Hillary Peterson, True Botanicals: Looking to Nature – Well Made E123

One of the biggest obstacles for True Botanicals was the preconceived notion that natural products don't work as well as those riddled with toxins. To prove the potency of natural ingredients, True Botanicals invested in top notch suppliers promoting biodiversity and clinical trials to prove that these ingredients outperformed leading skincare products.

On this episode, True Botanicals founder Hillary Peterson talks customer education, pricing high performing products, her transition away from CEO, and how True Botanicals had to change their plans amid the pandemic.

“What we stand for can never change.”

Since True Botanicals launched six years ago, founder Hillary Peterson said she’s had to spend a lot less time convincing people that toxic products are out there. Education is such a crucial part of what True Botanical has to offer, but as a consumer, it can feel overwhelming to research every single purchase. Unfortunately, Hillary doesn’t see that consumer work going away anytime soon, but True Botanicals is focusing a lot of their effort on making it easier (4:13).

Before founding True Botanicals, Hillary was the Marketing Manager at Levi’s (10:43). She shares some of her most prominent learnings from the centuries old legacy brand, and what it takes to stay new while sticking to what you stand for.

Sticking to what you stand for remains key, even in a pandemic. Hillary shares how True Botanicals is catering to customers who are spending less time in makeup and more time in masks (19:50). Besides a slight content shift, True Botanicals has also had to delay their plans for retail expansion. Right now, they’re taking things as they come, focusing all their attention to meeting customers where they are (21:25).

Next, Hillary talks price point (27:32). At over $100 a bottle, one of True Botanicals best selling products comes with a hefty price tag, but it’s one that’s backed by science. Hillary talks through how they priced the product and why "It’s expensive to do the right thing." The natural skincare market comes with preconceived notions of ineffectual ingredients, but True Botanicals invested thousands in clinical trials to debunk them (41:59). Those clinical trials along with celebrity spokespeople and influencers have led to a level of growth that can make significant shifts in the biodiversity of their supply chain.

To end, Hillary talks about a trip to a sandalwood farm in Hawaii, future content that explores ingredients, and the tricky thing about sourcing frosted glass (58:25).

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