June 3, 2020
Zaffrin O’Sullivan, CEO, Five Dot Botanics
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The CEO of Five Dots Botanics, Zaffrin O’Sullivan, recently joined me on The Reboot Chronicles. A few years ago she had plenty on her plate, as Head of Business and Legal Affairs for BBC Studios, Founder of Female Founders in Beauty, mother of three – and a beekeeper! Zaffrin was not lacking for challenges. She noticed a profound shift in consumer lifestyle choices in product ingredients recently and the move to clean beauty. With this, she saw an opportunity. Five Dots Botanics enabled her to fill an unmet market demand for a brand built around transparency and quality. This she did by building on five basic ingredients.
Why is it a good time for Indie Brands?
Current trends in the health and beauty industry indicate a growing consumer awareness with regard to healthier alternatives to heavily laden chemical products. Five Dots Botanicals, a London based gender-neutral skincare brand, was launched in June 2019. Since its inception, Five Dots Botanics sells predominantly directly to consumers. The brand has had great success by staying true to two core principles.
People buy from people. This is crucial since founders can connect with consumers, which is key to having brand success and establishing loyal consumers. Zaffrin attributes this to the success of her brand.
Create a good story. Living in the age of storytelling, founders like Zaffrin have the ability to draw in consumers and convey powerful stories that consumers resonate with. This she did by focusing on “Five quality key ingredients.”
Navigating through COVID as a Business Owner
COVID has impacted a multitude of industries, especially the beauty industry. Amid COVID, since March there has been a significant increase of around 50% in online shopping. As a result, Zaffrin explained her brand has seen major traction online and through social media platforms. She says that like any brand, Five Dots has grown through trial and error. Recognizing consumers relate to stories, especially with regards to overcoming adversity, she has made a concerted effort to collaborate with influencers and like-minded brands that align with Five Dot Botanics values and principles, which has greatly helped especially during COVID.
Although the pandemic has been a difficult time for brands and consumers, it also is a time for opportunity and creativity. Zaffrin states. “In a post COVID world, I think we absolutely need to be advancing and accelerating technology for all brands in retail because we’re not going to be touching each other with products anytime soon.”
Zaffrin says that while there is no telling what is to come, there is still a major opportunity in what lies ahead.
