The Scrappy Outreach Strategy Behind Candier's $14 Million Retail Empire

0:00There is a reason why people say the whole face your fears, because if you don't, then the fear is just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

0:09Krysten Kauder:Welcome to Shopify Masters, your companion for starting and scaling a business. I'm your host, Serena Smith. Krysten Kauder started with personalized jewelry sold out of her apartment before pivoting to build Candier, a fragrance brand known for bold messaging, premium handboard candles, and a voice that's equal parts funny and feminist. Girl, You Need to Calm the F Down was our first candle and it really related to me. Since launching in 2016, she's generated nearly$14 million in revenue and landed on shelves at Ulta Beauty, Whole Foods, and Target. I'm a little investigator. Like I've always kind of been like that.

0:42If I want something, it's going to happen.

0:45Krysten Kauder:Today she's opening up about when to walk away from your first idea and what it really takes to build an indie brand on your own terms. Kristen, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. So I was looking at your extremely fun website and your candles have these like wild names, you know, girl, you need to calm the F down, which I believe was your first candle ever. Macho, my freak and my favorite 3am bodega hookups. If you've never, you must. You're also a self-described introvert. So the question for me was like, where does that bold, unapologetic voice come from? Is that inside you? Yes, I guess.

1:27I don't know. Like, girl, you need to calm the F down. It was our first candle and it really related to me. I deal with anxiety and it's just funny, like the way it blew up. We were like, okay, people love these real and funny candles. So we just kept adding on the candles and they blew up.

1:53Krysten Kauder:I think like with a lot of candle makers, the process begins with fragrance and then they sort of like build packaging and the other components from there. Is that the starting point for you? Or is it about the messaging first and then it leans into the fragrance and the other components? Yeah, it was about the messaging first. So we were first actually making bracelets and then And my photographer came to me and she was like, you know, if you want to make candles, my partner has a candle manufacturing warehouse. And I was like, okay. And then I looked at his website and they were candles made out of wine bottles, which wasn't really our vibe.

2:30So I was so close to just being like, no thanks. But I brought it to my then boyfriend, now husband slash partner. and he was like, you know, I think we can make these look a little bit cuter. So his background actually is fragrance at Abercrombie and also Victoria's Secret. And he has a great eye for branding and things like that. So, you know, after speaking with me about messaging and everything, we made the girl, you need to calm the F down, pink candle. It was definitely messaging first.

3:05Krysten Kauder:Fragrance at Abercrombie and Fitch and Victoria's Secret are, it's both like iconic. I mean, I think if you grew up in a certain era, that scent wafting out of the doors of Abercrombie and Fitch never leaves you. I will still recognize it from two blocks away. That's pretty incredible that you had Sean in your back pocket to help you with this. And I want to talk about that a little bit more in just a bit. But let's talk about the bracelet company that preceded this. This isn't your first go at being an entrepreneur. You were making these custom alphabet bracelets under the name Ryan Porter. It was a fully fledged business.

3:44Krysten Kauder:Can you give me just like a quick snapshot of that era, what you were building and how big it actually got? Yeah. So I do miss that era. Like alphabet bead bracelets are my baby. It was my first product. But I lived in New York City, got panic attacks, moved to Ohio, met Sean. He did art on the side. And we went to a like craft store and I saw alphabet beads and I was like, oh, that'd be cool to make jewelry out of that. And he was like, why don't you just do it? And I'm like, okay. So I was only working retail at that point trying to get my mental health together. And so I just taught myself how to make alphabet bead jewelry.

4:24And then I made an Instagram account and I think it was Seventeen Magazine that reached out to me. and they were like, you know, send us some bracelets that say like 17 mag or like yada, yada, yada. And so I did and they posted it on their Instagram and I could not believe I was just shocked. So from that point, I was like, I'm going to DM everybody. So I would go to the store, get magazines. A lot of people don't know what mastheads are, but it's like the first couple pages in a magazine that tells you all the editors. And so I'd find the editor on Instagram, DM them and be like, I'd love to gift you a personalized bracelet.

