EP18. Behind the Scenes of a Rebrand with Huna Natural Apothecary

Hello and welcome to the Formula Botanica Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you want to find out more about our award winning online natural and organic skincare courses, then go over to formulabotanica.com and have a look at our sample class. In this episode, I'm interviewing Heather from Hoona Natural Apothecary about her brand, how she got into natural and organic formulating, and about her recent rebrand and its success. Enjoy. Hello and welcome, Heather.

Thank you so much, Gemma. I'm happy to be here.

We're so excited. Well, I'm so excited to be doing this interview today. And you know, Lorraine and I have followed you for a really long time and admire your work and what you're doing at Hoona. So I thought for the benefit of our listeners, if you don't know who you are, if you could just introduce yourself, explain your background and how you got into natural formulating.

Yes, absolutely. So thanks very much for having me, first of all, and I love Formula Botanica. Huge fan and I've been a student and alumni for quite some time. A little bit about me. My name is Heather Urquhart and I'm the founder, formulator and CEO of Hoonah Natural Apothecary. And our brand basically is a natural and organic cosmetic and beauty and skin care brand. However, we're unique because we actually, we own a family farm in Southern Manitoba. It's about 130 acres and we grow 30 different botanical species there, which we incorporate into our products as our active ingredients. And we're also a little bit different because we are the first, from what we understand, we're the first skincare company, Clean Beauty skincare company in North America and possibly in the world to partner with a major university. So we have partnered with the University of Manitoba here in Winnipeg, and we do both production and major research projects with them.

Wow. Okay, so that's really, really interesting. Can you talk about how that happened?

Yeah, for sure. So actually, well, I'll go back to maybe how I got into natural formulating and then I'll talk about how the relationship with the U of M developed. So, so I started formulating basically as a hobby and a passion. So I went to university and I studied botany. And while I was studying in university, at the same time I was working for Lancome, which is a prestige cosmetic and skincare brand. So that's where I really got the passion. And then years later, I picked up kind of DIY skincare as a hobby. And then I took one course and then another course and started Sharing the products with my friends and realized that I sort of had, like a product market fit and a customer base, so built it from there. And then the relationship with U of M happened, because as I was moving along within my local city, within Winnipeg, I started getting into entrepreneur groups and startup groups to kind of find support and mentors and coaching and that kind of thing. And while I was there, I was participating in a competition, a startup competition, which we wound up getting first place in, which was awesome. It was called Venture Challenge Manitoba. And there was somebody from the University of Manitoba in the audience. And then they clicked in that we were alumni, and they went back and actually talked to the dean of Science at University of Manitoba, and then she reached out to me and kind of said, it's really cool what you're doing. We love seeing women in science kind of taking a different approach, you know, following their dreams, you know, like, basically making their science their own kind of thing. And so the rest is history. So I booked a meeting with her, we started chatting, and I said, you know, we need to expand. And so that's where the partnership started. So, yeah, it kind of rolled out from there.

Great. So yay for more women in science then.

Yes, yay for women in science. You bet.

One of the reasons why I wanted to interview you was because recently you. Well, I mean, just because you're awesome and we love what you're doing, but recently you undertook a rebranding exercise for Hoonah. And I know that quite a few people in our community have asked about branding and rebranding and how that works. So I wanted to know why you decided to rebrand in the first place and what the driving factors were.

That's a really great question. So basically, like, we've had this brand now, we launched in November of 2014, so we're in our fourth year. And I found it to be, like, really honest. It was a struggle to close retail accounts. We did not compete well in the branding and packaging areas. And some of the more honest retailers were very upfront about that and saying, like, considering your price point and, you know, they would test our products and say, your product quality is excellent. Your products, they deliver results, they do what they're supposed to do, but your packaging and your branding isn't there. And they're holding us up, you know, on a. On a product shelf and looking at other products which are basically selling at the same price point. And it really identified that there was a problem there.

So.

So the process that I took that was really the driving Factor is that it was difficult to sell into retail. We're having a problem here. So I identified that there was a problem, and then I knew I needed to find help. So I actually sourced a really fantastic beauty coach, Natural skincare beauty coach, through Formula Botanica, and that was Melinda Koss. So together we sat together and we kind of went over our company and sort of where we've come from and where we want to go. And we agreed that, yes, we do actually have a serious issue here, and we need to invest in the branding and the packaging.

