Dipaly Banerjee
Skincare has taken over the beauty world in recent years. Finding your perfect skin regime that blends with your personal life is truly difficult to find. Buying a bottle of the best Vitamin C serum or Hyaluronic serum seems like the perfect choice for all the 9 to 5 peeps out there. But what about the hardcore outdoorsy people who need something more in their skincare routine? Maybe a cooling mist? What about a mosquito repellent free from that DEET (chemical name N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) chemical that would just infuse with your skincare?
Nicole Powell’s new skincare line, Kinfield answers all these questions and is a true celebration for adventurous souls. Entrepreneur Nicole Powell, who appeared on ‘Shark Tank’ Season 14 Episode 11, introduced Kinfield Skincare to the Sharks hoping for a life-changing investment. Well, since the product managed to catch our interest, we decided to jump in and trace the company’s growth.
Kinfield Skincare: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
Nicole Powell, the mastermind behind Kinfield, completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, International Studies, and European Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also submitted her Dissertation in UK Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has been a Youth Advisory Board Mentor at GirlVentures to inspire girls to lead a life through outdoor adventure and inner discovery.
Hailing from Minnesota, Nicole always loved the outdoors and is not new to entrepreneurship. She was the Founder and Creative Curator of a fashion lifestyle brand, Who Goes Wear. She has also worked with big companies such as JP Morgan Chase and Company, Intuit, Tetra Strategy and was the Head of Business Development at Modern Citizen. As an outdoor enthusiast, Nicole felt that the skincare products she carried with her for treks were not solving her problem. She was tired of using mosquito repellent, the holy grail of campers and trekkers that still contained DEET.
Nicole then realised that there was a market for people who wanted an alternative mosquito repellent that didn’t contain the chemical. As a life learner, she found the perfect alternative in Indonesia during her six-month trek. She found that a unique strain of citronella, infused with soothing essential oils, was an excellent mosquito repellent. That is when the idea of Kinfield struck her to create a perfect mosquito repellent free from DEET.
Per its sustainability program, the company offers a 40% discount to customers for their next order who return empty packages. The brand is a propagator of environmental rights and issues. They are a member of the 1% for the Planet, businesses that tackle the planet’s environmental issues. The company sells different products, the most popular being Golden Hour mosquito repellent, Sunglow SPF 35 sunscreen, Relief Balm, and Daily Dew SPF 35 mist.
Kinfield Skincare Are Expanding Their Business Today
Once Kinfield was launched in April 2018, Nicole was encouraged by the positive response her products received. However, that wasn’t the case when Nicole first launched her company. She faced difficulties in manufacturing, supply chain, and marketing her products. Later, she launched her website and has been selling her products through Amazon e-commerce business. Things were looking great for her and her sale rate was going well.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sales began diminishing, and Nicole soon realized that she had to increase the reach of her business. That is when she hit upon the idea of marketing better through social media and used platforms like Instagram to promote her products. In 2020, Nicole reported that she underwent over $5000 dollars worth of loss due to the cancellation of products amid the pandemic situation that led to closures in the distribution and shipping channels.
However, since then, Kinfield has picked up the pace, and with great marketing, the brand has over 24k followers on Instagram. The company is currently worth $1.5 million in terms of annual sales. The overall performance of the company is also great and shows promising steady growth. The market size for anti-pollution and nature-friendly plant-based skincare products is estimated at $9.5 billion and is on the rise. The company has been featured in famous media and influential publications, including VOGUE, Refinery29, NYMag’s The Cut, and The New York Times. Nicole appeared on ‘Shark Tank’ to get the Sharks to invest in her business to increase nationwide sales and expand her company.
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