved?" He says. "We believe that it's imperative not only that you share the product, but you share the message."

In Part 2, Luis and Hans talk about:

* The beginnings of collaboration with the charity Love Loud. * The feedback from the LGBTQ partnership. * The need for safe spaces. * Customer feedback on the brand's mission. * A rundown of the cookies. * The product's "loud" packaging. * Where to find the brand on social media and how to join their community.

Join Ramon Vela and Hans Schrei as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Wunderkeks, visit: https://wunderkeks.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright guys here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to driving more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is normally a $500 package but for our listeners it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat in to their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

Baking cookies for the holidays as a family tradition impressed friends so much that it became a business, says Hans Schrei, Co-founder of Wunderkeks, a brand that bakes and ships cookies nationwide.

Hans looks back at that time as stressful because the business grew too fast. Thankfully help arrived with the arrival of his co-founder Luis Gramajo.

The pair met via the Tinder dating app in their native Guatemala. Luis, who had a photography business at the time, saw the potential in Wunderkeks but also could tell Hans was struggling.

"I immediately thought he was exhausted and needed some help," Luis says. "Thankfully, with photography, my hours were very flexible. ... He trusted me, and we started working together very well. ... We didn't force anything to happen, but we started noticing that his strengths and my strengths were very different, and they complimented each other."

Wunderkeks got started in farmers' markets, which provided the two with all the customer feedback they needed.

"You had direct contact with your customers, and you can do lots of market research," Luis says. "You can ask them what flavors they want, what product size... they can even look at them."

The brand started in 2019, but ironically, the COVID pandemic triggered the fastest growth. The pair was poised to have a pop-up store at South by Southwest in Austin, but the event was canceled at the last minute because of the lockdown. The cookies were already made, so Hans and Luis pivoted and promoted it all social. Thanks to retweets, orders came flying in.

The pair says they learned early on that the key to success was focusing on one product and doing it well.

"We like to ask people, okay, let's try this cookie and tell me if it's the best chocolate chip cookie you've ever had," Hans says. "Then we're like, Oh, my God, I give you that one. It's delicious."

In Part 1, Luis and Hans talk about:

* Gratitude for the support they gave each other when creating the business. * How they met via a dating app. * How their complementary skills helped. * The pros of using farmers' markets. * How a canceled pop-up store helped trigger growth. * The focus on a single product.

Join Ramon Vela and Hans Schrei as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Wunderkeks, visit: https://wunderkeks.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

Alright guys here’s the deal: I have a gift for you from our primary Sponsor — Sendlane. They’re giving away their online course eCommerce Academy - Email & SMS Marketing!

This course gives you the step-by-step playbook to driving more revenue and retention with email & SMS. This is normally a $500 package but for our listeners it’s entirely FREE when you get started with your FREE 14-day trial of Sendlane.

When you do, chat in to their support team and let them know you’re one of our listeners to get full access to hours of course content that will help you make email marketing your #1 growth engine.

Visit https://storybrandgift.com to get the details, sign up for a free trial and get your gift!

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Success Cards are so new that right now, the primary marketplace for them is via Etsy, says John Uke, the brand's Creator and Founder.

"Etsy has a much more esoteric audience," John says. "I could see this being very big for business gifts. It's hard to shop for people, and you don't want to buy somebody's book because they're probably not going to take the time to read the whole thing. But this is very beautiful. It's on your desk. They'll be reminded of you. It's very approachable. It's beneficial, whether you are a new entrepreneur or a veteran."

John says his original thought was that the cards would benefit those starting a business most. He's discovered that all levels of entrepreneurs are using them.

The cards were designed during the COVID lockdown, giving John more time to work on the project. Future projects include increasing distortion for the cards. John is also planning a people-matching brand and a tool to work on creating and joining networks.

In Part 2, John talks about:

* Why the cards are selling on Etsy. * The attraction and similarities to Tarot cards. * The organization of the card topics. * Future plans unrelated to Success Cards. * Plans for increased distribution. * Mulling over ideas for future decks of cards.

