Beekeeping Mother Of Three Kate Solomon Is Growing Babo Botanicals At Whole Foods, Amazon And Elsewhere

The idea for Babo Botanicals germinated while founder Kate Solomon was pregnant with her first of three children, not coincidentally a life change leading many women to reevaluate their personal care purchasing choices. Now eight years old, the brand aimed at mothers like Solomon has established itself at natural retailers across the country, including Whole Foods, where it’s rolling out to 450 stores this month, and is expanding at conventional stores, too. It’s mineral sunscreens in particular have been a catalyst for growth, which Babo Botanicals is registering in the high double digits. “We are a family brand and that positions us uniquely in the marketplace,” says Solomon. “We have products for babies through adults with sensitive skin. That opens us up to a lot of different avenues.” Beauty Independent spoke with her about how Babo Botanicals got its name, the evolution of the sun-care segment, the difficulty of distributing to small independent salons and stores, the importance of Amazon and her sweet holiday gifts.

What were you doing before you launched your brand?

I joined the Peace Corps and, when I came back from the Peace Corps, I wanted to merge social responsibility and my passion for developing products. I had met several Avon ladies when I was in Paraguay, where I was in the Peace Corps, and I really liked the mission of Avon to help women entrepreneurs sell products around the world and make their own income. I went to Avon and worked there from 1998 to 2000. I was in the global product development team. I started as an intern and, after a month, I was hired as assistant manager. I’m friends still with everybody that was on my team there. Then, I caught the bug to learn more, so I applied to business school and went. I had a two-month internship at LVMH during business school in fine fragrances and, from business school, I ended up at L’Oréal. I wanted to work for a global company that was an expert at development great brands and products. I was there for seven years. I worked on several haircare brands in the professional sector. My last assignment was in skincare.

When did you conceptualize Babo Botanicals?

My goal was always to develop natural products. I was super interested in working with natural ingredients like bee byproducts because I was a beekeeper. I would make a lot with honey, beeswax and propolis, and I did that in the Peace Corps. I don’t know if I was interested in beauty per se as much as natural products. People from my L’Oréal days would remember me being passionate about natural products. I had a desire to work in that business, and it really came to fruition when I was pregnant in 2007. I became really interested in the baby and children’s category, and I felt that there was a huge opportunity in it that wasn’t being addressed.

You’re a beekeeper?

I grew up with my father beekeeping all my life. I have very fond memories of my childhood beekeeping, and I taught rural farmers beekeeping in Paraguay during the Peace Corps. My dad still has bees, and I help him harvest the honey. This weekend, I will be in my bee outfit harvesting 300 pounds of honey. Now, my kids are involved. To everyone I work with, my holiday gift is the Solomon honey.

When did you start developing the brand?

I had my first born in 2007, and my second born in 2008. I had begun to noodle the idea when I was pregnant in 2007 and, after I had my son, it really kicked into high gear. I started working on the branding, formulas and packaging. My son, who was 10 months old, carried around a snuggle bunny I had bought for him. He started calling it babo, and I thought, “That’s a great name for my company.” I launched in 2010.

What did you launch Babo Botanicals with?

I launched with 10 SKUs across four different ranges that spoke to different solutions. I had a moisturizing baby line with oatmeal and calendula because those ingredients help relieve eczema and dry skin. I launched with a swim and sport line with shampoo that helps remove chlorine. It’s a great purifying shampoo for babies and kids, although many adults now use that line. I launched with a lavender line for calming, and I had a lice repel line. We also had a smoothing line with berry and evening prim rose oil.

Pretend we’re a retailer. Give us a one-sentence pitch on your brand.

Babo delivers health and beauty solutions for babies, kids and adults with sensitive skin that harness certified organic and natural ingredients to deliver results that do not compromise your family’s health nor the environment, and we can deliver high profits, too.

Where did you start selling the products?

I came from the professional haircare industry. My first thought was there wasn’t a brand like this with hair and skin products for kids and babies in the salon segment. I started there, knocking on door after door in New York City. Then, I went to the pharmacies around New York City. C.O. Bigelow was one that took the brand when it first launched, and I’m indebted to them for that.

How has the distribution strategy changed?

Initially, it was to many, many independents, which is what I want to continue to do. I love working with independent salons and pharmacies. What proved to be difficult for me is that servicing independents requires a lot of woman power. That’s why many companies build up an independent salesforce for them. It wasn’t scalable for me. It’s been more efficient to build awareness to open regional or national chains. About five years ago, we entered Bye Bye Baby, which was a great way to build the brand. We have several great retailers that we work with in California like Bristol Farms, Lassens and Gelson’s, and we are in Fresh Thyme Market in the Midwest. We’ve been building the natural channel, and that’s where we really live.

