Think running a company is just about product development? Kids personal care brand Episencial shows the importance of investing in digital education.
Think running a company is just about product development? Kids personal care brand Episencial shows the importance of investing in digital education.
Natural and organic kids personal care is a hot category—so I wasn’t surprised to find out that Episencial was the first brand to close a round on new crowdfunding site CircleUp, raising around $200,000. Whether you’re a parent, or an investor, or a parent who invests, nontoxic bath and body products for kids makes sense.
But the success of a brand in the category, a category that new and existing companies are steadily entering (confirmed at March’s Expo West), goes beyond the quality of its products. When I recently spoke with Kim Walls, Episencial’s founder, she noted how investors on CircleUp appreciated her brand’s entire mission, not just the purity of its lotions, balms, body washes, shampoos and other products formulated for children’s sensitive skin.
Much of the brand is based on education, which Walls provides primarily through an online platform called Green From Day One. A collaboration with Alan Greene, MD, this site—which is entirely separate from Episencial’s product site—started as a way to educate nurses about the importance of natural personal care. “Nurses receive free continuing education credits to learn about skin and especially how skin is tied to overall immunity,” said Walls.
Episencial’s unique distribution model not only includes online, hotels and natural products stores, but also hospitals. The site's webinar helps to ensure that the products thrive in the medical environment by giving practitioners the necessary information to understand the link between topical ingredients and overall health.
The host, Kathi Salley Randall, RN, addresses an array of issues: differences between a child’s and an adult’s skin, cosmetic industry regulations and the impact of environmental elements on the skin. Also available on the site is a free e-book that discusses many of the same issues.
Perhaps the best part is that these resources are not just for practitioners. Episencial uses the site to spread information well beyond the medical community; the webinar is available to anyone, including consumers and retailers.
“The Green From Day One initiative is part of our dedicated effort to improve the trajectory of life-long health for babies born in the environment today,” said Walls.
Check out Green From Day One here. Do you think education initiatives such as this add value to a brand?
