No Prep Needed Conversation with Melissa Kriebel

And it's just circulating. Okay, come on. Still circulating.

Here we go. It's early and we're live.

Good morning. I'm so excited to talk to you. A, personally, because I absolutely have to do this. Do you know that it's absolutely very— like, as far as corporate etiquette goes, never put your lip balm or lipstick on at the table. But that's another thing. So Melissa, welcome to Melissa. Melissa, can you pronounce your last name?

My name is Melissa Juried Kerbell.

Okay, so Melissa JK. As everyone knows, this is Adrienne Barker Speaks. We are no prep needed. So I actually— I just had received some information from the other Adrienne, and I immediately said yes because I grew up in the promotional products industry. So I find this fascinating. So Melissa, tell us a little bit about why you started a lip balm business and that you care about the environment when I would think all you care about is making sure the lips are soft. What's up with that?

So it's actually a sunscreen mixed with lip balm business. Um, the lip balm does carry SPF 15 as well. Um, I do have a 10 and a 14-year-old, and I can tell you to put sunscreen on children is very, very difficult, and it becomes very aggravating for the adult applying. And I always thought to myself Why not come up with something more fun and playful to where it doesn't feel like a task to put sunscreen on, not just for the children, but for the adults as well. And I figured Ice Cream Sunscreen is a playful name. You can make scents, flavors out of it, and that might appeal to children more so, and not just the children, the adults too. Because even for adults, I mean, it's difficult to put sunscreen on. It takes up extra 10, 15 minutes of your time. So why not make it fun and playful?

I love that. So you brought it up to your children. You said, what would make you enjoy this process? And then when you brought it up and said like the ice cream, what was their reaction?

We actually did brainstorm. I remember we were driving in the car one day and the thought popped in my head again and I said it out loud to where they could hear me. And we just started brainstorming together and we came up with ice cream, sunscreen and different flavors and The rest is history. Now we're here and they actually do have some products if you want to see. So this is the original. Oh, no, sorry. That's the vanilla scent. It's very mild. And this is the original. We're going to be dropping the chocolate very soon. And then we also, as you mentioned, the lip balms. So here's tropical. And then we also have vanilla original and the chocolate will be dropping.

I'm confused. What is the original? Is that no flavor?

So the original doesn't have fragrance because there are some people that are either allergic to fragrance or just don't want it. Um, it's, it's your typical sunblock, however very mild scented, to where if you were to pass somebody in the street, they wouldn't know that you have it on. So it's great. None of the products are oily, greasy. Um, from what everybody tells me so far, you kind of forget you even have it on. Which is great, but it's doing its job 100%.

And what about, um, when you go into the water, the pool, or the ocean?

So we recommend that you reapply after 80 minutes of either sweat or water play.

I— so I'm trying to understand. So, okay, so it goes on nicely, it's not, um, it's not sticky, it doesn't leave that residue that I don't— do not like. But so it has a faint smell of the vanilla or the You're going to drop the chocolate.

Yes.

Which means bringing it back on in case you don't know the terminology. And then what about like the third flavor, which is strawberry?

We don't have strawberry right now. Maybe in the future. We do have tropical, though. It's a tropical scent. And now the lip balms are great, too, because not only is it scented, but if you were— you can't eat it. It's not edible. But if you lick your lips, you'll actually taste the flavor as well a little bit, which is great. And again, very mild. And so far we've been getting great feedback and super, super moisturizing. Honestly, I use ChapStick throughout the day before I go to sleep at night, and I've been doing it for honestly decades. And this by far is my favorite lip balm.

So I really want to get into the juicy part of it is like, you know, what really takes place after you have an idea. But I want to ask you this because I grew up in the promotional products industry, so I sold lip balm and, you know, many different flavors and colors and, you know, but all of it always had like a logo on it, like This one here has the logo on it. I remember hearing that it was the scent that created the kind of the flavor. And I know in the promotional products industry this could have changed, but in the beginning they were saying that like, so if you use a strawberry, really wasn't strawberry, it was the scent that people thought was strawberry. Does that make sense or was that never really correct?

