Building Word-of-Mouth in a Category Nobody Talks About

15:37Andres:don't know that i'll ever be an entrepreneur i love working for one but i see what it looks like

15:40Jazmyn Williams:i'm like oh i don't know if that's fun ministry so oh it is crazy it is crazy and thankfully my entrepreneurship goes more via the artistic side because I'm into more making music and things like that. So I get my, my, my, what's it called? My buzz out of that. But I totally agree with you. And oh my goodness. And Jasmine, also super curious, knowing the size of the company, which I expected to be bigger due to the endeavor that you guys are undertaking, which is crazy. What are you guys leveraging AI for? If you are in any way, because I know it's a physical consumer a product that needs to be created and tested.

16:15Jazmyn Williams:But are you leveraging AI in any curious or peculiar ways that we might not know about?

16:20Andres:So we're just dipping our toe in here, but understand that it's important and it can enable and unlock a lot of synergies and streamlined processes, which is important. And so automation is important to us. One way that we're using it is through consumer research and using certain AI platforms that allow us to gather insights faster and across different platforms and what people are talking about and serve that up versus yielding a study that might take three to four weeks because you've got to recruit and, you know, screen and do all of that good stuff. So I've been really excited about how it'll allow us to get insights more quickly and more thoroughly.

17:00Andres:I've also found that it's a good way for us to take the feedback that we're getting from our humans and start to categorize it, Pull it together so that someone's not sitting there reading every comment and finding a way to categorize it. But instead, we're just like, OK, we're getting all these inbound saying, like, we want larger, you know, pack sizes. Great. Let's catalog that. Let's, you know, document it. Let's get a count of it. Just allowing us to be faster and serve our humans in better ways.

17:27Jazmyn Williams:OK. Now, I get that. And AI really does serve its purpose when you need it to go through so many comments or inbound emails or what you're mentioning. It really helps save time and allow a person to actually invest their energy into something that is, although this is still worthwhile, it can be done by AI so they can do something else in the meantime that is so much better and it makes everything more efficient.

17:49Andres:So I get that.

17:50Jazmyn Williams:And Jasmine, in terms of the products you guys have, I know you mentioned a few, but like in your product wallet, how big is it? Are you guys planning to create more or are you like in a comfortable spot where you just want to expand and take the products you have and make sure those reach every consumer possible?

18:07Andres:Both. Yes. Yes, and. One of the things that's really cool about The Honey Pot is that we were the first brand to ever cross the feminine care aisle. And so I don't know how much time you've spent in what is considered the feminine care aisle, but when you walk traditionally, when you walked down that aisle on one side, you would have all of your period care products. So your cups or discs, your pads, your tampons, and those were made by a set of manufacturers or brands. And on the other side, you had your washes, your wipes, your creams, your sprays, and those were made by a different set of manufacturers or brands.

18:39Andres:And so we were the first brand to provide a portfolio that was across both of those categories so that you could get one brand that you trust with a similar proposition and promise across those products. And so we're constantly looking to offer more on both sides of the aisle, but being really smart about that and looking at SKU performance and understanding how is the market receiving this? What opportunities are there to either renovate an existing SKU or sunset it and bring something else in that meets the needs of the current, you know, human needs? Of course. And so we're always looking to grow our core.

19:14Andres:We're most known for two products. One are herbal pads, which have 100 % cotton cover, but then are infused with an herbal blend that is, I think, aromatherapy for the vagina and the uterus. And so it provides the reproductive system with herbs and the skin with herbs that are designed to provide a benefit. And so our cooling pads have a mint, aloe, and lavender blend that is formulated to ease period discomfort. And so we get a lot, a lot of amazing love letters from our humans saying, this has helped my cramp so much. My period isn't as uncomfortable. We also have a calming herbal blend that is for vulva irritation.

19:52Andres:So the skin, imagine if your skin was sitting on a pad for, you know, eight hours throughout the day, it could just start to get irritated. And so having an herbal blend that has ashwagandha, lemon balm, and lavender formulated to calm and soothe that skin. So all of our pads are not all of our we have a set of herbal pads that are infused with herbs for a specific function. We also have our cotton comfort pads, which do not have herbs in them, but still have that 100 percent cotton cover. And we often find that young humans will be interested in that as they enter into our portfolio and then start to try out some of our herbal blends.

20:22Andres:So that's on the period care side. On the vaginal wellness side, we have washes and wipes that are formulated to maintain a healthy pH balance. OK, so there's a vagina should be in a certain pH range. And so our washes and wipes help with that and to help to neutralize and keep bacteria where it should be so that you can be comfortable and cozy. And so that in that space, we're looking at other opportunities to address other need states that that our humans send to us. And so we're constantly looking at how are the current SKUs performing? How's our portfolio looking? What are the opportunities for innovation?

20:56Andres:with Beatrice, our founder, being an innovator in and of herself. She's also our chief innovation officer. And so she's always with our VP of innovation in the lab to say, what more can we do? How can we push, get more science and more plants together to solve human needs?

