831 Michael Marquis: CEO of Raw Sugar

0:00Kara Goldin:I 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. 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. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by LinkedIn Hiring Pro.

0:47Kara Goldin:Hi, Kara here. For small businesses, every hire matters, but so does your time. I felt that pressure firsthand. You know, a bad hire isn't just frustrating, it's expensive in time, money, and team morale. And yet hiring the right person can feel like a full-time job on top of everything else you're already doing. Sifting through applications, trying to spot the real standouts, second-guessing decisions, it can get overwhelming fast. That's why having a way to save time without sacrificing quality isn't just nice to have, it's critical. Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing only the right candidates without turning hiring into another full-time job.

1:39Kara Goldin:Posting a job isn't always the hard part. It's finding, connecting with, and screening the right candidates. Hiring Pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI-powered interviews for initial screenings. Their updated conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly 60 % of hires find a candidate to interview within a week. With Hiring Pro, you spend less time searching and more time connecting with the right talent. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire.

2:19Kara Goldin:Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Kara Golden. Terms and conditions apply. This message is a paid partnership with AT &T Business. Hey everyone, Kara here. Let's get real about those early days of building a business. Not the highlight reel, the actual day-to-day, the friction, trying to manage everything across time zones, across teams, across locations, and realizing how much depends on staying connected. I remember those days at Hint, a retailer call, an order, a decision, all of it. And you realize quickly, connection isn't a nice to have. It's the lifeblood of your business.

3:04Kara Goldin:As a founder, you don't want to think about your connectivity. You just need it to work every time. That's why AT &T Business matters. AT &T Business is the reliable provider for small business owners. And when you have that kind of reliability behind you, you can focus on what actually moves your business forward. Powered by AT &T Business, built to work. Get AT &T Business at business.att.com. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to The Cure Golden Show. Today, I'm joined by Michael Marquis, who is the CEO of an incredible brand that I was just introduced to called Raw Sugar. And if you have not tried Raw Sugar, you must, must, must.

3:52Kara Goldin:It's a clean personal care brand that has been redefining what premium looks like at an accessible price point. So Michael came in after an acquisition. He is not the founder, but he is the CEO. And after 30 years of experience across some of the biggest names in consumer and personal care, including Johnson & Johnson, where he worked on incredible brands like Listerine and Clean and Clear, just to name a few. He has taken that expertise and applying it to really scale raw sugar into the brand that it is becoming today with major retailers like Target, CVS, Walmart, to name a few. But what's especially exciting is that Raw Sugar is entering a major new chapter.

4:48Kara Goldin:So I will let him talk a lot more about that. But such an incredible brand and company and everything that they're doing is just so, so right on. So I love that Michael is here with us today to share a lot more about Raw Sugar and everything that they're doing. So Michael, welcome to the Kara Golden Show. So nice to meet you. Wow, that was quite an introduction. Awesome to meet you as well. Thank you. So happy to be here and love the fact that I'm in the 800s of the numbers of podcasts that you've done. That's incredible. So congratulations. It's kind of wild that in 2026, so many small business owners are still making post office runs or paying way too much for outdated postage meters.

5:38Kara Goldin:It's 2026, not 1926. That's why I use stamps.com. With stamps.com, you can mail and ship anytime you want, right from your computer or phone, 24-7. No long lines, no running out of supplies, just print postage on demand and get access to discounts of up to 90 % off carrier rates from USPS, UPS, and FedEx. You can schedule carrier pickups right from your door and get carrier compliant labels every time. No errors, no rejected mail, no wasted trips. It's perfect for business. Send certified mail, track documents to confirm delivery, and see exactly what you've sent and spent. For nearly 30 years, millions of customers have relied on Stamps.com to make mailing and shipping faster and simpler.

