Shai Eisenman, Founder & CEO of Bubble Skincare

Gabriella Bock:
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the RETHINK Retail Podcast. I’m your host, Gabriella Bock. And I am coming to you live from Las Vegas, Nevada, from the show floor of Groceryshop 2022. And joining me right now is my very special guest, Shai Eisenman. She is the founder and CEO of Bubble Skincare, which is a remarkable new skincare line that is totally captivating the hearts and wallets of Gen Z. Shai, thank you so much for being here.

Shai Eisenman:
Hi, I’m super excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Gabriella Bock:
Absolutely. And I know we’re on limited time here, so let’s just hop right into it. Shai, kind you, kind of, kick us off by just telling us a little bit about yourself and, you know, Bubble Skincare. You know, in such a saturated market there are so many skincare brands out there. So, you know, what prompted you to say, “Yes, I, Shai Eisenman, I’m going to launch my very own skincare company”?

Shai Eisenman:
So, we started working on Bubble about four years ago, but the brand actually launched a year and 10 months ago. So, we’re actually 22 months old exactly.

Gabriella Bock:
Wow.

Shai Eisenman:
And the reason why we created Bubble is that, even though consumers today are the most advanced generation to have ever existed.

Shai Eisenman:
And even though when we look at older consumers and consumers with higher price points to pay, there’s 400 options for every skin type and every skin concern.

Shai Eisenman:
When you go to lower price points, when you go to mass retailers, and when you go to younger ages, there are no options besides the same brands that we used decades ago.

Shai Eisenman:
So if you look at what consumers are using, 80% of the market is still being controlled by old-school brands and having evolved in 50, 60, 70 years.

Shai Eisenman:
So we wanted to created a brand that is, first and foremost, still work better for consumers. From an efficacy perspective, from impirical perspective, a skincare brand that is actually great to clear acne and balance your skin in a very gentle way.

Shai Eisenman:
But it’s still gonna be something that consumers being connected, consumers would be excited about, and really want to be a part of.

Shai Eisenman:
We actually created the brand together with, by now it’s been over 12,000, consumers that have been a part of every decision we made.

Gabriella Bock:
Wow. And so, how do you do that? How do you, um, you know, incorporate consumers into that decision making process? How does that work?

Shai Eisenman:
So, the current action started with focus groups. So, identified the gap with… by conducting for this group for 200 consumer.

Shai Eisenman:
And in those focus groups and came into the first one, realizing that we need to [inaudible 00:02:49]. That everything about is completely wrong, if consumers use brands that are very much old too.

Shai Eisenman:
And if they really want and looking for better options, but there’s nothing available to them. And then, we realize that in order to continue to be relevant and to be creating something that consumers actually going to be excited about, we have to involve them in a conversation.

Shai Eisenman:
Obviously, during this process, the pandemic happens, which also we have an image component of mental health-

Gabriella Bock:
Yes.

Shai Eisenman:
in the brand, and maybe leave that up to be able to support them, and to be able to [inaudible 00:03:22] be a part of conversation and be there for them. It started with 200 consumers, then we conducted quantitative research in 800 consumers. And then, we created a community of four or 5,000 consumers that have been a part of every decision we made. And we communicate with them through an app. And now, it’s all our brand ambassadors.

Shai Eisenman:
And we don’t decide on the product name, on a product formulation, on a product packaging, or which influencers, and celebrities we work with without asking.

Gabriella Bock:
That’s fantastic. But let’s say that your customers will always tell you exactly what they want and it sounds like you guys took that through the heart. I learned to, kind of, back it up a little bit and, kind of, learn a little bit more about you, and the brand story, and, you know, how you came to launching a- a skincare brand of your own. Was there, like, uh, a need you saw on the market? Or do you have a- a background? And, like, the cosmetic industry? How did all this came about?

Shai Eisenman:
So, I was actually born and raised in Israel. Um, and I started, uh, my BA at 15 and started working full-time at my 16 and, like, completely different space. And when I was 21, I was actually introduced to, like, somebody who has a lot of different companies and, um, very prominent business person who essentially was crazy enough to let me run companies for the age of 21.

Gabriella Bock:
Oh, my gosh. Wow.

