711 Cynthia Sakai: Founder of evolvetogether

0:00I am unwilling to give up, but I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be.

0:09Kara Goldin:You just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don't get knocked out. So your only choice should be, go focus on what you can control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world's greatest leaders. We'll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can't wait to get started. Let's go. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to The Kara Golden Show. Today, I'm joined by Cynthia Sakai, who is the founder and CEO of an incredible brand that I was not familiar with.

0:53Kara Goldin:And I am so happy that I have now discovered it, used it, love it. And it's called Evolve Together, all one word. It's a personal care brand known for its thoughtful design and clean, high-performing formulas and mission to make sustainable living part of everyone's everyday life. But behind the design is a powerful mission from Cynthia to create high-performing daily essentials that connect people and community and the planet. And I just love everything about this entrepreneur. She's a serial entrepreneur. We're going to get more into what Cynthia was doing before creating this incredible brand.

1:38Kara Goldin:But what it means to, I hope to discuss what it means to scale with purpose and blending clean award-winning formulas with intentional design, because I think that they've just completely nailed it. And her evolution also from going from a different industry to this industry, the personal care industry, is something that I know so many people fear. I think that they can't do, but it's really incredible to see what that Cynthia has accomplished with Evolve Together. So Cynthia, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm great. Thank you so much for having me. Absolutely. Very excited. So, okay. So let's start with Evolve Together.

2:25Kara Goldin:And if you can explain a bit about the brand and how it's different from other personal care products in the space. Let me just kind of go back here. So it was 2020, living in New York. It was during the pandemic. It was three weeks into the pandemic. It was the first time I was really scared of being Asian American. It was the first time that, you know, going to the gym, I was wearing a hoodie over my head. And we I had my entire team for the jewelry business. I owned a jewelry company called Vita Fede prior to Evolve Together. And at that time, like everybody else, we're like, what are we going to do?

3:06What is the world? What's going to happen in the world? And we collectively said, you know, we just want to make a difference. We want to do good. We want to help people. And very quickly, we started to, I had a friend, we were building a retail store in Shanghai. I had a friend of mine that sent me about a hundred masks, medical grade masks. And I said, can I get more of those?

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8:26Kara Goldin:Open phone. No missed calls. No missed customers. because he had just sent it to me and my family. And we ended up procuring them for the city and the hospitals and other frontline workers. And we realized that there was no medical grade masks in the market for consumers that were outside of the blue mask. There was a lot of price gouging going on. And it was just a very scary time where if you were wearing a blue mask, you were also getting targeted being Asian in the city. And we said, you know what, we have the creative and we have the team and the means to be able to start a daily essentials company.

9:08And we said, would we want the company to be when we don't even know what's going to happen in the world tomorrow? And it was really that before product and before everything, we wanted to make a really great company for people. And so when we started making our first daily essential, which was our medical grade masks, you might remember them. They came in blue, green, black. They had the map and then he had the logo here and then he had the coordinates. And the logo was created because we said if you could only see someone's eyes, you'd only see a mask. What did we want to see? And it was really how do we evolve together as humans?

9:49and the coordinates on each mask and products today symbolizes that we're all connected, no matter race, gender, or where we live. And I think more than ever today, then and today, it carries weight every day through our company is how do we connect people and do good in the world. And if you see all of our product, it says doing good every day. and it was really a reminder of how do we do that every day and really as we thought about product it was not really how do we get into the wellness space or the beauty space or the longevity space it was really how do we create products that connect people that people use every single day that's the daily essentials and that's how we came up with the deodorant the lip balm the hand cream mosquito patches, fog erasers.

10:43And then we really just built down to, okay, what is a really great company that is built on purpose and intention? And what does those products look like? It was really creating the best products that were high performing and that were clean, creating a product that was designed beautifully, but the experience of the product, match the actual design of it. The caps weren't too big, too small, where it was spilling all over. It was being kind to the planet. So creating our own fine fragrances. So it was really the purpose of the brand to us was so much more than just the product. And then the product had to be exceptional to really be able to tell our story and our mission.

11:29Kara Goldin:So how long was it before you moved then from mass to into personal care products? It was probably like two months. For us, we always wanted to create a daily essentials company for people. I'm Japanese. And so I loved Muji. I always loved the brand Muji because it It really felt like it was for humans and for living. And so when we launched the website or when we thought about the brand, it was never a mask company. It was really what is the daily essentials that people really need right now to do good. And they were truly medical grade masks. That's awesome. So product development. So you just mentioned that there were other brands out there that you loved, global brands.