6:36Kara Goldin:I used to block out time every week just for post office runs. Now I handle everything from my desk in a fraction of the time. Stamps.com has genuinely changed how I run my business and I'm not exaggerating when I say it saved me hours every single week. Right now you can try Stamps.com risk-free for 60 days. Go to Stamps.com and use code CARA to get 60 days risk-free. 60 days gives you plenty of time to see exactly how much time and money you're saving on every shipment. That's stamps.com, code Kara. That's stamps.com, code Kara. This episode of the Kara Golden Show is brought to you by LinkedIn Hiring Pro.

7:26Kara Goldin:Hi, Kara here. For small businesses, every hire matters, but so does your time. I felt that pressure firsthand. You know, a bad hire isn't just frustrating, it's expensive in time, money, and team morale. And yet hiring the right person can feel like a full-time job on top of everything else you're already doing. Sifting through applications, trying to spot the real standouts, second-guessing decisions, it can get overwhelming fast. That's why having a way to save time without sacrificing quality isn't just nice to have, it's critical. Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing only the right candidates without turning hiring into another full-time job.

8:19Kara Goldin:Posting a job isn't always the hard part. It's finding, connecting with, and screening the right candidates. Hiring Pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI-powered interviews for initial screenings. Their updated conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly 60 % of hires find a candidate to interview within a week. With Hiring Pro, you spend less time searching and more time connecting with the right talent. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire.

8:59Kara Goldin:Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash Kara Golden. Terms and conditions apply. Thank you. Well, it's exciting. And I love talking to people about building brands and all different categories. So, and definitely you've got incredible experience in building and kind of balancing high performance brands too. But for listeners who may not know raw sugar yet, how do you describe the brand and what makes it unique? Yeah, I mean, essentially what we're able to do is bring luxurious, you know, high quality premium products and personal care to the masses and make them affordable and clean.

9:44And so it was founded over 11 years ago by two founders who saw the opportunity to bring clean personal care that you can only buy in high-end stores and in high price points to kind of the masses at affordable price points and started with Target, you know, who was an exclusive partner for more than eight years. And then as, you know, it gained traction with consumers and they really discovered the quality of the products and the formulas that were in there and gained trust in terms of being products that were formulated to kind of higher standards that are required by, you know, regulations in our country and was, you know, the momentum continue to build and we continue to build, you know, a followership and have expanded kind of into additional retail.

10:30So, you know, we primarily operate within hair care and within body care, as well as hand soap. And we have a great kids line, we have a great pets line, you know, that, When you're formulating products in kind of a clean way and you're trying to serve the needs of the family, it's kind of all members that are within the household and now they're interacting with personal care products.

10:49Kara Goldin:It's 2026. Banking shouldn't still feel complicated. That's what stands out to me about Chime. It's banking built for real life, not the outdated model full of fees and fine print. It's simple, transparent and actually works for you. And what makes it even more compelling is what you get in return. With direct deposit, you can access up to$500 of your paycheck early with MyPay, plus the potential to earn up to$1 ,150 in annual rewards. And it's not just about avoiding fees. It's about making your money work harder. You can earn up to 3.75 APY on savings, get up to 5 % cash back on everyday spending with the Chime card, and even access premium travel perks like airport lounge access and 24-7 concierge.

11:45Kara Goldin:Plus, you get features like SpotMe, which lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free and five-star customer support with real humans available 24-7. You're not just switching banks, you're upgrading to a more rewarding way to manage your money. Chime is not just smarter banking, it is the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free today. It just takes a few minutes to sign up. Head to chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is chime.com slash Kara Golden. That's chime.com slash Kara Golden.

12:43credit score. Results may vary. See chime.com for details and applicable terms.

12:45Kara Goldin:It's kind of wild that in 2026, so many small business owners are still making post office runs or paying way too much for outdated postage meters. It's 2026, not 1926. That's why I use stamps.com. With stamps.com, you can mail and ship anytime you want, right from your computer or phone, 24-7. No long lines, no running out of supplies, just print postage on demand and get access to discounts of up to 90 % off carrier rates from USPS, UPS, and FedEx. You can schedule carrier pickups right from your door and get carrier compliant labels every time. No errors, no rejected mail, no wasted trips. It's perfect for business.