How many products does Babo Botanicals have today?

We have about 40 products and various sizes for them. Products range from $9.95 to $22. I do have one high-priced item, our [$34.95] Nutri-Firm Oil for Stretch Marks, which is my crown jewel. We were one of the first to come out with mineral sunscreens about four years ago. Zinc is such a safe and effective ingredient, and I really wanted to launch it. Mineral sunscreens have become a large portion of our business, and it’s growing very quickly. Our Sheer Zinc Continuous Spray sold out, and we were out of stock for all of June this year with a waiting list. We are a very outdoorsy, active brand, and we really want to continue with that position. We have added to our swim and sport collection as well and, in the baby side of the business, we launched a fragrance-free line this past year that targets eczema-prone skin.

What do you see happening in the mineral sunscreen segment?

It has been accepted by the mainstream now. A lot of companies are jumping into it. I have seen this tremendous amount of education in terms of human and environmental safety. Now that there is a lot more awareness from both consumers and manufacturers, there is just a lot more competition. We can differentiate ourselves as very clean. We don’t have chemicals added to the minerals. In the majority of our products, we use zinc oxide only, and I think our products are exceptional in terms of performance. All of our products are formulated for sensitive skin, and the majority are fragrance-free. The whole family can use all of our products.

What’s changed at Babo Botanicals due to its growth?

I used to think I could do everything, and I could really be on top of all aspects of everybody’s position, but growth has required hiring many more people and consultants. That’s been a big learning for me. I’m totally dependent on every single person on my team from purchasing to finance to marketing. Without one of them, it would be difficult to run the company. I’m still very lean. I have six employees and several consultants.

What functions did you outsource?

I outsource fulfillment. I used to do my own shipping, which was incredibly labor intensive. We also use a digital media group, and I’ve been working with the same outsourced designer for 10 years. There are several other positions that I have consultants for, from regulatory to finance. I’ve worked with them for a long time, and they don’t commit full-time, but they work a few hours a week on Babo. Besides that, we can do most things internally.

What’s key to being successful at retail?

We’ve built strong relationships with the retailers we are in. I mostly communicate with buyers. It has to be a partnership [to understand] what’s working and what’s not, how you can develop further and ways to improve the relationship with customers.

Is your brand on Amazon?

Amazon came to us actually. We were a seller on Amazon and, then, I became a vendor. Amazon is a significant part of our distribution because it’s where our customer is shopping. When I started, Amazon was considered a discount marketplace, and there was a lot of pushback from having your brand appear on Amazon. The perception was, because it was a discounter, you couldn’t have luxury or premium brands on it. That has certainly changed.

What percentage of your business is direct versus wholesale?

[Each is] 50%. I think it’s a very healthy position to have. A mother is always going to go out and go to a grocery store to stock up for her family, and we’re a family brand. So, retail plays an important part of our business. Then, we have e-commerce for mothers when they aren’t going to the grocery store or can’t access the stores we sell in. We want to appeal to those mothers who find it more convenient to order online, too.

What’s been the biggest product fail with you?

A few years ago, I put the wrong scent into a product when we went to production. So, the lavender lotion didn’t smell like lavender. I think I bought the wrong fragrance to tell you the truth. At the time, we were making very small batches. It was one of those flukes that happened and will never happen again. We have systems in place now to prevent those sorts of things.

What’s been the worst day at your business?

When I launched the brand in 2010, I made my first batch of shampoos of 40,000 units. It shipped in January on a truck that was stuck outside during a blizzard. My shampoos froze and the tops unhinged, and they leaked. I had to have all shampoos cleaned. I would say that was a bad day.

What works for Babo Botanicals on social media?

We did a great campaign recently called the supermom campaign. We wanted to engage moms and hear from them about their superpowers. We wanted to award all the moms who are supermoms and gave free gifts for participants. We do Facebook Live on most Fridays where we do giveaways. We do all the outreach here to influencers, and I believe all moms are influencers. A mom who tells other moms about Babo is equally important as a celebrity. We want to use all moms as great ambassadors for our brand.

What are short-term and long-term goals for the brand?

I really want to keep the momentum going, continue to build strong partnerships and engage with moms around the world. Product development is my deep horizon, and you will see a lot more rolling out over the next couple of years. I want to continue to be a leader in hair and skincare for the whole family.