We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kenye Pierce a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kenye thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Coming up with the idea was definitely out of the need for better and safer skin care products for pregnant women. In 2017 I was pregnant with my second child, and the skin on my body was a complete mess due to the effects of pregnancy and the third trimester. I had a growing belly, itchy, dry skin, hyperpigmentation as well as other issues that made my pregnancy high risk. I was very cautious about what type of products I used on my body to care for my skin. I didn’t want to use anything that had toxic ingredients. Staying healthy, hydrated, and moisturized was a top priority for me during my pregnancy. After searching for good and safe body care products week after week in major retail chain stores, I had no luck finding anything worth using on my skin. Products that claimed that they were natural included three or more toxic ingredients that no one should be using on their skin. I got frustrated and started researching how to make body butter. I wanted something that was pure and had the best ingredients for dry skin and skin imperfections. After many days of research, online tutorials, and reading books I handcrafted a body butter that actually made my skin glow (literally)! If you ever heard of the saying “Pregnancy Glow” I had it. My growing belly was no longer itchy or dry and my skin was moisturized. I knew I had a product that other expecting moms would want as well. I had a few friends and relatives that were pregnant at the same time I was and I let them be my focus group. My Cacao Shea Body Melt was definitely a hit with all of them. After getting good feedback, I definitely saw this as a business opportunity. I took a little time to research on how to start a business, designed my logo, labels, and website, and launched Skin Flo in 2020.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Hi, I’m Kenyé a wife, a mom of two, and a professional graphic designer, turned skin care, formulator. I handcraft organic and sustainable bath, body care, and aromatherapy products that can help with skin issues on the body such as dry, itchy skin, hyperpigmentation, stretch marks, scars, and dullness. With a focus on pregnant women, moms going through postpartum transitioning into motherhood, and women on a conscious beauty journey my products are crafted to not just help one type of person but many. Formulating bath and body care products was an all-new journey for me. My professional background is in design. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Communication Systems with a concentration in web and print design. Before skincare, I was known for my unique graphic design talents in building websites and brand identities for women-owned businesses. I am most proud to have a background in graphic design because I actually use my professionally trained skills in my business. I am the website designer; social media designer, and I design all marketing materials. If I did not have those skills, I would have to hire out for those creative tasks. The thing that sets me apart from others would probably be my determination to build out a brand paying attention to key creative details when it comes to marketing the brand to potential buyers and consumers.

When I’m not in the lab formulating and making products, I enjoy spending time with my family, attending street festivals, listening to music, and traveling out of the country.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I currently sell all of my products on my stand alone website through Shopify. Shopify is a great website platform if you’re building an e-commerce store, I highly recommend using the Shopify platform if you’re looking to scale your business. Since I have a background in graphic and website design, designing and building my website came very easy for me. Shopify offers a variety of themes and apps that can be installed on your website which can help if you don’t consider yourself tech savvy.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Customers are definitely the glue to keep Skin Flo going and scaling. I value my customers so much. To keep in touch with customers and foster brand loyalty, I have an email subscriber list called “The Skin Flo Insider Community”. Skin Flo Insiders receive weekly branded marketing emails that communicate branded sales events, discounts, ingredient spotlight information as well as the brand story of how and why Skin Flo was formed. In addition to the Skin Flo Insider Community, I also launched a customer loyalty program called Luxe Skin Rewards where customers can earn points on every purchase and redeem their points through free shipping, percentage-off discounts as well as free products! In my opinion, if a business has a good relationship with its customers then it’s always a win.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopskinflo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopskinflo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopskinflo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe2JVfec9Nbj-oBB2BuAWYg