Independent Beauty profile Michele Gilfoil, Planet Botanicals - CosmeticsDesign.com UK

Planet Botanicals is a brand that offers skin and body treatments with herbal ingredients from multiple locations, including Maine Seaweed ...

Planet Botanicals is a brand that offers skin and body treatments with herbal ingredients from multiple locations, including Maine Seaweed (where founder Michele Gilfoil lives) and Shea from a women's cooperative in Ghana. This global-local approach and Gilfoil's commitment to simpler, more natural beauty sets the brand apart from conventional mainstream beauty designers.

Here, the beauty business woman Michele Gilfoil presents her profile and that of the brand Planet Botanicals.

Name: Michele Gilfoil, Founder and CEO

Independent beauty company: Planet Botanicals

Published: 2008

Headquarters: Westbrook, Maine

Cash Flow: Planet Botanicals finances itself. We focus on organic growth and invest our profits in the company for product innovation and revenue growth.

We recorded positive sales growth. and over the last two years our sales have doubled every year.

Indie how? An independent beauty brand belongs independently and is driven by the passion, vision and values of the founder. In my case, I have worked passionately with organic producers around the world to develop a natural herbal skin care product with organic ingredients.

Teamwork: We have several part-time employees.

Sales: We have a multi-channel approach and distribute our products to resellers in the New England area. (These are agreements we have acquired by participating in regional fairs). They also sell us in various spas and souvenir shops at the airport, and our goal is to expand these channels nationwide.

Our online digital marketing sales efforts consist of direct sales via pop-up windows, ads, videos and product information. We will expand our distribution and try to work actively with middle-market and national retailers. In 2020, we want to test the export market for our products.

Beauty years: 10

Years at Planet Botanicals: 10

Work experience: Planet Botanicals is my first work experience. I worked 10 years on Wall Street before I started my own business.

I was worried about the chemical ingredients of my skin care products. Since I could not find any high quality natural skin care, I decided for mine. In the early days of Planet Botanicals, I focused on the scientific research and benefits of each ingredient and its cultivation. During a trip to Ghana, I visited a shea butter cooperative for women and saw first-hand how shea butter was made using traditional methods. It made an incredible feeling on my skin and women used shea butter as a natural moisturizer for the skin. By buying it directly from these women, I would support their commercial efforts and ensure that it is harvested and processed in a sustainable way. By using fresh herbal ingredients from organic producers around the world, I could make transparent what I put on my skin and make sure that the ingredients are harvested in an environmentally friendly way. I discovered other organic producers in Africa and started the African fruit collection.

When I grew up in Maine near the ocean, where algae thrive in abundance, I was aware of its many health benefits. I've met several seaweed collectors and marine biologists and found that the algae of Maine are one of the best qualities in the world due to the cool, pristine waters of the ocean where they grow. After studying the science of algae for the skin, I developed a range of soaps, lotions and seaweed scrubs as an exceptional ingredient, which I called Seaweed Beauty Collection. We only work with Maine algae collectors who collect algae in a sustainable and renewable way.

With a few chemistry courses at the university and no previous knowledge in the formulation of skincare products, I've learned how to make emulsions, develop extractions, and dive deep into the science behind the ingredients. We manufacture all of our products in Maine according to our own recipes. I've also learned the business aspects of brand development like marketing, social networking and packaging.

With the skills and knowledge of our ingredient collectors in Africa and Maine, we're fortunate enough to develop a company that delivers truly healthy, effective and proven skin care products.

The Surprise Factor: We make natural skincare products with herbal ingredients from all over the world, grown without chemicals or pesticides. Our "Farm and Face-to-Face" concept is based on the use of ingredients that have been proven over time and have always been effective on the skin of women.

Consumers: Our target group are women between the ages of 25 and 55, who lead a healthy and active lifestyle. They pay attention to the use of healthy, long-lasting and effective skin care products and to the environment.

Decisive Moment: Our company was honored in 2018 as one of the top 10 independent beauty brands after presenting our products at the Independent Beauty Salon. Jillian Wright, co-founder of the Indie Beauty Expo, has named Planet Botanicals one of her favorite beauty brands.

We are also proud of the feedback we receive from a large number of customers who send us an email about their appreciation of our products, especially those with sensitive skin.

Tips for other beauty entrepreneurs: Follow your passion and let your inner voice guide you in developing your products and your brand. Then develop your vision with a laser-like approach and deliver the highest quality products. Do not get carried away by critics, friends or family.

First, my favorite beauty product is our seaweed hand cream . The main ingredients are freshly harvested seaweed from Maine's virgin water and a soft shea butter from Uganda. It is easy to apply to my skin, has a very refreshing aroma and absorbs quickly, leaving my hands incredibly soft without feeling fat.

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Deanna Utroske, Editor-in-Chief of CosmeticsDesign.com, reports on the news of the beauty industry in America and publishes the weekly column Indie Beauty Profile, which introduces the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.