Sometimes you just need to take a leap of faith. That’s what Faith Smith of Irvine-based Eyes Cream Shades Inc. did when she recently brought in a couple of investors to help grow her company.
The former lawyer turned entrepreneur decided to bring in two undisclosed investors to help expand Eyes Cream, which expects to hit $5 million in sales this year making sunglasses with 100% UVA & UVB protection for babies and kids under 10.
Smith still owns a majority of Eyes Cream and will continue to run it as chief executive and president. Her investors will help fund the development of more products and will help organize the company’s finances, she said.
“I’ve talked to a lot of investors over the years and I’ve finally found people who I feel comfortable working with,” Smith said. “This will be huge for my business.”
Up until now, Eyes Cream has been a one-woman show.
Smith started the company in 2001 with $5,000 after she saw that few companies were making protective sunglasses for babies. She noticed that most parents were dressing their children in toy sunglasses that had little or no sun protection, she said.
“There wasn’t quality when it came to protective eyewear for kids,” she said.
Many wonder why Smith chose to name her company Eyes Cream Shades. The idea came to her one day at the park when she noticed a group of kids eating ice cream cones with the sun in their eyes.
“It was weird. The name and the image just clicked,” Smith said.
She thought Eyes Cream Shades sounded quirky and fun and wanted its concept to be just as kitschy. Every pair of Eyes Cream sunglasses has a color and name inspired by flavors of ice cream.
But getting Eyes Cream off the ground wasn’t easy, Smith said, even for a New England School of Law graduate.
She didn’t know the first thing about being an entrepreneur. Her legal background helped her glide through the joys and frustrations of filing a patent and trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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Black Licorice Ice shades: all kids’ sunglasses named after ice cream flavors |
But there were other things that Smith had to learn, including where to get her sunglasses made, how to sell her products directly to stores and how to use distributors. She also had to learn how to manage inventory and expenses.
Today, Eyes Cream’s sunglasses are made at a factory in China. They’re lead free and made with shatterproof polarized polycarbonate lenses and come in colors with names like “Black Licorice Ice” and “Mint Chocolate Chip.” The glasses are packaged and stored in an Irvine warehouse and sold to more than 1,500 optometrists, boutiques and hotels and resorts such as the Beverly Hills Hotel, A Child’s View in Mission Viejo and Eyes 4 Kids in San Diego. They retail for about $20.
The company competes with other baby sunglass makers such as Australia’s Baby Banz Inc.
Smith spends a good chunk of her time getting Eyes Cream’s name out by attending tradeshows. She also uses product placement slots on television shows and movies to generate interest. So far her sunglasses have appeared in movies such as “Bring It On: In it to Win It” and “The Minis” starring Dennis Rodman.
Eyes Cream Shades has generated a celebrity following. Kids of Sarah Jessica Parker and Teri Hatcher have worn Eyes Cream Shades, according to Smith. She spends a lot of time keeping up to date on celebrities who are pregnant and sends them a complimentary Eyes Cream Shades gift. She’s sent packages to new mommies Christ-ina Aguilera and Nicole Richie, Smith said.
“It takes a lot of work to get your name out. You have to be creative with how you do it,” Smith said.
Smith feels like she’s got a few things figured out when it comes to running her business but she admits that she needs help when it comes to growing Eyes Cream Shades’ market share, she said. That’s where her investors come in.
The company plans to create different product lines that will be sold through optometrists, upscale department stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s and action sports retailers.
Each product line will have a different look and price range. For example, sunglasses made for optometrists can be prescription glasses and cost anywhere from $25 to $30. Sunglasses sold through department stores will have flashier designs inspired by fashion houses such as Chanel and Gucci. The sunglasses will have wider lenses and raised metal logos on their frames and will retail for less than $20, Smith said.
Smith is interested in making sunglasses under a private label for other companies such as theme parks. She’s also thinking about making an Eyes Cream T-shirt line to go with her sunglasses.