21:12Jazmyn Williams:Wow. I love how you explain to me how the aisles work in the United States, because I'm in Argentina, so aisles are not as organized as the ones you're portraying to me. but I love how you have both sides of the aisle covered it's just amazing and I really do understand that there's a lot of value when a customer falls in love with one of your products being able to be the brand and the logo and something else creates a higher fidelity because they really trust you guys already and it's just like I'm not going to choose this weird one but I'll take the honeypot since it's already worked with this other exactly you're getting it I'm

21:47Andres:You know this market. If we need someone in Argentina, I know who I'm calling. Of course.

21:53Jazmyn Williams:Now, I'm at your service. But also, now, you mentioned at one point that when, like, the consumers, they start using your products, it raised another question in my head. And, like, what is the main demographics you serve? I know it's females, but do you have a certain age range that are the people that buy most of your products? Or are you being like being in the at the beginning of the journey for women when they start in with having all these conditions and things that start happening to them? Is the honeypot always there?

22:20Andres:So we say that we serve the life cycle of a vagina, every age and every stage. And so really, you think about it from first period all the way through menopause. And so what our core, you could say, our core consumer follows our founder's kind of age demographic in that, you know, when she was creating, she was bringing humans along who were very much in her age. So we've got a really strong demographic within like the elder millennials, myself included, and the millennials, but also Gen Z. We're a huge, huge favorite with Gen Z. And we're starting to, you know, recruit Gen Alpha as we get first period occurrences and hoping that they choose the honeypot.

22:55Andres:And so we serve every age and stage and every instance that happens. You know, not everything is considered a condition. It could just be like you start becoming sexually active and all of a sudden that introduces new things into your vaginal microbiome that can throw off pH. And so being able to have education about what is happening to your body, the science of your reproductive system, as well as the vaginal microbiome to understand why things might be off and what you can do to get them back to a healthy, balanced state.

23:24Jazmyn Williams:Of course. Of course. Now, I totally get that. And that is so cool. And having Gen Z like you guys is just great because they can be stingy sometimes and it's a hard demographic to gain their trust at their fidelity. So that has you set for a while.

23:40Andres:Well, yes, but we know we have to be real, right? We can't just say it. We've got to live it. And that's one of the aspects of showing up on their college campuses or on their feed from their friends who are like, oh, I just got my Honeypot. I love Honeypot. So we're a very digital first brand. That's how we came to market. And so digital is very important to us. And most people find out about Honeypot through social media.

24:04Jazmyn Williams:Amazing. And that really just stems and leads into my other question, which is, Jasmine, what digital channels are working best for you? Is there a certain social media platform that you feel is the one that generates the most conversions or brings most clients? Or is everything pretty standardized and everything's working?

24:20Andres:Oh, I mean, everything works in different ways, right? So we found that our D2C is not the, you know, that's not where the majority of our sales are coming from. We're traditionally a brick and mortar. But what people will do is go to our website and learn and spend some time understanding, okay, what is, what do you mean herbal pads? Exactly what am I getting myself into? And then they might walk into their local store to purchase us. And so that is a really important channel for us for discovery and, you know, to build that consideration and that trust. social media both TikTok and Instagram have been very very helpful in allowing us to just reach like drive awareness you've got people who are passionate who love the honeypot who will post about it or are influencers who will create really fun and cool content that gets someone honestly just to trigger and say I've never thought about switching the product that my mom used and my big sister used and now I use maybe I should because this video got me to think a little bit differently and so that's really important from like an awareness and a consideration piece as well.

25:19Andres:And then we also invest heavily in all of the paid media that is really focused on driving conversion. So, you know, display ads and sponsored ads so that we just remain top of mind so that we know that it takes seven to 10 touch points for someone to purchase a brand. And so it can't just be the, you see it once on social media and you're like, I'm going to go buy that. And so it's a little bit of everything. Oh, I'm curious. Let me go to their website. Okay. Now I'm getting served ads. Okay. This is a different ad. This is making me think differently. All right.

25:44Jazmyn Williams:You know what? something that I will, me as a dude, I had never considered. But it's so true that it's like these brands have a legacy within families because the mom teaches her daughter how to take care of herself with these things that happen. And it's like, yeah, no, just use this brand. And it's just something that's passed down as a mother's teaching to her daughter. But then they never actually reconsider. Wait, should I go on to use a natural one? Maybe then the daughter puts her mother on the honeypot company. That happens.

26:15Andres:Yes, that happens all the time on the girls. we've had a 17 year, I met a mom and I'm like, oh, how did you learn about the honeypot? She said, my 17 year old daughter was like, mom, you, this isn't it. You got to switch it. And so that's the power and the beauty of Gen Z that the younger generations are so empowered and they want to care for their family too and say, hey, I learned about this. You know, I'm not going to shame you, mom. I'm going to, I'm going to put you on. We're going to do this together.

26:39Jazmyn Williams:Oh my God. I love that. I love that. But I just see it so clear. I'm like, duh, it needs to happen.

