Ranavat Botanics Founder Michelle Ranavat On The (Mostly) Ups And Downs Of Distribution Growth

Michelle Ranavat, founder of Ranavat Botanics, is a logistics whiz. A massive snowstorm is no match for her skills at maneuvering prized Manuka honey from remote regions of New Zealand to the U.S. to put in her skincare brand’s Flawless Veil and Eternal Reign illuminating masques. Mountains won’t stop her from obtaining lavender from the Himalayas for its Organic Lavendar Tonique.

But even Ranavat admits scoring distribution at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus mere months after her brand premiered in August, while a welcome development, hasn’t been painless operationally. “My background is in supply chain, and I felt a bit lost. You have to send testers to everyone and boxes to each store as well as samples to get the team warmed up,” she says, speaking of entering Nordstrom. “It’s very complex.”

The pace of the retail rollout was especially tricky. In September, Nordstrom reached out to Ranavat Botanics to solicit samples. Ranavat promptly arranged for a meeting with the retailer and flew to Seattle from Los Angeles to court buyers. Her flight was delayed on the way. She was stressed about nailing her pitch and didn’t get a good feel for whether they’d pick Ranavat Botanics up. In December, the brand received a purchase order for roughly 1,000 units that had to be delivered to wellness outposts at 38 stores in two weeks.

“That was my first time figuring everything out. It was a big challenge, and I’m still sorting through it and getting accustomed to the rhythm of being at such a big place, and how I can make my process more effective,” says Ranavat. “They will order by store, so you will get POs calling for three units to this place or two units to that place. It can be a lot of work.”

Large retailers realize their infrastructure is difficult to navigate for small beauty brands and are making concessions to smooth entrances into their locations. “For example, EDI, which is something that they require for suppliers, costs you a lot of money. Over time, we will have to comply, but it’s nice they are being a little more lenient on some aspects to get us in the door. I’m not EDI compliant,” says Ranavat, referring to the backend inventory management system. “They are saying, ‘I understand if you’re not on it right off the bat.’”

Ranavat is certainly adept at adjusting on the fly to maximize retail opportunities. When the brand made its debut in October at Neiman Marcus as part of Indie Beauty Expo’s ShopTheExpo program, it swiftly whipped up Mighty Majesty Fortifying Hair Serum as an exclusive for the department store. The serum is now Ranavat Botanics’ bestseller at Neiman Marcus, and Ranavat reports it’s sold out at least three times to date.

“I had been testing the hair serum for a while, and I wasn’t thinking about doing anything with it. One of the best pieces of advice Jillian [Wright, co-founder of Indie Beauty Expo] gave me was that the Neiman Marcus shopper is a different sort of shopper, and she loves exclusives. I thought, ‘Why not tuck it in?’ I had no more left by the start of the second day in Dallas,” says Ranavat. “There was an immediate connection between the product and Neiman Marcus shoppers.”

The lesson Ranavat gleaned from Might Majesty’s positive results is that it pays to understand the unique attributes of customers at the different stores. “There is a lot of learning that needs to be done on how you cater to each retailer. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” asserts Ranavat. Another key lesson is to ready merchandise for the holiday season as early as possible. “I was very unprepared going into the holiday season. You need to be thinking about it at least six months in advance,” she says. “It’s not something you can pull together last minute.”

Since it launched at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, Ranavat Botanics landed at the shop Green Line Beauty, and Ranavat aspires to place the brand in rising natural beauty retailers. However, she’s not anxious to balloon Ranavat Botanics’ retail network. Her attention is directed toward servicing existing accounts. She’s visited about seven stores and aims to touch down in as many stores stocking Ranavat Botanics as possible. Ranavat is intent on securing the support of sales associates.

“I have spent a lot of time and money on the sales team, sending them sachets, and doing trainings and phone calls. I need to do more of that. They have the power to sell 10 times more than I can. If they love it, it makes it so much easier for me,” she says. “I also value their opinions a lot. They see an incredible number of products, and they’re enthusiastic about skincare. For them to be brand ambassadors means a lot to me, and I take it very seriously.”

Ranavat plans to expand her brand’s product portfolio, currently at 12 total offerings, including individual items and sets, by three to four products within the next year. “I want someone to be able to use Ranavat for their entire routine and, right now, it’s more focused on the masques and sprays. I want to go deeper,” she explains. Additionally, Ranavat Botanics is partnering with non-profits on a Claim Your Crown marketing initiative that Ranavat describes as spotlighting women with a “story to share about stepping out on their own and not waiting for someone else to deem them worthy.”

As Ranavat Botanics grows its business at retail and implements brand awareness efforts, Ranavat isn’t hung up on quickly reaching profitability and specific sales targets. “I’m not far away from profitability, but I’m not focused on it, and the reason I’m not focused on it is because, if I were, I think I would be doing things very differently. I may use different ingredients. I may use different packaging,” she says. “There are ways to eke out more profit, but that’s not my goal at all. Instead of thinking about how much I can get out of this, I want to double down and really invest in creating experiences.”