Shai Eisenman:
So, I found myself at 21 running a gaming company over 100- over 100 employees. And then spend, you know, the last 10 years down in running companies, which, um, I was always excited about creating brands and consumers, kind of, locally connect with.

Shai Eisenman:
About six years ago when I decided to branch out on my own, I was really looking forward to building something unique and special.

Shai Eisenman:
And something that consumers really want to be a part of that, that has a bigger purpose that can do more than just, you know, be, you know, and I felt like, it’s hard to say this, but I felt, like, a lot of industries out there, just passionate making cash.

Gabriella Bock:
Sure.

Shai Eisenman:
And that’s really not what I wanted to be a part of. I, personally, struggled with acne a lot, um, as I still until this day struggle with hormonal acne. And I was really excited when I learned about the beauty industry and when I’m learning about the amazing things that you can do. I’m very, very excited about the fact that you could create an emotional connection with consumers and beauty in a way that is not necessarily that possible and utterly how to force. But then, at the same time, there’s something beautiful about skincare because it has the true clinical impact.

Shai Eisenman:
It’s so much more than makeup. It’s not just about the playfulness of it but having an emotional connection with [inaudible 00:05:51] actually can drive efficacy. We were actually, you know, we are working on a lot of OTC products. We just launched our first OTC products a couple months ago. And-

Gabriella Bock:
Congratulations

Shai Eisenman:
Thank you. And there’s, like, so much science into this and there’s so much actual benefits to your consumers. Um, so, kind of, finding something that has that connection between emotional, and clinical, and creating something that, you know, could truly tell us… no, fit to say, this can truly change consumers life because the connection between mental health and acne and mental health and your skin is huge. So, to be able to give them something that is so much better and affordable prices is something that I was very excited and passionate about. And that’s why I have ventured out on this journey, um, four and a half years ago.

Gabriella Bock:
Wow. Running a company at 21, I might tip my hat to you because that is- because that is a lot and I’m just really, like, demonstrates for character to be able to do that at such a young age. I mean, I think about myself at 21 and there was no way I could lead a company then. So- (laughs)

Shai Eisenman:
I made every possible mistake. Don’t get me wrong.

Gabriella Bock:
Sure.

Shai Eisenman:
But- but it it’s really, kind of, allowed me to, kind of, get into the business world those stem things from a different perspective.

Gabriella Bock:
Absolutely.

Shai Eisenman:
And, obviously, now coming into this down 31 and coming into this from a much work and get your perspective. And- and it’s been such an amazing learning experience.

Gabriella Bock:
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for sharing a bit of your origin story with me.

Shai Eisenman:
Okay.

Gabriella Bock:
I’d love to hear more about your consumers. So, what is your, you know, primary demographic? Would you say they’re mainly Gen Z and millennial consumers?

Shai Eisenman:
So, it’s actually very interesting because when we launched the brand, we identified the gap in specific routines.

Shai Eisenman:
But then when we launched a brand, especially when we ventured out into retailing, we’re now at the end of this year we’re going to be available in 9,000 doors nationwide, we’ve learned that, um, 3 year old and 26 year old reach out to us and say-

Shai Eisenman:
Oh is this brand not for me?

Shai Eisenman:
Am I twist in using it?” And then we realized, it’s actually could be used by everyone.

Shai Eisenman:
We knew it’s from clinical perspective that this great skincare is great skincare.

Shai Eisenman:
Our product is not about anti-aging. Our products are about balancing your skin, it’s about creating a healthy balanced routine, it’s about merely, kind of, protecting your skin barrier and being extremely gentle while still hydrating, and nourishing the skin the right way. At the same time, we really wanted to create something that is better for consumers across all ages. So, it’s been- it’s been quite a journey of understanding that, yes, these products can- can be buy by everyone.

Shai Eisenman:
And very much about the fact that, you know, now we have consumers across all ages. From an aesthetic perspective, I would say, definitely Gen Z is, kind of, hard- like, hard for demo.

Shai Eisenman:
And if the one that our- our biggest communities there, but we have now consumers at the ages of- from 40 plus to… just actually received an amazing review that made me tear up, which is, “I’m 16, I’m obsessed with these products and so am I, so is my mom.

Shai Eisenman:
And I love that so much.