Um, I mean, for the lotion, obviously it's a fragrance, so yes, it would be a scent. For sure.

But your lip balm, is that actually— so it actually has a little flavor to it?

Um, it doesn't have any natural preservatives as far as fruit or the vanilla bean, so it would be more so the scents that crosses over.

Isn't that interesting? It's a scent and then you end up tasting the scent, which is really yummy. I love that. All right, so now, because we are on LinkedIn, so we're on LinkedIn and Facebook going live, and for anybody that's— first of all, were you an entrepreneur before this?

Um, I did own a construction company. I started it with my ex-husband almost 20 years ago, uh, started from the bottom and worked our way up. Um, then I unfortunately went through a divorce, then he took over the company, and I jumped into real estate. So I've kind of always done my own thing. Um, and then I had this idea and I kind of just ran with it, and now we're here.

So can you share what that means, running with it? Like, what exactly— what were some of the first steps? First of all, did you take a business class? Did you, you know, work with someone to get your business plan together?

No, actually. So I do have a degree in mass communications and journalism from FIU, which is in Miami. Um, and I also watched my parents as I was growing up. They always had businesses as well. So I kind of heard them over the phone, how they would speak with people. Um, and it kind of just branched from there. As far as starting this business, how I originated it was about a year ago. I just started researching manufacturers to see if there was a product on the market or if I could find somebody who can make something of what I wanted. And then once I found my location, it kind of just stemmed from there.

Well, okay, so then you— so the research is so important. I love this. I love business, Melissa. So I'm the chapter chair for SCORE. At any point, did you reach out to your local SCORE office?

Um, I haven't as of yet. There's a lot on my plate. I am a one-woman shop right now, so I'm dealing with the sales, the PR, um, the manufacturing, um, deliveries, the whole nine right now. So there's a lot on my plate. And that's okay. I like to stay busy, but I will definitely get there at some point.

So just so you know, at SCORE, we're certified business mentors. We're no charge. And, you know, they're fantastic to have on your side as you're creating your, you know, team or board of directors. Think of SCORE. You have a great SCORE office close to you in South Florida. Anyways, just, just, I don't mean to even plug SCORE. I'm really telling you about SCORE.

I appreciate it.

I love business. So I mentor a lot in businesses too, because that's, you know, we understand. So actually tonight we start, there's 3 of us. 4 of us actually that are starting to teach the entrepreneur class called the Fast Track Program, which is a 10-week program. So the first thing we talk about is your idea, which you had, and then the next is research, which, you know, because you had your parents, and obviously if you're a parent out there, this is really a good reminder that you are, you know, already being that role model and mentor without probably even realizing it. So Melissa, You know, your parents maybe didn't even realize that you were absorbing and being a sponge in the room. So you got— so now you do the research, and then what was the next step that you did?

Um, well, I set up a consultation with the manufacturer, met with them, went over numbers, went over different products. Um, then I went for a graphic designer to help me build the, the labels, of course, um, the design logo, um, came up with a slogan, and then we started working on the website.

So when you say you're working with labels, you probably had some FDA compliance issues going on. Did I lose you?

I— there we go. Sorry about that.

No, no, no. So I'm just curious. So, you know, everything— it's easy for an entrepreneur to, as you say, and it sounds so easy, but I can imagine, first of all, that you're— was it— was it like you made one call to a manufacturer, they said yes, or what was that process like?

First of all, just to find manufacturers, and, and one of my main things was it had to be here based in the US, um, for a lot of reasons. One, I obviously want to help out our economy, um, and for meetings and being able to get supplies, it would be quicker as well. Um, it's hard just to find manufacturers that are within the trade that you're trying to go with, and then once you find those manufacturers, putting the calls in, having them respond back to you, or getting the correct person on the phone is a mission. Um, but once I found the one that I was going to use, it's been working pretty smooth so far. So I'm—

interesting. Okay, so that, that's good. So just everything is not— nothing's so easy. It's not like, okay, I have this idea, boom, I'm going at it. So now you've got a graphic designer, you've got the manufacturer, you've got all the ingredients. What, what was it with compliance? Was there any issues with making sure you had every ingredient ingredient listed. I'm curious about the compliance side when you're with your— and your graphic designer, did they work with compliance to make sure that there was no mistakes being made? And the ingredients—