So.

So Melinda was really instrumental in connecting me to the right people to be able to do that. So she connected us to Strata Creative, who's based in the uk. We're based in Canada, but really I was looking for, like, you know, a partner anywhere in the world that sort of. That I could have a very honest and open relationship with. So we developed a really great creative brief, myself and Melinda, very much with her help, and we sent that to Strada, and then I had some Skypes with them and some calls, and we developed an excellent relationship. So I knew that that felt right. And the rest is really history. So they got to know our brand kind of very intimately and developed our entire rebrand from there and our new packaging. Great.

I mean, it looks amazing, by the way.

Thank you so much.

It looks fabulous.

Oh, I love hearing that. Great.

So I hope those retailers have taken you on board now.

Yes, absolutely. It's much easier.

So I wanted to know what the process was that you followed. Like, how did you roll it out? How long did it take you to prep all the sort of key information that someone might need if they were considering a rebrand?

Excellent. Okay, so we kind of, as far as process goes, we kind of took a project management style. So really we looked at what our milestones were and our approximate timeline and what we wanted to deliver, and then we worked backwards against that. The creative process itself was really, really fun. I didn't find that there were any hiccups. It was fantastic working with Strata the entire way. So really, really seamless, smooth process. I did find issues, though, with, like, sourcing packaging suppliers. I personally find that can be extremely time consuming and it can be difficult with minimal murder quantities and such. I think what went really well is that we informed our retail partners from the beginning. We kept them really informed about what our brand plans were, and, you know, we're doing significant improvements. So from a retail perspective, I think that's a true partnership, sort of when you're. You're like, you know, we've gotten feedback from our retailers, from you. Thank you very much. We're taking it into consideration. We're doing something about it, and, you know, here's what you can expect from us. So that went really well. And then we rolled out our packaging at retail, and our website was actually supposed to coordinate with the launch. However, the website launch was late. So I guess my feedback would be to everybody that I think you need to have some sort of flexibility built in. It's ideal to have a rebrand go out where the packaging goes to market and goes to retail and the website launches and everything goes smooth altogether. All your social media. But it doesn't always happen that way necessarily in reality. So I think you just need to be able to roll with the punches. And in our case, we had an issue with our website. We had to hire a new company, and that wound up being Strata, who kind of saved the day and finished up that for us. But the whole process, from kind of like the ideation until the actual launch took six months, and that was really kind of grinding it out and being very efficient with time. I mean, a rebrand could certainly take longer than that, essentially, but I think six months is sort of a realistic timeline for a rebrand to take place.

Okay. And let's have a brief discussion. I mean, I know you mentioned a bit about the website, but the kind of main issues and problems that you faced and what advice you would give to other brands that are considering, you know, rebranding process.

