Bored and restless six months into retirement, Candace Keefe decided to start Apriori Beauty LLC in 2009 along with Susan Twellman and Elizabeth Vervynck.
Laguna Hills-based Apriori Beauty seemed a natural path for Keefe and Vervynck, who got to know each other during their days at Irvine-based Arbonne International LLC, a makeup seller with yearly sales of about $375 million.
Twellman, a businesswoman who spent time in software and started her own wealth management company, knew Vervynck.
The three got together and gelled on the idea for starting Apriori Beauty. Six months later, they came out with a line of anti-aging skincare products and supplements.
Keefe is chief executive. Twellman is chief operating officer. Vervynck is chief marketing officer.
They used their own money as well as some from friends and family investors, Keefe said.
“When I decided to do this, I knew it would be in beauty,” Keefe said. “It’s my passion. When women look good, they feel good.”
Sales, Employees Up
First-quarter sales were up 60% from a year earlier, according to the company. Keefe declined to disclose a sales figure.
The Business Journal estimates yearly sales at $1 million to $5 million.
Like Arbonne, Apriori uses direct sales, or multilevel marketing, to sell its products. The company has sales representatives in all 50 states, according to Keefe.
The company’s number of representatives more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, she said.
Most of Apriori’s salespeople are women who tap their personal networks for sales.
The company saw a 200% rise in customers in the first quarter, according to Keefe.
She declined to give figures for consultants and customers.
Apriori has 13 products with more planned. They include anti-aging creams, an elixir drink and supplements.
Lifeoxylin and Cel-loxylin Cellular Age Advantage are designed to preserve skin.
“It really focuses on the health of the skin, not just the symptoms of the aging process,” Keefe said.
The products have gotten some nods.
Cellular Age Advan-tage 20Ex Acid Peel was touted as “the next best thing to a professional peel” by New Beauty’s daily blog. The company’s products were mentioned in Riviera magazine’s “best of the beauty” section.
Apriori has patents pending on its skincare line. Prices range from $30 plus for individual products to a couple of hundred dollars for sets.
More products are due this summer. Keefe was mum on details, saying only that it will be “a line of products that will complement and perfect the products Apriori Beauty” already has.
The direct sales approach was a no brainer for the women.
“It’s a model that truly works when done properly and honestly,” Keefe said. “It’s a winning proposition for millions of people. I’ve personally experienced it and seen it with others.”
Keefe said she’s big on helping women make money, something she found herself having to do years ago after a divorce left her a single mother of three young kids.
That’s when she stumbled upon Arbonne, spending 20 years there up until 2004.
She said she honed her skills during her time at Arbonne. She wore several hats, including senior vice president of product development and field marketing.
Vervnyck was senior director of marketing at Arbonne.
Higher Costs
Starting a direct sales beauty company probably costs more than a typical startup, Keefe said. She didn’t want to give a figure.
“Millions,” she said with a soft laugh referring to upfront expenses.
Clinical trials, contract manufacturing, creating and owning your own formulas for the products, Web marketing as well as ensuring you have enough product on hand were just some of the big expenses.
“Once you commit to this distribution model, you commit to growing quickly,” Keefe said. “We had our first back order within two weeks.”
The company has considered a global push. But Keefe said there still is a lot of the U.S. market for them to cover.
“We haven’t even scratched the surface here,” she said.
For now the women are doing what they say they do best.
“I like to look and feel my best,” Keefe said. “It’s just in my nature to want the best products for myself.”
Gomez is a former Business Journal editor and freelance writer based in Long Beach.