Join Ramon Vela and John Uke as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Success Cards, visit: https://success.cards 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Gold foil, a magnetic flip box, and beautifully crafted designs. It might sound like a collector's deck of superhero souvenirs, but it's 101 cards with prompts to plan, manage and grow a business, says John Uke, Creator, and Founder of Success Cards.

"All of them have different unique illustrations relevant to different lenses through which you can analyze your business," John says.

He says that one critical limiting factor to growing a business is the ability to ask the right questions. The best-known thinkers - philosophers, professors, and coaches - spend most of their time asking questions.

"I've just spent hours on every card compiling the best questions relevant to so many facets of business that you might not even comprehend or think to look at, and that questions within those facets that you might not ask yourself," John says.

Growing a brand as an entrepreneur is second nature to John, who grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. His undergraduate work in college was also focused on entrepreneurship. After school, at a coding boot camp, he came across a deck of cards called "The Art of Game Design: A Deck of Lenses." He was hooked and realized the need for a business-oriented set of cards.

"I've done a lot of different things in my life, but I think this is the best idea I've ever had, and it's not so complicated," he says. "It's just taking something that existed for gaming and being like, Why doesn't this exist for business?"

One of the challenges of creating the deck is ending the process at 101 items.

"At first, it was challenging getting up to 101, and then it was challenging reducing it to 101, where it has a painful process to decide what are we cutting out and what order do we put all these things in?" John says.

In Part 1, John talks about:

* Gratitude for the freedom he enjoys, something that's come into greater focus with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. * A 100-foot overview of his brand. * His background in entrepreneurship. * How a game design card deck caught his attention. * A look at some of the cards.

Join Ramon Vela and John Uke as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Success Cards, visit: https://success.cards 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story 

This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.

Entrepreneurs wanting to build a brand that's going to last should make as many decisions as possible based not on a first-order principle but a second-order principle, says Tony Drockton, the Founder and "Chief Cheerleader" of Hammitt, a brand that focuses on luxury handbags and small leather accessories.

"A first-order principle is 'I do this, and this is what happens.' A second-order principle is 'I do this. This is what happens. And then, later on, this is the result of that happening, the long-term effects," Tony says.

He says that many handbags in America are made with the first-order principle.

"Second-order principle is the luxury brands of Europe," he says. "That's what Hammitt is built upon. ... It's a longer-term play for us to build something that never falls apart and breaks down. But what it does is it builds that long-term trust so that they have more and more of their friends and more of our bags in their closet."

Hammitt has been in business for 15 years; a longevity Tony attributes to editing.

"I think for any entrepreneur, the secret to longevity is saying no - a lot," he says. "The secret to a great brand in fashion is to edit, edit, edit. ... Believe it or not, we are five times larger than we were just four years ago in size, and our collections are half the size of what they were."

Despite the downturn in the economy, Tony sees nothing but sunshine ahead for his brand.

"I feel secure. (Hammitt) was built during the worst of times. This is our time," he says. "This is when a brand like Hammitt becomes the staple because we're not luxury. We're not so gaudy that people would be embarrassed to wear it when going through recessionary or tough times."

In Part 2, Tony talks about:

* The thought processes of first-order principle and second-order principle. * How quality affects the relationship with retailers. * A closer look at Hammitt's products. * The production and design process. * Why editing is essential to longevity. * Why the downturn in the company might not hurt Hammitt. * Where to find the brand's products.

Join Ramon Vela and Tony Drockton as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on Hammitt, visit: https://www.hammitt.com/ 

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

*

This episode is also brought to you by Sendlane.

If all DTC companies were forced to turn off Facebook ads, they'd be dead on arrival. Why is that?

They over-invest in paid acquisition and under-invest in retention.

Luckily, Sendlane makes it easy to solve this problem. Sendlane is an E-Commerce Customer Experience Platform helping hundreds of DTC brands to tighten their existing customer relationships.

Sendlane automates personalized customer experiences through Welcome and Abandoned Cart workflows, SMS, Deep Data Integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, multi-store functionality, and much more.

Plus, they don't stand for lazy customer support. Their San-Diego-based team has an average 1-minute response time from a live human, making sure you never get stuck in a chat queue ever again.

Curious about how Sendlane can help your DTC brand grow? Schedule a demo with a Specialist. Visit https://www.sendlane.com/story