13:40Kara Goldin:Send certified mail, track documents to confirm delivery, and see exactly what you've sent and spent. For nearly 30 years, millions of customers have relied on Stamps.com to make mailing and shipping faster and simpler. I used to block time every week just for post office runs. Now I handle everything from my desk in a fraction of the time. Stamps.com has genuinely changed how I run my business and I'm not exaggerating when I say it saved me hours every single week. Right now you can try Stamps.com risk-free for 60 days. Go to stamps.com and use code CARA to get 60 days risk-free. 60 days gives you plenty of time to see exactly how much time and money you're saving on every shipment.

14:34Kara Goldin:That's stamps.com, code CARA. That's stamps.com, code CARA. I love that you have gone into pets as well. So the company started with obviously one product and you've expanded out. So how has that changed over time? I guess, how many products do you have now with the core line? And how have you decided to go into these other categories as well? Yeah, the brand started with a body wash, a hand soap and a bar soap, mainly within kind of the personal care area. and disrupting the industry because at the time there was a lot of products that were sitting on the shelf that were using preservative systems or surfactant systems that frankly were not the best quality of products and consumers started to get more and more educated around ingredients.

15:29And so they were looking for things that were either paraben-free or sulfate-free or not using a certain amount of, you know, different types of preservative systems. And the team kind of, you know, developed those first within personal care. And you kind of go where the consumer allows your brand to go. So, you know, it's one adage is that your brand is kind of owned by the consumer. And so they can kind of react with their purchase decisions around where, you know, where they think the brand should exist and where they need, you know, a brand like ours to operate. It was expanded into hair care, it was expanded into things like lip care and lotions and went into the kids product.

16:04Because frankly, if you're listening well to consumers, they were saying, you know, I'm actually more concerned about some of these preservatives and what they're doing to my scalp. My hair seems to be falling out. that might be doing things that, you know, the quality of my hair, whether they're being color-treated hair or what they're seeing in terms of styling, you know, they thought a lot of those could be due to the ingredients that they were using every day in the shower. And so that's what led over time to expand within these other categories. Today, we're at about 100 products totally across.

16:33Now, some of those operate in retail. Some of them operate just online and, you know, in Amazon or on our EZ site. But things like our pet line are found more in pet channels and online than they are in the Targets, Walmarts, or grocery stores of the world. But we really have a deep knowledge of how to formulate great products that are clean and we make them affordable. I mean, it takes a certain amount of skill to be able to do this and be artful on the formulations, but be mindful that you're making every penny count and make sure that they're productive. And so, you know, we kind of go where the consumer is looking for that solution to come into the market.

17:15Kara Goldin:It's 2026. Banking shouldn't still feel complicated. That's what stands out to me about Chime. It's banking built for real life, not the outdated model full of fees and fine print. It's simple, transparent and actually works for you. And what makes it even more compelling is what you get in return. With direct deposit, you can access up to$500 of your paycheck early with MyPay, plus the potential to earn up to$1 ,150 in annual rewards. And it's not just about avoiding fees. It's about making your money work harder. You can earn up to 3.75 APY on savings, get up to 5 % cash back on everyday spending with the Chime card, and even access premium travel perks like airport lounge access and 24-7 concierge.

18:12Kara Goldin:Plus, you get features like Spot Me, which lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free and five-star customer support with real humans available 24-7. You're not just switching banks, you're upgrading to a more rewarding way to manage your money. Chime is not just smarter banking, it is the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free today. It just takes a few minutes to sign up. Head to Chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is Chime.com slash Kara Golden. That's chime.com slash Kara Golden. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services, a secured Chime Visa credit card, and MyPay line of credit provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA.