I guess I think my first advice would be that branding is really important. It is the face of your brand and it really. It's what drives uniqueness and differentiation in the market, whether you like to hear that or not. So your branding and your packaging is very important considering the industry that we are in. So I would recommend to everybody to invest in your branding from the start. That was a big learning for me. We actually have got. This is our third rebranding, so we actually went through our first initial brand and then a rebranding after that. And this was our, hopefully our final rebrand for now. But we really. We didn't have a lot of cash flow in the beginning, and we have bootlegged this company the whole way, no debt. So essentially the choices that we made were a reflection of that. We invested in the company when we had money to invest in the brand and in the company. But if somebody does it the right way, I would strongly suggest probably trying to get a little bit of capital up front and doing your branding from up front, it puts you in a much stronger position to hit the ground running. So I think another learning. I've made lots of mistakes, so I'll share everything I can. So another issue that we had was, you know, a creative agency. I think everybody needs to understand a creative agency's role and their job is to be creative and to come up with ideas. Now whether that is actually executable is a different story. So our creative agency was excellent in creating sort of like this is the ideal end state. And then we kind of said, okay, we don't completely have the budget to execute that. So we took a few steps back and we had to make some concessions and some decisions basically. So although we plan on putting all of those elements into our brand over the years, we weren't able to execute exactly what the agency had designed. So what they design is sometimes more expensive than what you can afford. That's the reality of it. So you need to make decisions. Another issue is I mentioned this before, but on packaging, sourcing minimum order quantities. When you start getting into packaging, like higher level premium packaging, there's often minimum order quantities that are between 10,040, 50,000 units per SKU. So you need to be able to have the capital to invest in that and also the storage space to be able to deal with it. So that was a challenge for us too. From the website perspective. The company that we originally hired completely failed to deliver on the website and we didn't find that out, unfortunately, until closer to launch. There was not great communication, but essentially we made a decision based on budget. And my advice to everybody would be you get what you pay for. So I don't think that you should be cutting corners on something like a website or for branding. I think that these are absolutely the things that you need to really invest in a brand to do it right. So you get what you pay for, essentially. And then the one other thing, and I've kind of mention this, but this is sort of my overarching kind of guidance for everybody, is I would totally recommend investing in your brand. It's a really thick competitive market. This is your key differentiator. It's. I see brand now as the most important thing and I really wish that we put our best foot forward from the start. I think it caused a little bit of like one step forward, two steps back for us. So yeah, brand is key.

You've raised some interesting points and you're not the first person who's mentioned the issues with website designers and being let down. And it seems like, it's quite a common issue. And I'm thinking maybe I should pick this up as some sort of podcast.

That would be a great topic. I think a lot of us have experienced it's very hard to find talented people, and then it's generally an area that it's not necessarily the founder or the owner's expertise. Like, it wasn't my area of expertise. So, you know, anytime that it's not an area that you're completely informed on, then it's difficult to find the right partner and ask the right questions ahead of time. So.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I guess as a. Like a founder and a CEO, which many of our students and graduates are, you know, they're kind of wearing a lot of hats in their businesses. You're trying to find areas which you can outsource so someone else can take, you know, that project off your hands, so you can use your time on other things that are equally as important. And then, you know, someone lets you down. And then how do you pick up the pieces from there, like you say? I mean, it affected how you rolled out your rebrand, really. You know, it made. Your timelines were a bit awkward. So it's how we. You want a great website, or people tell you, you know, your website is so important, then you're like, oh, how do I get the right people to do that for me? So that.

Yes, completely. And for me, it was relying on my network. So essentially, through Melinda and through some of the other connections that we had established, we were able to kind of save ourselves. And you need to rely on your network for that. That's why you should always be going to, like, trade shows and events and connect with people, even if they're not directly in beauty. Connect with as many people as you can, because those, you know, chances are those are people that you can tap into later.

So, yeah, it's an interesting point because often I'll mention a show or something to someone and they'll be like, I don't know how that's going to benefit me. And I'm like, well, you won't know until you go.

Exactly. Exactly. You won't know until you go. That's perfect.

Who you're going to meet and who you're going to bump into and, you know, contacts and connections you can share. So view everything as an opportunity. That's my.

Exactly. Be open to everything.

Yeah. I also would like to know from you, how is it going now, since you've rolled it out? How are things for you guys?

Excellent. Things are Going much better. This is how I knew that what we had identified as a problem was absolute, like, we were bang on. So once we kind of wrapped up our rebrand and launched that, it has been, I can't even imagine, immensely easier to have a discussion with retail and to get our products through retail, so to sold in. So now we've closed 14 retail locations across Canada. We've launched online in the US. We're constantly receiving glowing feedback on our packaging and branding. We actually launched back in November, but we're still getting amazing feedback. It's wonderful, like every day. It's from customers, from retailers, from influencers and bloggers. We just did a media and PR event, our first in Toronto, and we, like every other person that came up to us, was like, I love your packaging, your branding's so cool. And so that is awesome to hear after, you know, that you had made the wrong decisions on branding in the first place, that now you've come around and you've been able to flip that and make some good decisions and really turn it around. So that was huge. We've just shipped our largest ever retail order. So that was for nearly 30,000. And yeah, like, really, we've made immense leaps and we're full steam ahead now, so nothing's really holding us back. So we're looking at doing some really exciting things. We just kicked off, like, a really exciting research project at the University of Manitoba, which is really going to define kind of where we take our business in the future. And yeah, I think now we're looking at US retail and we're looking at kind of expanding our channel and our approach in Canada. So it's all expansion. Full steam ahead now.