26:45Andres:And you know what's interesting that I, back when I say about some of the career moves that I made, when I think about what I used to do at Coke and Meta and what I do now, I live in Atlanta. There's not a day that goes by without seeing Coca-Cola. You'll see a Coca-Cola truck, someone's wearing a shirt, someone's holding the can. Obviously living in Atlanta, that makes a difference because that's where it's headquartered. But still, Coca-Cola is very recognized. Facebook Meta, most people know. One of those platforms, apps, or using WhatsApp, whatever. The products that I am now responsible for driving awareness, consideration, and purchase of typically live in very dark places.

27:19Andres:And I don't mean dark and bad. I mean physically under the bathroom counter in the zip pocket of your purse. So you can go a whole day and not see Honey Pop, but someone could be using it, carrying it, having it. And so my job is to bring those out more to the light and make sure that people are aware that we don't feel that there is a stigma around these products. Not saying that someone needs to walk around with a tampon in their hand, but also that we take away the shame of that. Because that is also, I know friend groups, close friend groups who don't know which products they're using and are like, girl, you're not using the cooling pads and your cramps are hurting.

27:53Andres:Girl, try this. So it's that challenge that I actually love because it's a little bit harder to market something that is not widely broadcasted on a daily basis.

28:05Jazmyn Williams:And that is something that is seen and that's organic marketing. But you're so right when you point out the fact that these products always remain a bit more low key in a person's life and in their day to day. So they're not really showing it off. But it is beautiful that you're able to ignite and help start these conversations in between people that know each other so that it's that. There's not that much taboo into, oh, I'm in my days right now and you don't want to talk about the tampons or the pads you're using. But it really does open up. And I believe the Honeypot Company brings a vibe that it's something that people want to talk about because it's just so cool.

28:39Jazmyn Williams:And when I hear you talk about it as well, it's like there is no shame or no weirdness in this topic. It's just something natural.

28:45Andres:And how can we expect our young girls and young women to be empowered to take care of themselves and treat themselves with the most care if a part of their natural being is being shamed, you know, and stigmatized? And so it's very important. I have two daughters. They're seven and five. You know, that I think about what kind of world I want them to grow up in, what I want their friends to grow up in, and how I want them to be able to help each other and share. If you're having a challenge with a certain, you know, health issue, whatever, whether it's reproductive related or not, you should be able to find a safe place to talk about it.

29:18Andres:And someone might be able to help point you in the right direction or introduce you to a product that can change your life.

29:23Jazmyn Williams:Of course. Of course. No, and that's the way that most people learn rather of, obviously, by reading, by investigating, but word of mouth and from somebody of confidence that you trust, that they recommend something to you in those moments where you just don't know what to do. That's when it has the most value.

29:39Andres:It's one of our top three ways that people come to social media. Word of mouth, you know.

29:46Jazmyn Williams:Of course, I can only imagine, but it's just so true when you mentioned that it's something that remains a bit more in the hidden side of people's lives because they don't mention it. that much. So it usually comes in that fashion. And Jasmine, I'm noticing that we're almost at time here with the show. Oh my goodness.

30:01Andres:I know, time flew by. Time flies when you're talking about periods and pads.

30:07Jazmyn Williams:But before I do let you go, I did want to give you the space to just reiterate and let anybody who's listening here know if it's a father of his daughters or if it's a daughter, if it's a mother, how can they go about learning about your products and finding them in the United States or internationally.

30:24Andres:Oh, thank you so much for this opportunity to do a little plug. So if you are in the, well, anyone can learn about us from thehoneypot.co. And if you're interested in purchasing products, you can do so in the United States at Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Sprouts, Kroger, grocery stores. I mean, almost every place that you can purchase a personal care product. We also are available on Amazon. And if you are international, iHerb is a great distributor for us to reach our humans outside of the U.S. So very, very excited for you to give our products a try. Send us some feedback. We will look at the comments.

31:02Andres:You know, even if AI pulls them together, we will look at the themes and make sure that we are always operating in the best interest of our community.

31:09Jazmyn Williams:Amazing. So you heard it here first, thehoneypot.co if you want to find out. And if not, just go to your closest retailer that you'll probably find the Honeypot Co products there. So with that said, Jasmine, thank you so much for coming on the show today, for providing your insights, for letting us know about what the Honeypot Company does and for telling us all of your background. It has been super interesting. So I appreciate it very much.

31:31Andres:Thank you, Andres. And I just have to give you a little plug. You've been an amazing host. I think a lot of people assume that a human who does not have a vagina cannot engage in this conversation. And you have proved that you can. Anybody can. And we should all be focused on women's health.

31:44Jazmyn Williams:Oh, I appreciate that, Jasmine. Thank you so much. I must say, I had a blast talking about this. I was not sure where the conversation was going to go, but I really clicked with it because even though I'm not a woman, I have a lot of women in my life that I care for. So I'm just going to recommend the Honeypot Company to them now. And they'll say like, whoa, where did you learn this?

32:03Andres:There we go. Thank you, Andres.

32:05Jazmyn Williams:And with that said, thank you. And to anybody who's here listening with us, we really appreciate you coming on the show for coming back every time to listen to the different personalities that we bring on and the different industries that we're talking to. So I hope you have a good one.