Caldera + Lab has undergone a rebrand as it gears up for its arrival at Ulta Beauty as part of the beauty specialty retailer’s forthcoming marketplace.
CEO and founder Jared Pobre tapped Jane Smith Agency, which has worked with Patrick Ta, RéVive and Violet Grey, to create a more mature version of the Jackson Hole-inspired men’s skincare, body care and haircare brand, which will make its Ulta debut next month online with the intent of entering stores later. Caldera + Lab launched online with Neiman Marcus last year and is also available on Amazon, select e-tailers and independent brick-and-mortar retailers.
“When we launched, I had zero experience creating a skincare brand. The name, the logo, the packaging, it all came together in a somewhat unorthodox way and it wasn’t cohesive,” says Pobre. “With this rebrand, we wanted the brand to evoke the evolution of where we’re going and where we’re heading.”
Caldera + Lab raised $6 million in series A funding last October from HIPstr, the early-stage investment division of HighPost Capital. HighPost backs Equip, Front Row, Centr, Spotter and Magic Spoon. Caldera + Lab expects to hit $40 million in revenue this year, marking 450% growth over the last three years. Pobre estimates direct-to-consumer distribution is responsible for 80% of its current sales, with Amazon accounting for the largest portion of the remainder, but anticipates the DTC percentage decreasing as the brand extends its retail reach.
“We’ve had it on our radar to invest more into omnichannel and find the right national retailer,” he says. “There are a lot of really exciting opportunities with Ulta.”
Pobre poured a six-figure sum into starting Caldera + Lab in 2019. The bulk of the investment went toward proprietary product development and the brand’s team. The idea for Caldera + Lab came four years prior when he, his wife Stacy Keibler and two kids moved to Jackson Hole from Los Angeles. The dry climate and high elevation affected the quality of Pobre’s skin, who was then in his 40s.
“The men’s brands I was using for my 20s and 30s just didn’t really help and so I started using my wife’s new clean and premium women’s brands that were starting to emerge back then and was blown away by the results,” he says. “I asked myself at the time, why aren’t any men’s brands doing the high-quality disruptive work like women’s independent brands were doing back then?”
Caldera + Lab’s clinically backed serum The Good was its first product and remains its hero item. The brand’s prices run from $18 to $110. Two new products, The Great, an anti-aging lightweight serum and The Hydro Layer, an anti-aging lightweight moisturizer, launched in tandem with the rebrand. They feature Caldera + Lab’s patent-pending exosome technology that claims to deliver 20X greater absorption of active ingredients. Among the brand’s other products are The Clean Slate, The Deep, The Base Layer, The Eye Serum, The Body Bar, The Face SPF and The Smooth shaving gel.
This year, following three years in development, Caldera + Lab ventured into haircare with The Hair Serum, The Shampoo and The Conditioner. In surveys, the brand discovered hair thinning and loss is a key concern of its customers. The brand’s customers are primarily 40- to 70-year-olds, and it reports 95% of them are men purchasing for themselves.
Caldera + Lab’s marketing strategy leans heavily on Instagram and Facebook paid social. The brand generally partners with content creators and communities aligned with fitness, nutrition and wellness rather than traditional beauty. It partners with 12 to 15 content creators a month and has relationships with actor Frank Grillo and former football player Tony Gonzalez, who’ve been customers for years.
“That authenticity translates into content that resonates with our customers,” says Pobre. “Our priority is cultivating genuine, long-term relationships with individuals who share our same core values.”
For Pobre, Caldera + Lab’s rebrand and Ulta launch are important milestones, but certainly not endpoints for the brand. “Our long-term goal is to lead the change in premium men’s skincare,” he says. “That means more innovation, more proprietary ingredients and expansion into new subcategories.”