Have you got any plans to come closer to where we are?

Absolutely, yes, we are actually. I'm so glad you asked that. We're actually just starting to do all of our regulatory compliance and stability testing to launch into in the future. So, yeah, it's definitely on the target. Yeah.

Yay. I'm really glad that this has been a positive outcome for you because people who have discussed rebranding and, you know, are thinking about it, have, you know, it's very daunting, this idea that, you know, things might not be quite right and, you know, how do I even start? Especially if you've received feedback that, you know, what you've done so far isn't quite good enough for retail and, you know, feeling, you know, kind of a bit bad about what's happened and feeling inadequate. Yeah, feeling inadequate. Taking on board that criticism and Kind of feeling a little bit deflated and then thinking, you know, how do I go from here? How do I make it better? What happens if I rebrand? And it's, you know, still not quite good enough. So I'm hoping that from what you've said, people will be inspired to think I can do this, rebrand and, you know, to take the feedback from retailers and buyers and say, I'm going to do this and, you know, I'm going to make it work because I have the faith in my brand.

Yes, totally. And if I can just add actually one more piece onto that. I think I really want to share this with everybody. I think I've made so many mistakes as an entrepreneur, it's not even funny. But I don't think that the important thing is whether you like, really, I don't think there's an entrepreneur out there that makes every decision the right decision. So it's okay to make mistakes and it's okay to make bad decisions. It means that you're trying to make progress in your business. I think the important thing is that you need to be agile and you need to be paying attention to the market. And okay, something's not working. We need to identify what that is and then we need to pivot and change our approach. So it's more about being responsive than it is about making perfect decisions all the time. So, you know, make bad decisions, it's okay, don't be fearful of that, but just be able to pick up and say, okay, that was not right. We need to change and go this way now.

Yeah, yeah, that's really good advice. Yeah. Remain agile to an ever changing market and be able to listen to the people like, you know, retailers and buyers. You know, generally the ones I've had the experience of meeting and talking to, you know, they kind of, they do know their market and they do know what they're talking about and they will know when something's not quite good enough. And, you know, feedback we've had from retailers who specialize in natural and organics are like, we see so many wonderful formulations that we want to sell, but we can't quite take the leap if the branding and the packaging is not so they're aware of the challenges.

100%.

Yeah. And they want to be able to stock all these brands. So they just, you know, said, a couple of them have said to me, just try and get them to just invest a little bit more in packaging and branding.

Yeah, it's important. We're in the beauty industry, like, as Much as we, we're all in clean beauty. So we're trying to drive, you know, a really a different trend, I think, and talk about more like the inside counts just as much as the outside. And I think that's really our message in clean beauty. However, the reality is it is still beauty. So that whole image part does still play a huge role, and I think more so than other industries. And listen to your retailers. I totally agree with that. Your retailers are truly your partners. And if you're willing to go in a real partnership with your retailer, listen to what they say. They are a customer expert. They are your link to a consumer. So for sure, you should be taking what they say with a heavy grain of salt.

Heather, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate your input and advice. I know how busy and busy you are, so I really appreciate you making time for this podcast.

Thank you. My absolute pleasure. I hope everybody enjoyed listening and I hope someone could learn something from this and maybe not make the same mistakes that I did.

They will. And just as always, I'll include all of the links to Heather's website and everything in the show notes for this podcast. So I just want to say thank you, everyone for listening and thank you to Heather.

Thank you so much, Gemma.

Thanks so much to Heather for sharing her advice about her rebrand, how it went, all the valuable lessons that she's learned, and the most important one was for all the entrepreneurs out there is it's okay make mistakes. If you want to find out a little bit more about Formula Botanica and what we do, head over to formulabotanica.com and check out our free sample class. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Formula Botanica. As always, thank you so much for your time. We're grateful that you listen to our podcast and if you want to share it amongst everyone, you know, we are happy about that. Thank you very much.