5:02What would you like on it? What's your shipping address? And if something came of it, amazing. But if not, whatever. So I got pressed from that. And then I also found I'd watch Today Show and Good Morning America and figure out who were the people that were talking about like trending items and things like that. And I'd find them on Instagram. And then I DM them the same message. And I'd be like, just keep us in mind for any like features you think we'd be a good fit for. And we got on literally like 10 times each for today's show in Good Morning America for our bracelets, custom bracelets. And that kind of just blew us up.

5:40And then I was like, okay, we need to make a brand name. I can't just be like a little Etsy account that was named like Kristen Cowder Designs because I didn't even think of a brand name. So when I was working retail, I would sit there when we were like dead and think and like jot down a bunch of words and names. And so Ryan is a big family name for me. It's my middle name, my goddaughter's name, my mom's maiden name. And then Porter means to wear in French. And I just stuck the two together and Sean helped me create a website and yeah.

6:12Krysten Kauder:The rest is history. Right. I mean, the thing that strikes me as really wild about this is like, it sounds like you started this like very organically and without really the intention of it blowing up. And then all of a sudden you're DMing these editors of these huge magazines and they're featuring you in the magazines you're getting on Today's Show and GMA. How were you able to scale up in those moments when you would get these spikes of sales? Oh, yeah. Good question. So honestly, Today's Show and Good Morning America would be like, oh, can you make sure that you can get these orders out in like one to three days?

6:49And I would just be like, yeah, even though I knew it's going to be like a few more days, but I did not want to lose that. So I would have a stack of orders and I'd be like, oh my God, I'm going to hate my life for the next week or so. Because it was just me making all these custom bracelets. Then we come to a point where I was like, this isn't really scalable. Like, I can't just keep making custom bracelets all the time, even if I like hire people to help me. It's just very complicating. And we also had a ton of brands coming to us for custom message product for like events or for gift with purchases.

7:30Like Nike came to us for product. Victoria's Secret, not through Sean. Like I found the contact myself. They ordered like 5 ,000 bracelets for a Snapchat like giveaway thing. And it was going like amazing. But I got to a point that I was like, yeah, this is going to be hard to scale. And then also, like, it was a couple things that happened at once. I also saw a competitor, which I didn't know was around, which everyone probably knows, this huge alphabet bead company that's out, was growing very, very fast. And so some retailers would be like, oh, we already carry such and such a brand. So we don't need another alphabet bead brand.

8:11And so that was a bummer. Um, but realizing that, and then also the photographer connection of the candles, like we, one short period of time, we did bracelets and candles. But with those two things, I realized maybe we should just focus on the candles.

8:33Krysten Kauder:yeah it's interesting you talked a little bit about also like the very organic nature that the candles came to be which is cool and i think it's a testament to you to recognize when there's an open door and you're like maybe i should walk through it you know but the bracelets to candles pipeline isn't necessarily like so obvious although i think the through line is that you have this messaging element right you had the messaging on the bracelets and you have the messaging on the candles. When you decided to go in the direction of pursuing the candles at the time, did you see it as a compliment to the bracelets or was there sort of a vision in your head somewhere that thought this might be the thing that takes over?

9:13When we were working with like other brands that wanted custom bracelets, you can only put so many letters and words on a bracelet. And we actually had added key chains for that reason. And so when candles came about, it was just like a perfect fit, like, duh, like, why don't we stick with candles? Because you can have, you know, a longer message.

9:37Krysten Kauder:It's a smart strategic decision. But we all know that when you're a founder, these businesses are your baby. You know, it's a piece of your identity. You never forget your first love and you never forget your first business. Was it tough to let go of the bracelets? Oh, definitely. I still to this day, like I get bummed like, you know, when I see a competitor out there and I'm like, that could be us kind of thing. But candles are like my new baby. And luckily, I don't see any other candles out there with our like fun, sassy messaging and personality. Yeah, actually, can you describe the candles a little bit for our listeners?

10:20Krysten Kauder:There's obviously the really fun messaging, but there's also kind of like the prop component on the top. Walk us through them. Yeah. So all of our candles are handmade in America, which we're very proud of. And a lot of them, at least our best sellers, like have molds on them. So whether it's one of our top sellers is Espresso Obsesso. So it looks like a glass of like iced coffee and it has like like ice cubes. And then we also have Matcha My Freak, which looks like a glass of matcha. Our very big bestseller is the birthday candle and it has sprinkles. And then what else do we have? Flower candles.

