Building a Successful Skincare Brand: Insights from Charlotte Parino
👩💼 Introduction
In this article, we will be discussing the insights and experiences of Charlotte Parino, co-founder and CEO of Do, a science-backed skincare brand that has gained a massive following on social media. With close to 8 million likes on TikTok, Charlotte has become a trusted skincare expert, known for her honest and well-informed videos. In this article, we will delve into her success on social media and business, what makes a great TikTok video, and how to build trust for your brand and cultivate a community.
Table of Contents
1. The Saturated Skincare Market
2. Creating Clinically Vetted and Price Transparent Products
3. Too Much Information Brand
4. The Perfect Intersection of Experience from Media and Tech
5. Storytelling and Topical Content on TikTok
6. Commenting on Trending Topics
7. Learning from Corporate Jobs and Building Up Your Skill Set
8. Bootstrapping and Lean Strategies for Startups
9. The Influence of New York City on the Brand
10. Cohesive Branding and Design
11. What's Next for Do?
The Saturated Skincare Market
The skincare industry is a highly saturated market, with countless brands vying for attention. So how did Charlotte and her team at Do manage to create videos and content that resonated with the community? According to Charlotte, it all started with a desire to create something that was clinically vetted and price transparent. She noticed that many brands were not being honest with their customers, and were not leveling with people.
"A lot of brands are afraid to say certain things because it opens up the door for more conversations. It's much easier to give a straightforward answer to something that's definitive versus saying, 'well, it depends.' It takes a lot more work, a lot more education," says Charlotte.
Creating Clinically Vetted and Price Transparent Products
Charlotte's co-founder, Joyce Delos, is a cosmetic chemist with over a decade of experience. Together with another co-founder, Mara Friedman, who is great at branding and community, they set out to create something that was clinically vetted and price transparent. They wanted to create a brand that was honest and didn't shy away from difficult conversations.
"We call ourselves a 'too much information' brand," says Charlotte. "In just sharing that story, I got my aestheticians license in 2020, sharing that journey, sharing what your skin needs, what it doesn't, how it's so varied, and that quite frankly, our products are not going to be for everybody, really actually resonated with people because it's real."
Too Much Information Brand
Do is a "too much information" brand, which means they are not afraid to share all the details with their customers. They believe that by being transparent and honest, they can build trust with their customers and cultivate a community.
"There's so much shame that's put into the beauty industry from so many different levels. Right, you have shame that you aren't beautiful enough, you aren't young enough, you don't have perfect skin. But now we're also being shamed into, 'okay, well, this is toxic skincare, and it's giving you and your family cancer.' And you're like, 'okay, there's a lot going on here. What's actually happening? Can you level