18:58MyPay eligibility requirements apply, and credit limit ranges$20 to$500. Optional services and products may have fees or charges. See Chime.com slash fees info. Advertised annual percentage yield with Chime Plus status only. Otherwise, 1.00 % APY applies. No min balance required. Chime card on-time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit score. Results may vary. See Chime.com for details and applicable terms.

19:12Kara Goldin:It's kind of wild that in 2026, so many small business owners are still making post office runs or paying way too much for outdated postage meters. It's 2026, not 1926. That's why I use stamps.com. With stamps.com, you can mail and ship anytime you want, right from your computer or phone, 24-7. No long lines, no running out of supplies, just print postage on demand and get access to discounts of up to 90 % off carrier rates from USPS, UPS, and FedEx. You can schedule carrier pickups right from your door and get carrier compliant labels every time. No errors, no rejected mail, no wasted trips. It's perfect for business.

20:06Kara Goldin:Send certified mail, track documents to confirm delivery, and see exactly what you've sent and spent. For nearly 30 years, millions of customers have relied on Stamps.com to make mailing and shipping faster and simpler. I used to block out time every week just for post office runs. Now I handle everything from my desk in a fraction of the time. Stamps.com has genuinely changed how I run my business, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it saved me hours every single week. Right now, you can try stamps.com risk-free for 60 days. Go to stamps.com and use code CARA to get 60 days risk-free. 60 days gives you plenty of time to see exactly how much time and money you're saving on every shipment.

21:00Kara Goldin:That's stamps.com, code CARA. That's stamps.com, code CARA. So when you decided to join Raw Sugar in 2022, what was it that you saw in this brand that just got you so excited that you said, okay, I'm in? You had been inside of, you know, a large J &J and working on a bunch of well-known brands, as I mentioned before. But Raw Sugar was a bit smaller. And, you know, you decided to really take that leap. Sure. Yeah. I mean, I think what's interesting, Kara, is you're a founder, right? Founders take a special skill. And I know I'm not a founder. There's the founders who get it, you know, the rocket off the ground.

21:51But I'm a pretty good pilot of take something that has gotten off the ground and find ways to make it, you know, to make it scale and scale where it still lives into the values of the initial brand, but also find ways to do it at a, you know, in a bigger, older way. And so I was looking for opportunities where I could find a great founder, a great, you know, investing group that, you know, fit to my skill set that I could come in and go, yeah, we can work together and we understand what, you know, my skills could bring to the table. And so that's what, you know, they were looking to do. They were looking to expand the business across retail.

22:32They were looking to improve the supply chain, build a team, get kind of infrastructure and systems together. And luckily, Donda, who is the founder of the business, has remained on still to this day. I was on a call with her right before we got on this call. She's still very actively involved. and she does the things that founders are great at. She is creative. She is visionary. She thinks about what the consumer needs and that's what her focus is. And then when it gets time to make it, ship it, get the trucks together, talk to retailers, that's where I can kind of come in and help her make her vision come to life.

23:04Kara Goldin:It's kind of wild that in 2026, so many small business owners are still making post office runs or paying way too much for outdated postage meters. It's 2026, not 1926. That's why I use stamps.com. With stamps.com, you can mail and ship anytime you want, right from your computer or phone, 24-7. No long lines, no running out of supplies, just print postage on demand and get access to discounts of up to 90 % off carrier rates from USPS, UPS, and FedEx. You can schedule carrier pickups right from your door and get carrier compliant labels every time. No errors, no rejected mail, no wasted trips. It's perfect for business.

23:59Kara Goldin:Send certified mail, track documents to confirm delivery, and see exactly what you've sent and spent. For nearly 30 years, millions of customers have relied on Stamps.com to make mailing and shipping faster and simpler. I used to block out time every week just for post office runs. Now I handle everything from my desk in a fraction of the time. Stamps.com has genuinely changed how I run my business and I'm not exaggerating when I say it saved me hours every single week. Right now you can try Stamps.com risk-free for 60 days. Go to Stamps.com and use code Kara to get 60 days risk-free. 60 days gives you plenty of time to see exactly how much time and money you're saving on every shipment.