Gabriella Bock:
Oh, wow. Well, actually, you can at least share together.

Gabriella Bock:
And so, we’re talking about, you know, consumers. And I know you have some resources and site skin school. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Shai Eisenman:
One things, I mean, I realized while creating this community was the fact that there’s so much misinformation.

Shai Eisenman:
And this industry is filled with scaremongering.

Shai Eisenman:
There were so many things that are just not true. You know, when there’s proper lives that people tell in this beauty- in the beauty industry they’re just completely false.

Shai Eisenman:
And we’ve just realized that there’s so much lack of knowledge, uh, we- in good resources of information. So, in our app, we had two rooms. We had a room to speak to our dermatologist because we have, uh, dermatologists in the team.

Gabriella Bock:
Fantastic.

Shai Eisenman:
And- and also a room to speak with our product developer who’s a skincare expert.

Shai Eisenman:
And we received so many questions. There’re things that some of them felt very basic-

Shai Eisenman:
.. you know, like, “Can I use a toothpaste on my pimple?” “Oh, don’t- don’t. It’s made for your teeth. It’s not made for your-”

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah. But grandmothers all around the world will tell you that.

Shai Eisenman:
Shai Eisenman:
So, different questions like that. When we felt, like, there’s such an opportunity to give consumers something that we truly educate them and education as a core-

Gabriella Bock:
Mm-hmm.

Shai Eisenman:
… values to brands, but at the same time not be about Bubble. But not to push Bubble, but more about educating consumers to ask the right questions and to get a real understanding of things in the beauty industry from ingredients, to skip conditions, to how to treat certain conditions-

Shai Eisenman:
.. to when is the right time to see a dermatologist. And it- it was very long process because we essentially gathered questions that we received from nearly 5,000 consumers before launch.

Gabriella Bock:
Wow.

Shai Eisenman:
And gathered to a platform that we wanted to make it very, very intuitive and very easy to understand

Shai Eisenman:
That could give you so much information about your skin and about your skincare.

Shai Eisenman:
And there’s- and what I’m very proud of is the fact that there’s so much- so much truth and honesty there. So, for example, parabens is a perfect example.

Shai Eisenman:
People constantly say, “Oh, this is paraben free because parabens are so bad for you.”

Shai Eisenman:
The truth in the beauty industry is that nobody really knows because the only research that actually talks about the connection between parabens and remote hormonal disruption is a very unreliable research that a lot of people the beauty industry don’t really think it’s true. Um, and parabens have been used, you know, for nearly 200 years.

Shai Eisenman:
So, it is something that, obviously, is a big- very big thing in this beauty industry and using paraben free products despite the fact that nobody really knows if it’s bad or good for you.

Gabriella Bock:
Interesting.

Shai Eisenman:
So, that’s the, kind of, stuff that we try to explain and educate consumers that sometimes the truth is not black or white sometimes it’s in the middle. And it’s about just understanding where things come from and what’s the reason to them.

Gabriella Bock:
Mmm. That’s right. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I think to your point, there definitely is so much misinformation and- and things that we’re still just learning now. And then, we’re growing up and having, like, oily skin and being told, like, “Well, if you have an oily skin, you shouldn’t moisturize,” which is, like, the exact opposite of what we know now is you shouldn’t be moisturizing, so that you’re not over producing the oil. So, that’s very-

Shai Eisenman:
Exactly.

Gabriella Bock:
interesting things and it’s great that you’ve, kind of, created a platform where people can comment like, you know, learn from experts. It, kind of, creates this, kind of, like sense of authority for you guys, but at the same time you’ve become trusted. So, they’re trusting you with this information and then you’re creating that relationship with them or now they trust to buy your products. So, that’s really smart.

Shai Eisenman:
True. Yeah.

Shai Eisenman:
Thank you. And it’s- we’re super excited about it because we feel like it’s one of the biggest platforms in the industry to, actually, learn about your skin.

Shai Eisenman:
And without being pushy and trying this push products that we use but truly just purely about educate.

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah. And it’s very authentic way. You know, skincare itself, we’ve talked about it a little bit, but it’s- it’s such a personal thing. Everybody’s skin is different. And so, how do you, kind of, help customers understand… Do you help them understand what type of skin they have? And do you provide recommendations based off of- of their skin type or their problems or anything in that regard?

