Clean Beauty Retailer Shop Good Is Adding A Second Shop In The San Diego Area

Shop Good has another shop coming.

The clean beauty and healthy living retailer, which has been open 10 months in the San Diego neighborhood North Park, will be expanding within the region to the forthcoming One Paseo mixed-use development in North County beach city Del Mar. Set to debut on March 1, the second location will be 920 square feet, roughly 170 square feet larger than the current outpost, and house a treatment room, an integral aspect of the Shop Good concept.

“It’s been a fast 10 months. We’ve learned so much, and we have seen such positive results. We’ve seen profitability. We’ve seen month-over-month growth. We’ve seen the community enthralled with our message, products and the self-care offerings at our experience-based spa. We’ve seen both local and national exposure,” says Leah Kirpalani, founder of Shop Good. “All of these pieces give me a lot of confidence, not only in what we have built in terms of the brand recognition and the mission really relating to women, but they give me a lot of confidence that there’s more demand and more ways we can service our customer.”

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Shop Good will be opening a second location on March 1 at the One Paseo complex in Del Mar, Calif. Natasha Boote

When Shop Good, an evolution of Good Life, a health coaching venture and e-commerce destination Kirpalani started in 2015, was born, she imagined the possibility of multiple stores, but didn’t imagine jumping into a second unit so soon. Over coffee in May, Andrea Van De Vort, a friend from high school and owner of the fashion store Van De Vort, convinced her that One Paseo was a beneficial move for Shop Good’s business. The directory at One Paseo is filling up with national and local stores, eateries, and beauty and fitness formats, including Van De Vort, SoulCycle, Shake Shack, Parakeet Café, Drybar and Tender Greens.

“It’s been a fast 10 months. We’ve learned so much, and we have seen such positive results. We’ve seen profitability. We’ve seen month-over-month growth. We’ve seen the community enthralled with our message, products and the self-care offerings at our experience-based spa. We’ve seen both local and national exposure.”

“Twenty minutes after I heard her describe the lifestyle center, I texted my husband, saying, ‘Oh my gosh!’ He texted be back, ‘Are we opening in Del Mar?,’ and I said, ‘Yep.’ It was a gut intuition of mine. The opportunity came at an unexpected time, but it ended up being the right time and right place,” says Kirpalani, elaborating, “We are going to share a wall with SoulCycle. The customer will go to SoulCycle in the morning, grab a smoothie at Parakeet Café and, then, come into the shop for her all-natural foundation and a brow wax. It really feels seamless.”

For Shop Good’s first location, Kirpalani, a former merchandiser at Gap Inc., handled the design herself. For the second location, she’s secured Los Angeles firm Design, Bitches to translate its approachable, yet aspirational aesthetic to a bigger space. The basic tenants of the original design aren’t going away. Shop Good features bold graphics and verbiage, and a beauty bar containing a sink where customers are encouraged to try makeup and chat with the staff about their beauty and wellness needs. Products are arranged by category at Shop Good, and the categories are makeup, skincare, wellness, and bath and body.

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Shop Good founder Leah Kirpalani Natasha Boote

Shop Good carries 62 brands, and Berlin Skin, Osea, Moon Juice, The Beauty Chef and Botnia, a skincare line incorporated into customized spa treatments at the store, are among its bestselling brands. The retailer also sells its own apparel and hats, and has gained a following for items with the slogan, “Clean Beauty Boss.” Skincare is the leading sales category, and makeup and wellness trail it in equal proportion. Kirpalani is figuring out what merchandise mix might be suitable for Del Mar, a well-heeled, family-oriented community, and considering bringing in additional brands, particularly in skincare.

“The customer will go to SoulCycle in the morning, grab a smoothie at Parakeet Café and, then, come into the shop for her all-natural foundation and a brow wax. It really feels seamless.”

“The reason we are headed up north is because we know that there is customer there that may not be able to get to us as much as possible now, and she potentially could have different needs,” she says. “I’m going to be working on a merchandise strategy that allows for a slightly different assortment from one store to the second store. That will take time to build as we learn about our Del Mar customer.”

Shop Good hasn’t taken on any investors to fund expansion. It’s a true solopreneur venture, and that fits its history centered around Kirpalani’s personal health struggles. For about nine years, she suffered from weight gain, cystic acne, thinning hair and sluggishness. Kirpalani’s health improved as she dedicating herself to a holistic approach to living through eating well and using clean beauty products. She left her corporate job at Gap and became a certified holistic health coach prior to introducing Shop Good, where she maintains customers can make better choices without sacrificing enjoyment or their regular commitments.

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Shop Good carries 62 brands across the skincare, makeup, wellness, and bath and body categories. Natasha Boote

Kirpalani says her experience is “unfortunately relatable to so many women today. My story is the reason we exist digitally and physically, and there’s a lot of emotion tied to it. We can speak to women authentically and honestly because of it, and follow up with her to give her accessible tools whether it’s a toxic-free red lipstick or a cleanser rooted in arnica, goldenseal and witch hazel. We have her covered, and we try to limit the feeling of restriction as we cover her.”

“We all deserve to feel like our best selves, and so many women today feel that dealing with acne, food allergies or lethargy is normal, but, with the right resources, our bodies can mend and heal.”

Kirpalani believes in cultivating interactions in her store. They could be daily interactions between aestheticians, product experts and customers or during the three events Shop Good holds monthly that generally attract 15 to 35 women. To spark conversation, it turns to a questionnaire asking shoppers about everything from skin type to menstrual cycle. By the middle of next month, in-depth nutritional beauty consultations will kick off to foster prolonged conversations between products experts, who, like Kirpalani, are certified health coaches, and Shop Good’s clientele. The consultations are expected to be priced in the $60 to $70 range.

“She can talk about the concerns she might have because of her chronic acne or allergies, and feel that she’s supported and has resources to feel better. We all deserve to feel like our best selves, and so many women today feel that dealing with acne, food allergies or lethargy is normal, but, with the right resources, our bodies can mend and heal,” says Kirpalani. “I see beauty, especially in the all-natural space, being rooted in one-on-one communication and getting personalized support.”

Feature photo credit: Natasha Boote