actually put in some calls on my own aside from the graphic designer as well as the manufacturer, just so I knew exactly what I was working with as far as like FDA approval and all of that kind of stuff. Um, however, the manufacturer that I went with is FDA approved, meaning that all of their products that they supply obviously are covered. Another thing, one of my first things that I did once I locked in a manufacturer, I ended up hiring an attorney to help me with trademarking, which took me literally a year to get approved for trademarking. It's a very long, tedious process. There's a lot of applications to fill out and a lot of different steps that need to be taken. So, I advise people that if you're able to have an attorney involved, it's definitely go that route. Let them deal with it and, and do it as sooner— as soon as possible, because it does take a while.

So, right, as you're telling people what you're doing, you want to make sure someone else is not taking your— were you asking everyone for NDAs during this time when you were talking?

So honestly, the only people that really knew about this was my mother, my sister, and my children. I kept it super quiet until I'd say about a month and a half ago when I finally had all the products in stock, and I was officially, officially launching. That's when all of my friends found out about it, the remainder of my family, my extended family, and the public. I love it. I just kept it quiet.

Okay, so how many proofs did you have to review before you got your final proof for both the, the lip balm and the sunscreen?

Very good question. Several, several. Because you have to proofread, and if there's something wrong, obviously it has to go back to them, and you may get it back after that and find something else that needs to be corrected. As far as the labeling, if you see here, I have this drip. It's a tri-color drip.

Yes, yes, I love that.

That in itself took a while. Even when we had them printed out for proofing, the drip either had— the gradient was wrong, or the colors weren't popping the way it was supposed to do. So it was a constant back and forth. It's not like a one or two time thing. It's, it's over months, honestly, between the manufacturer, the vendor who's printing the tubes, the graphic designer going back, and just everybody kind of working together.

So I love that. So people don't realize that. Yeah, so 35 years of the promotional products industry for me, which is creating logo merchandise. So I always thought that was the most amazing thing, that you would have a product, everyone's, oh my God, that's great. And yet the only people that really knew that it could have been a 3-month, 4-month design changes, all of that. So I love that. And then was it a long time to get the product? Were you getting samples and feeling it? Like, what was that look like for the actual, you know, product, the sunscreen and lip balm?

Yes, they definitely sent me samples before we even started anything. That was my main concern. Once I locked that in, and honestly, the samples, the manufacturer I'm very, very happy with. I have to be honest. So the samples were, were pretty good for the most part. There may have been one or two flavors that I kind of tweaked a little bit and had to send back for them to resend to me. Um, but that was it as far as the samples went. It was more so the labeling and finding the packaging that would work proper.

So were you— so this is interesting. So you said the only three people that knew were your immediate family. And then at what point did you find your retail establishments, or are you just selling strictly off your website. So tell me about your distribution.

So we just launched about a month ago. Uh, we are now officially in 6 brick-and-mortar, um, boutiques throughout Southwest and Southeast Florida.

Wow. Can you tell us what those are?

Uh, yes. So I'm in 2 kids' salons, which is Giggles and Zippity Doo Dah. They're both based in Boca, West and East. Um, and so far they've been flying off the shelves, which I'm very excited about. They literally just put them on their shelves prior to this weekend, and within hours— or actually, one of them within less than an hour sold 3 kits. What she's doing is she's packaging the sunblock with the sun— with the flavored lip balm and selling it as a duo. And they're going, so I'm very excited about that. We're also in a— oh my goodness, excuse me, it keeps dropping out. There we go. We're also in a kids boutique in my—

maybe someone important. Who is it? You know who it is?

My mom.

Mom, let's get her on the phone! Get her on the phone! Let's talk to mom!

So I screened the call so she calls back.

I love it! We should want to invite her to come on. That's awesome. Does your mom live in Boca?

She is in Boca. Yeah, that is fantastic.

Yeah. Oh, I love it, I love it.