12:23Kara Goldin:But how did you actually know how to create the products? And how did you make the decision on which would come first? Well, I think when you start a company during the pandemic, you don't really get the luxury of being able to have a marketing calendar and a product rollout, right? We really didn't know. It was really, we had an idea of what products we wanted to create. At Evolve Together, we don't just launch products, even today on a marketing calendar, meaning what's on trend. We really launch products when they're ready. They're made with purpose. And I call them almost perfect because I don't think anything can be perfect.

13:05but when you launch during a pandemic we really had four or five skews that we said okay we really want to create the best of and I I've always believed in not creating a hero product but creating a hero product for each and every product that you create and so we wanted to create the best hand cream and the best sanitizer and the best lip balm and the best deodorant and And I think that's why we've won 22 beauty awards since we've launched the company throughout all of our products, whether it's formula or design or others.

13:43Kara Goldin:No, they're absolutely beautiful and incredible. So which products did you launch with first then? Our deodorant. So interesting enough, our deodorant was something. And I always, when I think about product development, I always think about myself as a consumer because we want to build a company for people. I always say I want to make something that makes people feel good. I want to create something that when people actually get it, they feel really good about it. It's better than what they thought it was going to be. And so for me, that was really, really important. and the deodorant I just couldn't find a clean deodorant that actually worked that wasn't ruining my clothes that wasn't going on chalky that wasn't pulling at my skin that didn't smell like coconut like I just couldn't find anything and I was like there's got to be a better natural deodorant in the market so that's what it's still one of our hero products.

14:48And so they're very proud of.

14:51Kara Goldin:And then how long was it before you then evolved into more than just deodorant and mass, I guess? You know, I think the first year we launched more than I probably will continue to launch. We launched more really because when we had the mask company or when we sold only masks, we sold 50 million units of these masks. So you could imagine when you sell 50 million units of something, you are quickly known as the company that sells masks. And so I think that has worked in our favor because one, I was like, okay, we can't be that company that people go, oh, masks stop selling. So they just pivoted into something else.

15:38So in my mind, I was like, okay, we have to make a exceptional product. And every single time we launch something, I want people to be like, oh, not that mask company just came out with something else because mask stopped selling. It was because it's really, really good. And so I think for us, I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder with that. And then I think the second part is I really, you know, we needed to put together enough of a collection so people didn't feel like, oh, it's a mask and a deodorant and a sanitizer, right? Or it's like a mask, a deodorant, a sanitizer, and a lip balm.

16:12So I think today, a lot of people know us for our personal care. But in the beginning, we really needed to get something that would become a collection.

16:23Kara Goldin:So you launched your go to market strategy was direct to consumer. So how did you think about, you know, how you were going to show up and how you were going to get to consumers? Because I think a lot of people think, I want to create a product, and then they're trying to figure out, do I get it into Blue Mercury or Sephora? Or do I launch my own website? Do I go on Amazon? I mean, there's so many different decisions to make. And how did you think about that? Well, I was blissfully unaware how difficult the beauty industry was, to be honest. And I actually think that has worked in my favor. I just I didn't realize how complicated and how difficult this industry was.

17:12I really went into it during a pandemic and I said, I want to create daily essentials that are incredible products. And I didn't think about I didn't you know, I didn't really know. I didn't live in this world of blue mercury and Sephora and altars. And and that just, you know, I come from fashion. I've been in fashion since I can remember. I started my first company when I was 18 and my parents are in fashion. They're both very entrepreneurial and beauty was just something that was very far from my universe. And so really getting into it, A, we didn't really have a choice. D to C during a pandemic was really the only option that you had.

17:54And we were able to use our network from the jewelry company. And we had a lot of friends and influencers and stylists and celebrities that love what we were doing and they were wanting to support the company. We did a lot of initiatives in terms of we planted 300 ,000 trees with our customers. We partnered with 22 charities. You know, we did so much because we really wanted to make a positive impact on the world. when we started this company and today that it wasn't about where are we going to sell and how much are we going to sell and when are we going to exit. And that just wasn't the conversation we were having.

18:39Kara Goldin:Yeah, definitely. So building trust with customers in a category filled with overhyped claims and greenwashing. And I mean, let's just say it as it is, right? And I think to your point, ignorance is bliss to some extent, but once you're in it, right, you're thinking about it and you're like, okay, how do I deal with this? Because you don't want to bash other brands as you're doing it, but you're also trying to make sure that the consumer knows that you're the real deal, right? And I think that that can be really, really difficult. How do you get that message across to consumers. I agree. I think there's a lot of noise in the market.

19:29Again, not being from the space, I did not realize how many brands that there were and just so much of so much that there were. And I think for me, we've really said, okay, let's focus on us. Right. And I think it's a lot of what I think about in my personal life. You can go out there and say, I'm going to compare myself to everybody. And you just get down. You're like, oh, I should have been bad or I should have been here in my life or I should have made more money. And that becomes sort of an endless cycle of really feeling bad about yourself and not being able to be positive and being able to move in a direction that makes you feel good.