11:01So those are good for like weddings, things like that. So yeah, we like to put a lot of fun type of molds or embellishments in our candles.

11:11Krysten Kauder:It is super fun. Thank you. And who is the prime Candier customer? And has it changed over time? I wouldn't say it changed, but typically women from like their early 20s to late 30s. Yeah, it's girly. Yeah, definitely. What about Ryan Porter really worked that you knew to apply to Candier? DMing everybody, social media for sure. and also I feel like I'm a little investigator. Like I've always kind of been like that. If I want something, it's going to happen. Like I knew from the beginning, I was like, I'm gonna feel like I made it if I get Target and Disney, which seemed kind of crazy. But I just research a lot, find people, find out their email address format and message them and say it.

12:05Same thing like with Instagram. Like at the beginning, I'd be like, oh, I'd love to gift you a custom bracelet. Let me know what you would like. Nowadays, it's, you know, I think our candle would be a great fit for your store. We can also, you know, do a custom different message if you'd like. Let me send you a sample. And I feel like if you offer a sample and people aren't going to say no, and then you follow up and say like, oh, I saw you received our samples. Let me know your thoughts. If there's anything special you're looking for, yada, yada, yada.

12:37Krysten Kauder:I mean, it sounds so simple. Literally like do the research, find people's names, reach out, make it personal. What was your response rate in the early days with both Ryan Porter and then also with Candy Air? Were most people getting back to you and accepting product? No. I literally would email, oh my gosh, I'm not exaggerating, like 50 people a night. Wow. Yeah, I use that time at night to do things like that. And maybe one or two people would get back to me and one would say no and one would say, sure, send me a sample. I learned that if people aren't getting back to me that might be in my category, I'm going to try someone in a different category and see if they'll forward me on to somebody else that might say yes.

13:29And so like, if I get a no, it's not going to let me down. I'm almost like more like, oh, I want to get this.

13:36Krysten Kauder:it's interesting because you've described yourself as both an introvert and somebody who deals with anxiety that's severe enough that you were having panic attacks and yet you were engaging in this thing that's really terrifying for a lot of people which is like cold outreach you know it like freaks people out was there any sort of reticence or feelings of like what business do I have doing this? Or were you able to just take it all in stride? Yeah, take it all in stride. I feel like if I'm not going to do it this way, then how am I going to do it? That's how I kind of felt. Like I am not the type of person to go to networking events.

14:21Let's just say that. So I'm like, if I'm not going to do this in person, you know, I need to do it via email. So So yeah.

14:31Krysten Kauder:Safer with a screen between you. Yes, definitely. Is that scrappy approach something that you would still recommend to other entrepreneurs today? Oh, definitely. I mean, it's worked for us like the past, what, eight-ish years. I think it works for a ton of different like cases. Like we've gotten celebrities through DMing. We did a candle with Tiffany Amber Thiessen. um and then one of the first iconic I know we got on a FaceTime with her and I about died but um and then who else one of our first celebrities was uh Juliana Rancic she posted her bracelet that said Duke her son's name on it and it just blew me away but yeah I mean I feel like there's a lot of maybe pressure out there to be very professional and corporate-y still and no, I mean, we got our success basically from social media.

15:33So, right.

15:34Krysten Kauder:You experimented with using a PR firm at one point. You went in sort of the more corporate, formalized, professional direction. Did it pan out for you? No, I mean, they did get us a few features, but it just wasn't worth the money, honestly. Like I said, like sometimes even me not reaching out, we would get features before working with a PR company. Like we got on Forbes for one of the best candles, which was our birthday candle. And yeah, it's just, in my opinion, it's not really worth it. I feel like when you're first starting out, at least, you don't have the money for that. Yeah, I think it's a great piece of advice.

16:22Krysten Kauder:Not only that sometimes you have financial constraints that don't allow you to spend the money on something like a PR firm, but even that like when you might have the resources, it still might not be the best approach. It sounds like for you, going the personal route has just proved more advantageous this whole time around. You also spent some time earlier in your career interning at both Teen Vogue and Vogue. So you had a sense of how journalism and magazines work. Do you have any tips for crafting the kind of reach out messages that people might actually respond to? What to include, how long they should be, tone, anything of that nature?