Okay, we're also in the Children's Boutique in Meisner Park. They're actually doing a test run, and if it works out, they're going to branch out to the rest of their, their locations, which, um I'm really excited for this if they do pick it up. They're in Southampton, um, Manhattan, Connecticut, um, Connecticut, everyone.

I'm born in Connecticut. Oh, are you?

I have, I'm a Connecticut girl. I have, um, one of my cousins is in Waterbury, and my other cousin is probably about 40 minutes from there. I'm not sure which city.

I love it.

Yeah, yeah.

So I just want to say this: if you close your eyes and you think of one of the the nicest places to shop. Like, I, I don't want to call it— like, it's not an outdoor mall, but it's called Meisner Park because it really is like a park-like, absolute beautiful setting. I lived in Aventura, and my parents had a— my parents had an art gallery over at the Promenade in Coconut Creek. So very familiar with Meisner Park. Stayed there. It's absolutely— yesterday, what a place. Oh, they had the Barker Animation Art Gallery. I don't know if you've ever been there. Yeah, you have? Oh, that was my parents, Herb and Gloria Barker. My mom picked that out. So, you know, I, I understand the— I understand business. I love business, but I know that it wasn't so easy. So I want people to really realize that this is a lot of work. And then Melissa did something so smart, something that most business people aren't even smart enough to do, is you tell us about it. You thought to yourself, I need a PR agency. So can you just share that? Because I'm curious.

Yes. So I actually reached out to Transmedia Group, um, prior to launching and prior to getting my products, actually several months prior, um, just to kind of feel for what they could do and how we can kind of get this out there to the public. Um, and I fell in love with Adrienne. She was great, and we ended up starting to work together a couple months ago, and so far we're doing pretty good. I mean, she got me on this show with you, so I'm excited to see what else we can do as far as, you know, promoting the business and getting it out there in the media.

And so, Melissa, the first thought I have— I'm going to say this— is They really are the best in Florida. You could all be mad at me, I don't really care, because they really are. I mean, that's— it's just, you know, that's just what it is, right? So, so you don't go for second best, you go for the best, and, and then you figure it out from there. You have to— they are really a fantastic— and not just because you're on or that they, they offer me guests, but just that they really truly are. I had an opportunity to interview the owner like 2 years ago, and I was like, okay. And then I, I look, you know, you just Google them. They really are the best. So, okay, so now you've got your products, and are you selling them on off of e-commerce anywhere?

Yes. So on our website, which is icecreamsunscreen.com, you can purchase all of the products, um, and mail to you, obviously. And then, as I mentioned, we are currently in 6 stores, and we're working on several more. Um, I have reached out to big retailers, but obviously they want to see back sales history. So we're working on that. As I mentioned, we're in, in stores now, in smaller boutiques, and also online. So hopefully in the future you'll see us in major retailers. That's, that's the goal.

Okay, so I have a question for you. So now, like, I don't— I'm not an SEO expert by any means, and I know that I, through SCORE, I have sat through some different copyright trademark presentations. So you put the word ice cream into your name, does that— is that going to cause confusion? Has any IT or like, you know, SEO person said, okay, this is going to be a little trickier, we could do it, but let me tell you, Melissa, why it's trickier?

So it's funny that you say that because the attorney that I hired to do the trademarking, that was her first inclination. She's like, I don't know if they're going to approve because of the name associated with food, and God forbid somebody were to eat it. There could be issues. However, it was approved, so that's a good thing. But if you look at our labeling, there's absolutely nothing on it that has any type of visual of ice cream or ice cream cones or anything associated with ice cream. So how I see it, and I believe the attorneys from the Trademarking Association saw it, or USPTO, um, Any child that can read can obviously see ice cream, sunscreen, but if they can read, they'll know it's sunscreen, right? A child who's younger, they won't be able to read ice cream, sunscreen, and there's no type of visual of an ice cream cone, ice cream, so they wouldn't even associate it with that other than their parents telling them, hey, put this on, it smells like ice cream, and the parents would know to kind of school them. A little bit. So we're good on that front. Um, but as far as the SEOs, I mean, we're not really having an issue so far as far as posting and social media and anything online.