Shai Eisenman:
So, we have a quiz on skin school it helps you find your skin type. But one of the things that we actually are constantly trying to do is about simplifying skincare.

Shai Eisenman:
I think there are a lot of really amazing and great brands in the industry that have done a wonderful job without baking a lot of ingredients very accessible and very affordable.

Shai Eisenman:
But at the same time, they also created sore fusion.

Shai Eisenman:
And, you know, we saw during the pandemic of how many people were over-exfoliation their skin and damaging their skin barrier. And there’s been such… I- I speak to 12-year-old sometimes that haven’t 20 steps compared to, you know, like there’s- there’s just so much. Um, so one of the things that we, kind of, set, it sets us apart-

Shai Eisenman:
and something that we’re very excited about, is about how did you simplify your routine-

Shai Eisenman:
and make it easier for you- for your needs and what you’re looking for, but still, you know, make it very easy to understand without having 20 steps.

Shai Eisenman:
And that also about, obviously, holistic formulations that are not just specifically, one ingredients. It’s not just nice to the mind desire and- and- and the serum.

Shai Eisenman:
And nice to the mind, it’s in vitamin C and also licorice root extract, you know, it’s a combination of a lot of different things.

Shai Eisenman:
So, one of the things that we’ve done is essentially dividing routine into four different steps. We see it as routine has to be part of cleanse treat, moisturize, and protect cleanse, the most nonnegotiable thing.

Shai Eisenman:
You have to cleanse your skin every day, at least once a day. You know, you don’t have to do that twice, you don’t have to do it in the morning, but definitely everything you have to cleans your [inaudible 00:14:35] and until, I think, your pillows clean and-

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah.

Shai Eisenman:
And then, you don’t- you don’t, I think, to come up again in the morning. Um, then after that is very much about, um, a treat, which is let’s treat your specific conditions if you have acne, if you have eczema, if you have a dry skin. And let’s help you find what’s right for your skin, which is something that we’re trying to do on our website [inaudible 00:14:55] and also to deal with our community. Uh, if it’s about acne scars, or if it’s about hyperpigmentation, or black head show… using different products that are very much made to treat with- with your skin itch and then moisturize. If it’s moisturized, it’s a combination of what we usually like to say, um, three things. There’s a part of skin type, which is important that there’s also texture, because it’s usually a lot of [inaudible 00:15:20] like, certain texture and not really like other textures. And then, there’s the different hydration levels, like, some people really like thicker and rich moisturizers, some people look for more of a lighter version, um, so very much about that. And obviously, having all the different ingredients that you need to nourish your skin in the moisturizer across us.

Shai Eisenman:
And the last and the most important part of your skincare routine is actually, protects. You have to use SPF you have to use it every day, and you have to reapply every three hours. Like, that has to be the, kind of, the state board and your skincare routine. And that’s something that we constantly talk about to really simplify the whole- what do I use?

Shai Eisenman:
My skin moods. And how to make it easier for consumers to understand what- what is right to them essentially.

Gabriella Bock:
Fantastic. And so, when it comes to providing that information, so they… assuming they take the quiz, and they answer your questions, and they give you their- their email, or their phone number, and probably their age. Um, and do you provide them with those product recommendations based off of that quiz?

Shai Eisenman:
We provide them different ingredients and different recommendations for their skin types. And then, we have different bundles on our website, online shop page which essentially are made for different skin types. So, if it’s for oilier skin, if it’s for dry scan, if it’s for people looking for treat hyperpigmentation, um, and constellate, like, you could see on our products, also in the retail environment. Um, what it’s made for? So, for example, we have a section in every, uh, carton that says, “Best for” which is best for hyperpigmentation, best for acne scarring, best for redness. Um, and also every product has its purpose. So, for example, our- our Day Dream serum, it’s called tone and texture serum to improve your tone and texture. So, again, simplified to make it-

Gabriella Bock:
Okay.

Shai Eisenman:
… so much easier for them to understand what do they- what do they mean.

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah, that makes sense, simplification. I mean, because there’s so many different types of products and I’m sure it can be overwhelming for consumers like, “Where do I even start?” So, it’s smart.