17:08Yeah. So short, I feel like is definitely the best way to go. You know, these editors get pitched a million times a day and you just need to get to the point. I always keep mine literally like three or four sentences. The last sentence is always like, you know, I'd love to send over the product if you're interested. Other thing I was going to say is learn what a masthead is and look for the editor's name in the magazines.

17:35Krysten Kauder:I mean, if you haven't picked up a physical magazine in a little while, this probably sounds pretty antiquated. But the masthead is generally in like the first couple of pages. It's where all of the editors and like major staff on a magazine are listed. It's important. We have to explain what it is, you know? I know. It's crazy. And then like, you know, a lot of, how do I say, like the digital world today, you know, you need to go on like popsugar.com and see what people are writing about to find those editors because they write for, you know, usually multiple different websites. so you know pay attention to who's writing what and then pitch that person and with urban outfitters right and then you got into all these other retailers which we'll talk about as well but with urban outfitters was that you reaching out to them or did they find you they found us just like 17 wild yeah i know it is wild i don't know how honestly to this day i don't know how she us, but because we weren't that big back then when she did.

18:44And then Whole Foods, though. So this is another thing. We got into Alta through a broker at a trade show. But, and you know, you have to like pay them a commission and everything. And I'm kind of looking back like, oh, I wish I didn't do that. I probably could have gotten Alta by myself because.

19:04Krysten Kauder:You're scrappy. Yes. And Whole Foods I got myself. Again, I use the same principle. I just tried to find the buyer in my department, which was like home decor, but you can also try adjacent categories. so I remember just emailing pitching ourselves and like what's great about our candles and kind of name dropping like people who have you know worked with us and things like that and Whole Foods is different they were very professional like okay yeah just send us um or no you have to go through the portal you have to like you know make this actual powerpoint of like each product so like one candle and everything about it like the pricing when it's made of the case pack the blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

19:52And I was like, oh man, this is going to take forever. And they're probably just saying this to blow me off, but I did it. And then I followed up on my samples and it was so weird. They just like email me back and they're like, you're approved. And this is how many candles we want to order and blah, blah, blah. So I didn't need like a sales rep or anything for that, but we do have, it was funny when we first started out and we went to like a couple trade shows ourselves, not really knowing what we were doing. And then a girl reached out to us and she was like, you know, I saw your candles on Instagram at a retailer I work with.

20:29Like I rep brands, like I want to rep your brand. And her name's Genevieve and she's amazing. And she's very outgoing, which is totally opposite of me. Like at trade shows, I'm always like kind of like shy. Anyway, she was like, I'd love to rep your brand. And so after meeting with her a few times, she is our east coast rep and goes to all the trade shows for us and gets us in all the cool smaller boutiques throughout the east coast and then maybe i don't know a few months later another girl reached out to us and her name's ariel and she's like i'd love to rep your brand for the west coast i'm like sure so the sales reps are amazing especially for getting you into other stores that you might not have thought of.

21:16Krysten Kauder:How long did you spend as purely a D2C brand before retail came into the picture? Maybe a couple years for the bracelets. But then like once we launched candles, it was almost immediate that we were in retailers. Wow, that's really wild. You know, I think that transition from D2C to retail is a really complex one often and requires systems and processes and the ability to scale in a way that you have way more control over when it's D2C. You didn't start with the tiny little mom and pop shops, right? Like you started with urban outfitters and then you got into Whole Foods. Like that's major. What did you have to do to scale up appropriately?

22:04Well, we are very, very lucky from like the get-go. we found a manufacturer that was pretty new and scrappy. And we grew with them and they were local. I was living in Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, and we met them actually just like at a random market. And I was like, would you like to make candles for us? And they were like, yeah. And we grew their little warehouse to bigger and bigger and bigger. And to this day, for the past, I mean, the whole time we've known them, they've only made our candles. And so it's been amazing because when you work with like a huge manufacturer, you need to pay for everything up front.

22:44And that's kind of impossible because a lot of retailers, you know, are, they're not going to pay you for like 30 days or 60 days, things like that. But they actually had let us pay once we get paid. so it was a perfect kind of fit and we grew together wow that's incredible I love I love