20:10And so I think on a business side, we think about the same way. We really try to concentrate on what we're doing. We try to keep the reason why we started the company alive. And so I think that's, you know, I think in the beauty industry, there's a lot of trends. There's a lot of nuance and how you need to get the brand out there and what makes it sort of glamorous and what makes it the new thing. And it feels like there's always that next new thing. And I think for us, we're really trying to build trust. And the way we're trying to create the trust is to create product that's really, really good.

20:49I think marketing is, you know, super important. But I think the product is what speaks to people. It's what comes into somebody's home. And we want that product to when somebody tries it and has it in their life and shares it with their family, they go, oh, someone actually cares, built this for me. Right. You know when you try something or go to a restaurant and you have this incredible dish, you just inherently know when somebody actually cares that plated that dish or created that recipe. And I do think there's something about when product arrives into your home that you know that somebody cares.

21:32And so for us, that's the first thing. And then from there, we go, okay, what makes us feel good? What do we want as a consumer? And for me, I'm really big on the idea of not following trends, especially in our home. I don't want to keep on buying the next thing and the new lipstick and the new this and the new that. I want to have, maybe I'm a creature of habit and I'm aging myself, but I like to have the things that I trust. I know the founder or I know the company or I know enough about them that I'm like, I'm good. I trust them. I'm going to use their body concert, their lip balm. I trust them for my family.

22:11And now I'm going to work on the things and put my energy into the things that I want to do in my life.

22:19Kara Goldin:Yeah, definitely. When you think about, you talked about all your SKUs that you now have. How many do you have now? We have eight. We have eight. So it seems like we have a lot, but we have four signature fragrances. We've created all of our signature fragrances in-house. And we're very proud of our custom fine fragrances. I love them. Do you want to mention what those four fragrances are? Yes. So we have Monaco, which is a dry rose and patchouli with a hint of mandarin. We have Havana, which is cardamom and wood. We have Terramina, which is orange blossom and jasmine. And we have Provence, which is lavender and chamomile.

23:08Kara Goldin:It's so, so, so pretty. So when I remember when I was launching Hint many, almost 20, just over 20 years ago now. And I got that first customer email that was saying, where have you been? And I'm just so happy that you're around and it wasn't a family member or a friend or, you know, it was just a customer that was excited about the product. Those are the emails that I think you save as founders and, you know, because you just, it's confirmation that you know that you're doing something right. Do you remember any of those letters that you received when you were first launching? Well, oddly enough, so a couple of things, I still read every review.

23:57So every single day I actually go to our Shopify account and I go to our Okendo and I read the reviews because I do think it's the best way to keep in touch with your customers and really understand what they like, what they don't like. So I feel like every week I have a new sort of confirmation of why we're building this company. But I think what I remember when we first started was we got a lot of phone calls because masks back then, people didn't know how to wear them. They didn't know what BFE and PFE and all these things were. And so I remember being on the phone with our elderly customers that were like 80 to 90 while I was having dinner and would have conversations for literally hours on like how to wear the mask and how not to launder them and how to put them in its protective case and how you couldn't, you know, like wear them every single day in the same one.

25:01So I still remember many, many phone calls of those days.

25:06Kara Goldin:I love it. So you're now beyond D2C, you're in retail partnerships that are incredible brands. How do you think about shelf space? Because it's always hard when you're joining someone else's brand, and you want to make sure that you stand out and show kind of who you are. Like, how many SKUs do you think you need to have in order to sort of show up correctly on any shelf? I think that was a question that I was most nervous about with our brand. Because if you've seen our brand, it's very minimal. We use tree-free packaging that's made out of sugar cane and bamboo. And it's not very bright. If you look at a lot of beauty brands, they're pink and blue and green.

25:56And my biggest fear was that we were going to be on these shelves of retailers and collect dust because it wouldn't pop enough, right? It would just sort of get lost. Luckily, I'm happy to say that it actually pops because it's not a bright color. And because it is so minimal, it's actually done the opposite of what I was afraid of. I think a couple of things have been really successful for us. The fragrances, because our packaging is tree-free, you could actually smell the packaging as you walk by the shelf, which allows for a really beautiful sensorial experience. The testers are always helpful because people can try our product, especially because we spend so much time on the details of every single one of our products.

26:50So we know that once people try our products, they're going to fall in love with it and they're going to purchase. And I think for me, it's having enough breadth of the brand that they know that we're not just a deodorant company, just a hand cream company or lip balm. And I also think for us, our retailers that are going to partner with us is really been exceptional, not just the retailers that are going to want to try one or two things, but really be bought in and say, I'm going to support you. I love what you guys are doing. give us enough shelf space to tell the story. And I think also having them buy fragrance has been really helpful.