Gabriella Bock:
And so, being a new brand and having, kind of, a younger demographic, but, you know, some- some older people in the demographic too, but how are you mainly, you know, getting the word out there and- and marketing your products?

Shai Eisenman:
It’s so…  like, you know, in 2022, we like to say that it has to be like 50 million. Is, you know, because the saturation is real.

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah.

Shai Eisenman:
Like, the average consumer gets exposed to 30,000 brands every day.

Shai Eisenman:
And we like to say that, uh, if it used to be that you need to see a brand three to four times, premade a purchase decision, now it’s like nine to 12 times, especially in skincare that is basically, and very emotional purchase. So it’s very hard to drive trial. So, we have so many different ways from, you know, TikTok, and utilizing influencers, and utilizing celebrities to actually, you know, simplifying and making beautiful experience and retail shelves, to activating different coupons, um, to having, like, a sample set campaign, which is essentially in drive to trial through our website, through our sample set, and give it to us for greater display shipping.

Shai Eisenman:
So, many different things to really get people to try different-

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah, that’s smart.

Shai Eisenman:
What I would say is very interesting about us is that, we… there are two things that are very nonconventional about the brand that is, kind of, a barrier that we need to break with consumers. One, we provide the best quality prestige for narrations in mass prices.

Shai Eisenman:
And a lot of consumers connects price with quality.

Shai Eisenman:
So, they can’t believe the fact that we actually, like, we have the same cost of goods as a brand that will sell the prices for retail for $100.

Shai Eisenman:
They have the exact same cost. And that’s the quality of the formulation.

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah.

Shai Eisenman:
And the second part is very much about the cute packaging.

Gabriella Bock:
Mm-hmm.

Shai Eisenman:
Is the cheat codes, like, the germ allow on every drugstore, you’re gonna see that essentially everything there looks very clinical, it’s very white-

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah.

Shai Eisenman:
… it’s very, you know, lots of information on the bottle. Um, and we are, obviously, bringing something there, kind of, fresh, but also something that consumers are not very used to.

Gabriella Bock:
Mm-hmm.

Shai Eisenman:
So, we’re constantly thinking of the different ways on how to break these barriers, on how to make them understand that if it’s you-

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah.

Shai Eisenman:
… “Yes, it’s affordable, but it actually works.”

Gabriella Bock:
Yeah. Super smart, yeah. I think with a lot of- a lot of skincare, especially, before really just paying for that name brand, when really it’s- it’s all about the active ingredients and- and using them the right way. And that’s, I think, to where the- the education comes in. Like, knowing, like, when to use a serum versus, you know, when to use, like, you know, it’s like a retinoid or, you know, moisturizer.

Shai Eisenman:
We wanna essentially become the new standard for consumers, especially, in mass retailer for best quality skincare while still made being extremely affordable. Um, so, we obviously are get- getting into new shelves, we just announced our CVS launch and 4,100 doors, which we’re very excited about.

Gabriella Bock:
Congratulations.

Shai Eisenman:
Thank you.

Shai Eisenman:
And we have still to do and so much more to, you know, to create. We have a really exciting product roadmap in the pipeline where actually there’s one part in the skincare routine, which we haven’t even touched yet for our products perspective. And it’s because we just protect… we’ve- we’ve been developing it in the last three years.

Gabriella Bock:
Wow.

Shai Eisenman:
So, there’s a lot of things that are coming in the next year, which we’re super excited about. And we are also very excited about international expansion because we know that the gap is huge to everyone.

Shai Eisenman:
And we get so much inbound for different retailers and from a lot of consumers overseas. We’ve just announced a Canada launch. And we have so much more to do next year. So, very, very excited.

Gabriella Bock:
Wow. Wow. It sounds, like, there’s a lot going on for you guys. It sounds like you’re growing really fast.

Shai Eisenman:
Thank you.

Gabriella Bock:
It’s very exciting. For a little one on the way.

Shai Eisenman:
Thank you.

Gabriella Bock:
So, it really sounds like it’s gonna be, uh, a great year for you and for Bubble Skincare. And I really appreciate your time, and learning about the company, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Shai Eisenman:
Thank you so much. I’m so excited to be here. I’m so grateful. Thank you so much for your time.