Glow Recipe

How Christine & Sarah Grew Glow Recipe to $100 Million in Sales

Founded By

Christine Chang

Monthly Revenue

$8.33M

Starting Costs

$50K

Founders

Employees

70 (est.)

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2014

Customer

B2C

Founded By
Christine Chang: Monthly Revenue
$8.33M: Starting Costs
$50K

Founders
2: Employees
70 (est.): Profitable
Yes

Year Started
2014: Customer
B2C

Who is Christine Chang?

Glow Recipe was founded by Christine Chang and Sarah Lee, two former L’Oréal employees who met in Korea and bonded over K-beauty. They both have Korean heritage and leveraged their bicultural backgrounds to launch the company in 2014, introducing Korean beauty products to the U.S. market.

Glow Recipe Co-Founders Sarah Lee and Christine Chang

What problem does Glow Recipe solve?

Glow Recipe offers natural, fun skincare that transforms a mundane routine into a joyful self-care experience, tackling the hassle of skincare tedium.

How did Christine come up with the idea for Glow Recipe?

Christine Chang and Sarah Lee, the minds behind Glow Recipe, bonded over their love for Korean beauty products while working at L'Oreal. They often found themselves discussing the latest skincare innovations from Korea, realizing that many consumers in the U.S. were missing out on these trends. This realization sparked the idea to bring Korean beauty to the U.S. market in a more direct way.

As bicultural and bilingual professionals, they saw a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between Korean beauty brands and American consumers. They initially conceptualized Glow Recipe as an e-commerce platform to introduce Korean brands to a wider audience in the U.S. However, after seeing the enthusiastic response to Korean skincare, they decided to develop their own line of products under the Glow Recipe name.

The inspiration for their first product, the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask, stemmed from cherished childhood memories of using watermelon rinds on sun-heated skin, a tradition passed down from their grandmothers. This personal connection, combined with extensive product testing, helped them craft a product that resonated with consumers' desire for effective and enjoyable skincare. Through numerous iterations and community feedback, Chang and Lee refined their line to ensure it stayed true to their mission of making skincare a delightful ritual.

How did Christine build the initial version of Glow Recipe?

Christine Chang and Sarah Lee built Glow Recipe's first product, the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask, by leveraging their extensive backgrounds in Korean skincare. This involved over a thousand formulations to perfect the mask's unique blend of watermelon extracts and active ingredients, ensuring its efficacy and appeal. Initially, they faced the challenge of creating a product that met both their high standards and addressed consumer desires for innovative and fun skincare experiences. The product development process was intensive, taking approximately two years before achieving the final, sellable version. One key hurdle was managing production scale and maintaining product quality, a critical aspect given the rapid success and massive demand that followed their launch.

What were the initial startup costs for Glow Recipe?

Initial Investment: The founders pooled their savings to invest $50,000 initially into launching Glow Recipe.

What was the growth strategy for Glow Recipe and how did they scale?

Glow Recipe effectively utilized social media platforms to engage with their audience and grow their brand presence. They consistently shared product tutorials, skin-care tips, and user-generated content on platforms like Tiktok & Instagram, where they have over a million followers. This strategy helped build a vibrant community around their products, while also spreading the word about their innovative use of fruits in skincare.

embed:tiktok

Why it worked: Social media allowed Glow Recipe to maintain direct communication with their followers, creating a sense of community and loyalty. Their colorful imagery and engaging content made their brand stand out, helping them capture the attention of beauty enthusiasts who appreciated their unique approach to skincare.

Influencer Collaborations

Glow Recipe collaborated with influencers to increase their brand visibility and credibility. By partnering with beauty influencers who align with their brand values, Glow Recipe was able to reach a wider audience who trusted the recommendations of these influencers.

Why it worked: Influencer collaborations helped Glow Recipe gain access to new customers who might not have discovered the brand otherwise. Influencers' authentic reviews and demonstrations of the products provided potential customers with trustworthy insights, thereby boosting their confidence in trying Glow Recipe's offerings.

Retail Partnerships

Glow Recipe formed strategic partnerships with retailers like Sephora, which significantly contributed to their growth. Being featured in such stores increased their product accessibility and visibility among customers who frequently shop at these popular beauty outlets.

Why it worked: Retail partnerships provided Glow Recipe with a platform to attract both new and existing customers who prefer to experience products firsthand. Sephora's endorsement also lent credibility to Glow Recipe, as it is a well-respected name in the beauty industry, helping to build consumer trust.

SEO and Content Marketing

Glow Recipe invested in SEO and content marketing to ensure they captured organic search traffic. They shared educational content about skincare routines and beauty tips on their blog, attracting visitors who were interested in learning more about Korean beauty products.

Why it worked: Customers searching for skincare advice often ended up on Glow Recipe's website due to their targeted content strategy, effectively turning information-seekers into potential customers. By addressing common skincare queries and concerns, Glow Recipe positioned themselves as experts in the field, which helped build trust with their audience.

What's the pricing strategy for Glow Recipe?

Glow Recipe primarily prices its products between $15 and $49, showcasing a range from affordable to premium offerings, with hero products like the $49 Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask frequently selling out due to high demand.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building Glow Recipe?

Leverage Cultural Heritage: Glow Recipe's success was rooted in their Korean heritage, which informed both their unique product offerings and their authentic connection with their audience. They used culturally inspired ingredients and rituals, ensuring their products resonated deeply with consumers looking for genuine and effective skincare solutions.
Resilience Through Hurdles: The founders faced the challenge of transitioning from a corporate environment to entrepreneurship, learning all aspects of business management on the fly. They tackled multiple roles with a hands-on approach and judiciously outsourced when necessary, emphasizing the importance of resourcefulness and adaptability.
Community Engagement is Key: By engaging actively with their community through educational content and using social media effectively, Glow Recipe built a loyal customer base. They listened to feedback, which helped them create products that met their audience's desires and needs, highlighting the power of cultivating and maintaining an engaged customer base.
Collaborate and Communicate: The founders maintained success through open, constant communication and a strong partnership. Their approach to resolving disagreements quickly and moving forward demonstrates the importance of collaboration and clear communication in a healthy business partnership.
Stay Aligned with Core Values: They remained true to their mission of making skincare joyful and effective, which also guided their brand’s consistent growth. This commitment to core values helped build a brand identity that stood out in a crowded market and reinforced trust with their consumers.

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