I'm glad. So, okay, now I never really thought about this part, but when I was reading some of the information from you, I was looking— so what is the— you're putting something on your skin, and then I guess it makes sense as a kid, or as a mother raising 4 children, I never thought what I was putting on them would harm the coral reefs or would harm the ocean or would affect my swimming pool until I guess at one point I remember putting something on and I was like, ooh, it's— you could then you could see the film in the pool. That was the first time I was like, all right, there's something a little off with this sunscreen that it's getting in the water. So can you share with us? Because that sounds like that was a concern for you.

Yes. So, well, there's actually some states, one in particular is Hawaii. They will not even sell or manufacture any type of sunscreen that has oxybenzone or octinoxate in it. Which is what makes it unfriendly for the environment and it won't make it reef-friendly. So all of our sunscreens do not carry those two ingredients. Therefore, they're considered reef-friendly. We also don't have any sulfite, parabens, phosphites within any of the products. They're animal cruelty-free, obviously made for all ages. And the thing that I love about it the most, you can use it on your face and your body. 'Cause if you were to go to a sunscreen aisle, the majority of the brands, they have, they have products that are dedicated just for the face when it comes to sunscreen or just for the body. So now you have to grab two bottles to lug it onto the beach or the pool or wherever you're going. For the kids, you gotta grab the kid version. Same thing. Grab one bottle, go to the beach, go on vacation, have fun, whole family, face, body, the whole nine.

And— So if you're—

Helping the environment.

So if you're breaking out, or would that be the concern? Because I always wondered that. Why are they— like, is it because my pores are different than my skin? I really— like, in the face, I didn't understand even why there is a difference as far as the children versus the— no, no, like face or body. Like, I always thought it was a marketing ploy, like, to make you buy both. So I always just said I always bought one for the body and put it on my face. I actually never realized that that could be an issue.

So, um, for the most part, they're virtually the same, to be honest. It is more so a marketing ploy than anything else, and I don't really like that. I want to help people. I want to make their lives more convenient, and this product can do that.

I can't wait to get mine. Okay, so they can go on the website right now. You have the sunscreen and the lip balm. Your chocolate's dropping, uh, soon, which is really exciting. What was it like smelling the chocolate?

Um, it's more cocoa, like a hot chocolate cocoa type scent. So it—

I, I love it.

All of our scents I love. Very mild and not overbearing. You smell it. Everybody that has put on the vanilla so far, the second that they put on and they smell, they're like— their eyes pop out and they're amazed because they didn't expect it to smell so good.

Did you, did you create displays too for the stores? Or, you know, or do they have the product? Do you just— do you do all the, like, point of purchase, uh, signage and all of that?

So I did make signs, um, when I do do the drop-offs. If they're local, um, I supply them with the sign, and it pretty much has bullet points of everything the sunscreen has within it as far as sulfite-free, reef-friendly, water-resistant, you know, the— all the bullet points. It has our logo, the drip. It's very playful, colorful, just like our drip logo. Um, and it's up to them whether they want to use it or not. Um, the majority of them are putting it up, which I think is really good as a selling point because then people don't have to ask so many questions, being that I'm not there to respond. Um, and it helps them out too. So we do have signs that I do supply to the, the clients. I love that.

Are you sharing your, like, story, like your actual— your, your why, your purpose, your passion?

Um, Well, yes, of course. In any of my sales meetings, they always want to know, how did you come up with it? What was your reasoning? And I kind of just go off about the kids and how it's aggravating to put it on them and why not make something more playful and fun? And also, I just don't like the way the sunscreen smells in general. The ones that have been on the market, they're way too overbearing for me. And it's that straight sunscreen smell. And I just never, never liked it. And I always told myself, I'm like, why don't they make it smell more friendly to where people would want to use it, not just at the beach, in the pool, but on a daily basis, because you need to protect your skin every day.

All right, one last question. Expiration dates— does that— is that— because I've always thought that that maybe was important if you had a lot of chemicals in it. Do you have— do you have expiration dates? Do they expire?

Well, yes, of course. Um, however, it depends on the lot from the manufacturer, but it normally runs about every 18 to 24 months or so, depending on the lot number.