24:53Kara Goldin:That's stamps.com, code Kara. That's stamps.com, code Kara. It's 2026. Banking shouldn't still feel complicated. That's what stands out to me about Chime. It's banking built for real life, not the outdated model full of fees and fine print. It's simple, transparent, and actually works for you. And what makes it even more compelling is what you get in return. With direct deposit, you can access up to$500 of your paycheck early with MyPay, plus the potential to earn up to$1 ,150 in annual rewards. And it's not just about avoiding fees, it's about making your money work harder. You can earn up to 3.75 APY on savings, get up to 5 % cash back on everyday spending with the Chime card, and even access premium travel perks like airport lounge access and 24-7 concierge.

25:57Kara Goldin:Plus, you get features like Spot Me, which lets you overdraft up to$200 fee-free and five-star customer support with real humans available 24-7. You're not just switching banks, you're upgrading to a more rewarding way to manage your money. Chime is not just smarter banking, it is the most rewarding way to bank. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free today. It just takes a few minutes to sign up. Head to chime.com slash Kara Golden. That is chime.com slash Kara Golden. That's chime.com slash Kara Golden. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services, a secured Chime Visa credit card and MyPay line of credit provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA.

26:43MyPay eligibility requirements apply and credit limit ranges$20 to$500. Optional services and products may have fees or charges. See chime.com slash fees info. Advertised annual percentage yield with Chime Plus status only. Otherwise, 1.00 % APY applies. No min balance required. Chime card on-time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit score. Results may vary. See chime.com for details and applicable terms.

26:57Kara Goldin:So what did you learn working inside of some of the large brands that you worked at, managing billion dollar brands? What did you learn about scaling? And I think everybody, you know, it sounds great to scale, but you have to do it a certain way, right? And otherwise, it's not sustainable, I think most people would say. But what would you say that you learned there? Like you, you learn the systems, right? And how did you, how did you, what did you learn there that, that could apply to not only raw sugar, but to anybody who's out there who's thinking about growing their business and scaling for the future?

28:16Yeah, yeah. you know, kind of deviate and continue to deviate and deviate and deviate and make things much more complex. And I think as a leader, you often have to make things simple. And it requires you many times to repeat yourself often and frequently around what the priorities are, what, you know, what we need to focus on, what winning looks like. And so I think when you're often coming in, you can kind of lay out what your, um, your go-to-market plan is going to be. And unfortunately, you can't just say it once you have to say it about 5 000 times to get everybody to focus and and get the um get the the business kind of uh executed on um on your plan but i think the biggest thing is to and it can be on a billion dollar brand or you can work on it on a you know a 50 million dollar brand and you know there's still a level of complexity that you have to manage and um i think your job as a leader is to always simplify that for the organization

29:10Kara Goldin:Innovation is always something that, I guess, whether you're a founder, whether you're a CEO running a company, consumers or even retail buyers are like, what's new, right? innovation, like come up with something new and there's a lot of pressure to update, provide something new. How do you do that without alienating that loyal consumer base? And how do you think about that when you're trying to manage and also grow a brand? Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things, and it might be a bias towards analogies, that I don't think you really innovate in looking in the rearview mirror, but it's good to know where you've been and be informed so you don't kind of drive off the side of the road.

30:03So I think many times people are trying to innovate by looking at market share, look at what competitors are doing, shopping the stores. If you do that, all you're going to do is copy somebody else and be second or third to market and your innovation better be a much better way of approaching the problem than just kind of copying what's out there. I think you have to look at some of those emerging trends and really get the right minds in the room that can think beyond what is existing today. But I think the risk, I mean, there is an element of risk management you have to do for an innovation. If you want to take your whole line and replace it all, you better be very confident that your innovation is going to, you know, kind of crush it.