Soap makers Scott and Faith Freeman know how to clean up in a business deal.
The husband and wife team own Primal Elements, a Huntington Beach-based company that generates $5 million to $7 million in yearly sales making soaps, shower gels and scrubs, candles, lotions, perfumes and lip gloss that are sold in 3,500 stores in the U.S., Italy, Taiwan, Mexico, Spain and Russia.
Inside Primal Elements’ 20,000-square-foot headquarters, the company’s some 40 workers make the products using plant- and vegetable-derived ingredients sourced from the U.S. and Europe.
They’re packaged and shipped directly to boutiques such as Basin in Anaheim, Ye Olde Soap Shoppe in San Diego, Liz’s Boutique in Beverly Hills and The Soap Opera in Wisconsin.
Internet sites such as Washington’s Drugstore.com Inc., beauty retailers such as Illinois-based Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc., and Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the Palms Casino Resort also carry Primal Elements products.
|
|
Decorated soaps: Primal Elements started manufacturing soap when vendors couldn’t keep up with the orders |
Primal Elements’ niche is a natural product in a variety of scents and quirky designs, according to Faith Freeman.
The company’s signature soaps smell like everything from watermelon to lavender and boast happy faces, hearts, fruits and animals and other colorful graphics on the products.
Primal Elements’ soaps, lotions, candles and other items sell for $7 to $22, which put the company in competition with Ohio’s Bath & Body Works Inc., The Body Shop, part of France’s L’Oreal Group, and others.
The Freemans started Primal Elements in 1993 after the real estate crash of the 1990s hit the couple hard.
Scott, a contractor and Faith, an interior designer, looked for different career paths when foreclosures rose and home construction and sales slowed.
“It was really hard for us at that time. There was no business,” Faith Freeman said.
To save money, they moved in with Faith’s mother while they figured out their next move.
Faith Freeman, a die-hard fan of soaps and body lotions, saw bath and body retailers such as The Body Shop, Crabtree & Evelyn and Origins growing in popularity. She and her husband decided to get in on the trend.
The Freemans leased a small store in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach.
They wanted their shop to have an underground, earthy bohemian feel, so they chose to name it Primal Elements.
In the beginning, the Freemans bought soaps, lotions and other bath and body products from local vendors.
To be cost effective and creative, the Freemans bought logs of scented soaps that they hand cut and sold by weight.
This became their winning point among customers.
“The hand cut soaps really took off. I think customers thought it was fun and different. It was like going to the deli, you had a wide selection and you could try a little piece of everything,” Freeman said.
The Freemans had to start making their own soap when their vendors couldn’t keep up with their demands.
They tested out soap recipes in Faith’s mother’s kitchen, which was a tricky and messy process, Freeman said.
Eventually they got the hang of it and started selling their own homemade soap. Customers continued to flock.
“The fact that we made it ourselves was a real selling point,” Freeman said.
Soon other retailers wanted to carry Primal Elements’ soaps.
The Freemans leased another space where Faith could make and store the soaps, which she did while Scott manned the store.
In 1997, the Freemans decided to close their store and concentrate on manufacturing.
It was a scary step, she said.
Transitioning Primal Elements from a store to a manufacturing business required a factory, more equipment and workers, which was expensive and time consuming to organize, Freeman said.
During the years, Primal Elements started making other bath and body products such as shower gels and lotions and eventually candles. They outgrew several spaces in Orange County before settling in their current Huntington Beach headquarters.
Today, the company focuses on building brand awareness by hitting the trade show circuit twice a year.
The key to staying competitive is to constantly create new products, Freeman said.
During the next few years, Primal Elements plans to add more products to its collection including mineral makeup.
Primal Elements, which traditionally uses simple packaging, plans to package some of its products with new eye catching boxes and wraps to help it enter more beauty store chains.
“We want people to think of Primal Elements when they think of soap,” Freeman said.
Blowing Out the Candles
Tina Rocca is saying goodbye to her Irvine candle company Aroma Naturals.
Since selling her business to Massachusetts-based Yankee Candle Co. Inc. in 2005 for an undisclosed price, Rocca oversaw Aroma Naturals as president before completing her contract with the company earlier this month.
Rocca will work for Aroma Naturals as a business consultant, she said.
“It’s really emotional for me to let go of the business but it’s also really exciting to see that Aroma Naturals has become what it is today. It’s grown tremendously over the years,” Rocca said.
Rocca started Aroma Naturals in 1993. She created a niche by selling natural candles made out of soy and aromatherapy oils.
“I wanted to make a product that was functional but also made you feel good,” Rocca said.
Aroma Naturals, which generated about $4 million in yearly sales before the acquisition, continues to make and package its candles in a large factory in Irvine.
The company sells candles at boutiques and natural grocery store chains including Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc., Los Angeles-based Smart & Final Inc.’s Henry’s Farmers Market and Costa Mesa-based Mother’s Market & Kitchen.
Aroma Naturals doesn’t disclose yearly revenue. Its parent company, Yankee Candle, was acquired for $1.6 billion by private equity group Madison Dearborn Partners LLC in February.
Rocca isn’t ready to give up the entrepreneurial spirit.
She’s already working on relaunching an organic bath and body business that she first started in 2004 called Pure Plant Spa.
Pure Plant Spa will specialize in organic shampoos, shower gels and scrubs. It’s set to make its debut next year, Rocca said.
The business, which used to be under the Aroma Naturals brand before the sale to Yankee Candle, previously sold to spas and luxury hotels. Rocca said she’d like to continue selling through these channels because it will keep her business in the luxury niche market.
Rocca also plans to enter the “tween” business with products for girls ages 8 to 12, called Pure Plant Spa Girls.
The products will be made locally, Rocca said. She’s currently looking for a corporate office, she said.
“I’m starting all over again,” Rocca said.
Rocca is mum about how much she will have to spend on getting her new business off the ground.
She expects to face a slew of challenges such as rising material and employment costs and stiff competition, but she’s determined to generate $1 million in sales her first year, she said.
“I’m looking at Pure Plant Spa as another opportunity for me. I think it will be big,” she said.
Kibbles and Bits
Costa Mesa-based Pet Chef Express is finding a more secure niche after this year’s pet food scare.
The company delivers U.S.-made dog and cat food made with natural ingredients that sell in 20 pound to 60 pound bags for $1.40 per pound to $1.60 per pound.
Pet Chef Express’ food is made in a factory in the Midwest. All the ingredients used, with the exception of the New Zealand lamb, is made and raised in the U.S., according to founder Peter Bennett.
The food is made with beef, chicken, lamb or fish. Protein is the main ingredient in all of the company’s formulas but they also use rice, oatmeal and beet pulp, Bennett said. Its formulas do not have any artificial colors, soy fillers or sweeteners, he said.
The company stores up to 40,000 pounds of dog and cat food at its 1,200-square-foot warehouse in Costa Mesa and uses its two trucks to deliver food to homes in OC, Long Beach and the Inland Empire.
Food safety issues have fueled the business this year, Bennett said.
The massive pet food recall by Canadian-based Menu Foods Inc., after melamine found in its wet food killed thousands of cats and dogs nationwide, has helped Pet Chef Express drum up sales.
“Customers are wary now,” Bennett said. “They want pet food that’s made here because they feel that it’s safer.”
The general shift toward natural and organic food has also been good for business.
“People are more in tune with natural ingredients and they want the same for their pets,” Bennett said.
Bennett and his wife Karen started Pet Chef Express in 2000 and now run the business with their son Sean.
Pet Chef Express is privately held and doesn’t disclose revenue.
Next year, the company plans to grow its yearly sales 20% and hire more workers, Bennett said.