Okay, so when you put it on, it just means that you may not get the strength to protect yourself? Is it because—

no, I mean, up until the expiration date, it would still protect you the same that it would when you initially bought it.

Does it really?

Or per— yes, because per— it's per legality, you have to have an expiration date on products. So that's got it right.

But if someone had it and they, they saw like, oh, it just expired last month, they wouldn't really need to throw it away.

I don't recommend anybody using any type of product that, that had already expired a month after the fact.

I agree with you. I agree with you. Worse is when someone uses something that expired and then gives it a poor review because it doesn't. So I think that you keep the integrity by making sure. Melissa, you're awesome.

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

I wish you a lot of luck in that. Like, without a lot of luck, I know you're going to do great. Your branding is great. You're smart. You're doing— you're the face of your business. So you're out there. I can see you doing different videos. Oh, are you— so TikTok? Are you on TikTok?

Actually, I have— as I said, my children, I kind of want to keep them involved, right? They helped with the brainstorming. So my daughter, 14, is very into TikTok. So she's actually establishing an account for TikTok. She's going to be launching the first video today. Um, because we are doing a giveaway of products as well as promotional material or promotional items that coincide with the brand. Uh, so we do have a giveaway that is running on Instagram right now, which is Ice Cream Underscore Sunscreen, and she'll be posting the video on TikTok for that as well.

Okay, it is— did she get the same name for TikTok?

Ice Cream Underscore Sunscreen.

Okay, beautiful. I'll put that on everything. So everyone follow and let's help support her daughter because it's always fun when you do a TikTok that everyone likes it, so we'll do that for you. All right, Melissa, anything else that you wanna add?

No, this was great. You're great. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

I appreciate that. Thank you. All right, so make sure you reach out to SCORE so that you do— remember, anything you ever need, we're there for the life of your business. So not just the beginning, but through any phase. If you're like, ooh, I really feel like I could use someone on my corner for this particular, whatever it may be, score.org. I just love this. They're all like me, just everyone that really has whatever that subject matter expert is. So we're here to help you succeed. And congratulations. I love— I'm so excited for you. Thank you for making my day. Thank you everyone for watching. It's on LinkedIn and Facebook. And Melissa, have a great day. I'm glad the weather is crazy sunny too, right?

Right now it's pretty sunny, but we're in Florida, so you never know what you're going to get, right?

I know, I know. We have Bike Week going on right now. So, and you know, it's funny, I've been there for Bike Week.

A lot of fun.

It is fun. But you know what, you know what I noticed as we were driving yesterday? I don't own a bike because they honestly, they scare me a little bit. But as we were driving, I said to my husband, I'm like, oh, that person, that— oh my God, these girls, like, are they weird? Because you could actually— it's, it's crazy that you could see a sunburn on someone else but you really don't see it on yourself.

Yes.

So, so many of the women, the beautiful women that are riding these bikes, and the men, they are not understanding our sun and how strong it is for March. So I saw a lot of sunburn. So that's crazy.

Sunscreen.

They do, they do. I love it. Oh wait, what's the SPF on them? I forgot to ask.

So it is SPF 30. Um, but I do want to explain one thing with that. So a lot of people think that upping the SPF is going to protect them a lot more. So 30 SPF actually blocks 97% of the UVA and UVB rays. Upping that to a 50 SPF, which obviously would cost more, is only going to possibly up that by 1 more percent. So it's not a big difference whatsoever. So 97% is pretty good there. You're never going to get to 100% regardless with any sunscreen on the market. So I'm— we're happy with the SPF 30. Less chemical on your body.

I— that's exactly what I've read. A lot of people don't realize it because the marketing doesn't share that. It's not like, hey, you don't really need me, but I'm just trying to sell you for $2 more. So excellent, Melissa. That was a great way to end it, is a tip like that is really, really important. So thank you. All right, we're gonna end it right now. Have a great rest of the day, and thank you so much. Thank you, Adrian, if you're listening. We love transmedia. All right, thank you. Thank you.

Bye-bye.

You're welcome.

Bye-bye.

That was great.