We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melanie Gluck. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melanie below.
Melanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
As a curvy mid size latina I could never fit into “standard swim” let alone shop from one size model. Hanakini has aimed to do just the opposite, using our specialty curve fabric sourced from recycled materials and designing each style with non dig seamless hems. We’re known to for this forgiving fabric, a generous size range, and an appropriate amount of coverage that offers modesty and while still feeling sexy. We are also the first to pioneer our shop by every size model feature in every style giving women a more relatable shopping experience. My goal is aimed at changing the industry standards.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
A Hawai’i heart, Italian soul, and california upbringing- Mel has lived many lives around the world. Sewing from a very young age, she was fully immersed into the fashion industry by the age of 18 in Los Angeles, wearing many hats from Runway, PR Agencies, and Visual Styling with large companies like Anthropologie and Warner Bros. In 2011 she moved to Italy to take time off, learn new skills, and travel. She met her partner in Rome, who was from the North Shore of Maui, and eventually settled on island in 2016.
“I was cruisin’ with my girl gang learning to surf, adventuring, and spending 12 hours in my bikini. I found a need to have swimwear that was so many things that I couldn’t find. Practical, comfortable, flattering without digging, & true to size for my latina hips.”
She set out to solve the discomforts in bikinis she had as curvy mid-size gal. “What you see today is compilation of everything I always wanted in swimwear from the styles, to the models, and overall shopping experience. Every design was inspired by somewhere special in the Hawaiian Islands and Italy.”
Some other details:
I was reselling for many years between 2017-2021 and learned so much about fabrics, brands, what made certain products attain a certain value. During that time I started to resell swimsuits, I would buy and sell from china for a short period only to find the quality was horrible the ethics were terrible and it wasn’t contributing to any “good” In 2018 I decided to build a brand. I can’t begin to explain how many naive and costly mistakes I made between 2019 and 2021 because of my lack of experience in manufacturing and pattern making (still can’t believe it didn’t put me out of business). Most people don’t know this but the brand started off as an active lifestyle brand geared more towards surfing which was my life at the time but as I grew and the brand grew It evolved into much more. Curve friendly fits were always at the core of the brand and in 2022 I re-launched with this mission at the forefront and we started to take off ever since. Hanakini swim is 100% self funded and boot strapped which can make the process of growing and scaling much longer and harder. But when you are that passionate about your mission you will learn to build the website, teach yourself CRM and marketing and be willing enough to try a million things that don’t work so you can find the one that does.
People don’t realize it TAKES TIME. A lot of time, to discover who your brand is, your customer, your brand voice. Although hard, growing slowly has allowed us to refine the branding and supply chain on a smaller scale and NOW that we are positioned in the market we are ready to take on bigger steps- its a blessing in a lot of ways.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In business, you need to ALWAYS be ready to pivot with a solution. Especially in the fashion industry where things can move so fast I feel like I am always on the edge of my seat. 3 major incidents I can recall amongst the MANY
1. As mentioned we started as a lifestyle active brand between 2019-2021 and our product wasn’t resonating, branding wasn’t strong enough and I couldn’t seem to identify our customer. I I knew how to surf, but I wasn’t a surfer. I had to do some deep research into my WHY and what felt true to the brand. Pivoting from an active lifestyle brand to a curve friendly brand made all the difference in our marketing and suddenly it began to stick.
2. After a devastating wildfire all of my wholesale distribution was cut off in 2023 which was accounting for a large portion of revenue. Income was so bad I ended up on government assistance and once again wasn’t sure what in store for the brand. within 2 months I pivoted and started to do D2C at local markets, not only did it save the business, I was moving more product than ever in the history of the brand and still today is a marker for continued growth.
3. I decided to launch a new iconic lining in all of our swimwear, I discussed all the details only for the textile company to print the entire lining vertical instead of horizontal as i requested. We had no choice, no time, and no inventory. I took it to market and it’s become a well loved staple in all our pieces. We kept the mistake as our signature and never looked back.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
This is a constant work in progress but I have found social media and building an email list have been the best way for us to connect with customers. We are in an era where people want to know who they are buying from, I get personal with my customer, meaning I talk to them and conversate with them. I open the door for feedback, I chat with them in DMs and emails and really share behind the process allowing them to connect to the products and brand. Having a great quality product make is easy to come back, our average customer returns within 3-15 days after her fist purchase and that is truly dedicated to the communication and quality of our products.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hanakiniswim.com
- Instagram: @hanakiniswim