“There are a lot of ideas floating around right now but I definitely want the focus to stay on sunglasses,” Smith said.
Eyes Cream doesn’t plan to bring in any more investors for now, according to Smith.
She wants to gradually grow Eyes Cream before thinking about being bought by another company or private equity firm. Going public in the future could be another option, Smith said.
For now, Smith wants to take things in stride.
“I’m not an overnight success. It took a long time to get to this point and I need to take my time,” Smith said.
Spa Supplements
If beauty potions can exist, Newport Beach’s Sequence XO wants to be the one who makes them.
The company generates more than $500,000 in sales making beverage powders and effervescent tablets with phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other ingredients that are supposed to improve skin and health.
Sequence makes its drink formulas in different flavors such as cucumber mint and citrus berry. The powders and tablets come in 30-day to 40-day serving size containers and sell for $20 to $40.
Sequence taps Santa Ana drug maker Robinson Pharma Inc. to help develop its products and has them made and packaged at an OC factory, according to cofounders Karen Lopez and Ben Hoss.
The company’s products are stored at Sequence’s 1,000-square-foot headquarters and shipped by third-party carriers to spas such as BodyWerks Spa in Newport Beach, Terra Del Sol Spa in Portland, Ore., and Steaming Stone Spa in Stevens Point, Wis.
Lopez and Hoss started Sequence last June after they saw that few beauty and nutrition supplement companies were targeting spa goers.
“People go to spas to look and feel good,” Lopez said. “We’re trying to bridge the spa experience with nutrition.”
Starting Sequence took a lot of money and planning, Hoss said.
Even though Lopez and Hoss have backgrounds in chemistry and business, they spent several months researching, developing and testing formulas for their supplements.
“There was a lot of planning and researching and it was very expensive,” Hoss said.
The company has had interest from investors but Lopez and Hoss said that the company isn’t ready to take on outside partners yet.
Lopez and Hoss want to keep their business niche by selling through spas, an industry that has a lot of growth potential, they said.
This year the company plans to hire additional workers to help with sales and marketing. Sequence expects to outgrow its headquarters this year and is looking for a bigger office in Newport Beach, Lopez said.
The company also plans to create more nutritional supplements including a dark chocolate product infused with vitamins and minerals that can help improve skin, Lopez and Hoss said.
Streetwear Startup
There’s a new streetwear company in town and it’s got a green twist.
Tustin-based Red Lotus Clothing makes skate and hip-hop inspired shirts, hoodies, hats and dog shirts with organic cotton and biodegradable dyes. Red Lotus’ clothes sell anywhere from $24 to $50.
Annie Le, advertising and marketing executive turned entrepreneur, started Red Lotus about eight months ago.
The company, which is privately held and doesn’t disclose revenue, employs nine workers and sells its clothes through its Web site.
Red Lotus makes its clothes at local factories and taps outside carriers to ship its products.
Le, a fashionista at heart, always dreamed of owning a clothing company.
After working on several advertising and marketing campaigns for other clothing companies, Le decided it was time for her to start her own.
But Le, who is of Vietnamese heritage, had a few things to learn.
Limited money and experience were her biggest hurdles. She also had to learn how to work with manufacturers and how to manage expenses.
“I’m still learning as I go,” Le said.
Le admits that making her clothes with organic cotton and other green materials is expensive but she believes that it gives Red Lotus a competitive niche.
“My target demographic is 18- to 35-year-olds and they’re really savvy about the environment,” Le said. “They can wear my line and not compromise their beliefs.”
Red Lotus isn’t the only apparel company to offer eco-friendly clothes. Lake Forest-based Sole Technology Inc. offers an organic line of shoes through its etnies brand and European retailer H & M; offers a line of clothes made with organic cotton.
Le spends a good chunk of her time making cold calls to local boutiques to try to get her clothes in their stores.
Having a new brand has made it challenging, Le admits.
“You have to prove to the stores that you’re the next big thing,” she said.
