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

Hi Tori, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

From the beginning of my career, my vision has been nurturing skin in a way that works with real life. When I began my skincare journey through facial care services, I encountered many clients who experienced skin issues caused by their harsh skincare products. Skin sensitivity and aggravated skin was prevalent in my services and it dawned on me that gentle skincare needed to be at the forefront of my treatments. This search for products with the quality of gentleness, effective ingredients and made from plants left me frustrated. Even products that claimed to be for sensitive skin often pushed the boundaries of aggressive ingredients. I decided to make these products myself. My schooling in holistic skincare set the foundation necessary to work with local businesses to make this dream a reality. Collaboratively, we crafted a range of products that had everything I’d been searching for. The ALOPOP skincare collection is available to provide soothing support while using aromas to transport you to moments of relaxation. Our intent is not to alter your skin into something different, but to synchronize with your skin’s natural processes. You deserve to be comfortable in your skin and have products that help you accomplish that comfort. Emphasizing ingredients that calm and revitalize, we focus on sensitive and acne-prone skin. ALOPOP is simple to use, plant based ingredients bottled in glass with effective ingredients for your unique life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Tori (they/she) and I’ve been an Esthetician for a decade and created ALOPOP in 2017. I’m a Non-binary, Queer Asian small business owner local to the Phoenix area. Here at ALOPOP we create simple skincare made from plants, designed and manufactured in Phoenix. We are a holistic skincare company that uses a gentle approach for your unique skin. We believe you don’t have to fight your skin concerns, but instead work with your skin’s natural processes to soothe and repair. We have an online shop at ALOPOP.com and you can find us on socials @alopoplove.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

One of the most important ways that I’ve connected with my community and client base in Phoenix was to do markets. After years of having my main client base come from my services, having ALOPOP as a stand alone business was daunting. But, I decided to do markets as a way to reach my local community. One year I took most market opportunity options I could find. While not every market was a huge financial success, what I did find was that every market had an opportunity for me to connect. Connection was key to reaching different groups of people that may have never found my business. I love talking with people about their skin concerns and offering new options that encourage ease instead of a strict regime. We live in our skin every day and being able to help make the skin you live in more comfortable has always been so rewarding. While I don’t do all the markets anymore, I still find that having conversations is my favorite way to reach people and build ALOPOP’s reputation as a reliable small business.

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

I love the power of social media for small businesses. While I do not have a huge following, I find that using social media for my business helps me connect to my clients so they know there’s an actual human behind their products. Even for my clients and customers that have moved away from our local community here in Phoenix, social media provides a touchpoint for me to keep in contact. Social media has always provided a way for me to reach people that that aren’t local. People that would never walk by me in a market or see my products on the shelf of a local boutique now can see me online explaining how to use our Clarity mask or how dreamy our Radiance oil looks in the afternoon light. While we are on TikTok and Facebook, you can mostly find us on Instagram @alopoplove.

Contact Info:

• Website: ALOPOP.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/alopoplove
• Facebook: Facebook.com/alopoplove
• Other: TikTok: TikTok.com/@alopoplove email: [email protected]