Beauty Connect, is the leading digital summit connecting indie brands, multinationals, retailers and industry suppliers from across the US and beyond. In response to the diversity of brands that beauty and wellness now encompasses, Beauty Connect introduced the ‘best in’ category showcase to highlight unique and disruptive emerging brands. This years finalists included BeautyStat Cosmetics, DermaBeam Light Therapy and more. Beauty industry experts and leaders weighed and announced as this years 2022 winner of the Beauty and Wellness Indie Brand Spotlight Award.
Winner: Bushbalm is a skincare company that strives to be the #1 natural product line for your bikini line and underarms. The products are formulated to prevent ingrown hairs, soothe razor burn bumps, redness, irritation, dryness and soften the appearance of hyperpigmentation and dark spots. With thousands of reviews from Bushbalm customers seen across social media, the Instagrammable skin care brand continues to be a favorite amongst women for their pre & post hair removal needs.
“Sexual wellness and body care are making serious headlines this year. Our focus on the bikini line is clearly unique and being recognized for it’s potential. It means a lot to win the Beauty Connect spotlight this year, and see our category get recognized.” - David Gaylord, Co-Founder & CEO
We sat down with David Gaylord for an exclusive interview on Bushbalm and what it means to be this years Beauty Connect Beauty and Wellness Indie Brand Spotlight Award 2022 Winner.
Meet David Gaylord, Co-Founder& COO of Bushbalm
Launched by David Gaylord and the founding couple Tim and Melodie Burns in 2016, Bushbalm markets a line of natural skin and hair care products and grooming appliances specifically designed for shoppers who experience razor burn, ingrown hairs and dark spots on their underarms and bikini lines. Originally a team of only three, Bushbalm’s annual sales in 2019 were $150,000. In 2020, they topped $1.5-million, following their appearance on Dragon's Den. This year, the company is on track to break more than $10 million, with over 70% of their sales in the U.S.
David Gaylord is the current Chief Executive Officer at Bushbalm Skincare, and a former 7 year Shopify alumni. He’s a recipient of the 40 Under 40 award in Ottawa, Canada and looks to scale Bushbalm into a household name. With 10x more waxing salons in the USA than Starbucks. The company has a lot of growth ahead of them.
“Everyone wants to go to the beach, but no one wants to think about razor burn on their bikini line. It’s as simple as that.” - David Gaylord Co-Founder & CEO
What did you hope to gain from attending this year event as one of the finalists for the Beauty Connect Spotlight Award - and now, announced as the 2022 winner?
Bushbalm is about to launch nationwide with a major beauty retailer. As the company has scaled our need to fund the business has changed rapidly. At Beauty Connect our team met with beauty investors to further conversations with investors. Our goal is to find the right investor with deep experience in the retail landscape, as we look to enter over 6,000 doors next year.
What was the initial inspiration behind Bushbalm, what was the first product and why was it an idea worth investing in?
Bushbalm was founded on the principle that no one likes ingrown hairs or razor burn. With that we launched our Nude Collection, which contains an exfoliating scrub and targeted soothing oil. These products help with ingrown hairs, razor burn and post wax irritation. We truly believe our product line is important, as it gives people confidence to wear their bikini without worrying about irritation or marks.
What are some of the main concerns that you see customers are having when it comes to their private areas?
All the skin concerns Bushbalm focuses on are quite popular. From ingrown hairs to dark spots. However, the main challenge with our customer base is that these topics tend to be taboo, which is why we are spreading the word and breaking down these taboos on TikTok and Instagram.
How fast can customers expect to see results after using Bushbalm wellness products?
Depending on the product you choose our results can vary. Our new Hydrogel Vajacial Mask will give you results in less than 10 minutes with it’s formula and intense cooling. Our dark spot product line is meant to be used over time and some customers don’t see results until a month in. Our trimmer, well, it’s pretty instant.
How has the journey been for Bushbalm in terms of wholesale distribution and securing retail partnerships in scaling the brand?
We’ve built Bushbalm’s distribution in a strategic way. In the United States we didn’t focus on major retailers until we built a mass following on social media and a large enough customer base. Now that we are well established with hundreds of thousands of customers we’re ready to launch nationwide with a major beauty retailer.
As an aside to our retail strategy we are also well established in the professional segment of waxing salons and estheticians. We’re now in over 1,500 of these accounts who use our product immediately after waxing and sell it as a retail offering.
What advice can you give other beauty and wellness founders on successfully scale their brand?
The key to any business, especially a beauty business, is to have a strong product line and product positioning. The industry is quite saturated and having a ‘clean’ brand isn’t enough anymore. You truly have to focus on something and stand for something as a brand. Our mission to give women confidence in their bikini line is very powerful and seems to resonate. As a founder you need to find your purpose, and ideally in a category that’s large enough to find true scale.
Which Bushbalm self-care product would you like to highlight for readers to splurge on?
We just launched our most innovative product yet. It’s a Hydrogel Vajacial Mask, which is ultra cooling after shaving or waxing. It’s already becoming a top rated product and we are looking to expand this line in the future. In early 2023 we will be launching a significant number of new products, but more excitingly we will be adding over 1,000 doors to our stockist come March next year.