From a shipment standpoint, a number of hiccups were encountered. For One Click B.eauty, an Amazon-exclusive brand, the prioritization of essential goods by the e-commerce website caused major delays in fulfillment. "We could never have imagined that product availability would become an issue because we couldn't ship product from one place to another due to a prioritization of only essential goods," said Glassman.
We could never have imagined that product availability would become an issue because we couldn't ship product from one place to another due to a prioritization of only essential goods.
Goodhabit runs its own warehouse in New Jersey — the second hardest hit state in the U.S. by the coronavirus — that's responsible for fulfilling and shipping their products. "We had to temporarily close it last week just to make sure we disinfect everything," said Nurislamova. "So, that stress is there. Those people have to still show up and step up when the rest of us get to work from home, that's very much what I'm thinking about on a day to day basis."
The good news in all of this is that by nature, new brands are scrappy and they're used to having to adapt to new challenges. Zunzunegui credits that to the "startup mentality" and the sentiment seems to ring true for other founders. "Because we are a new brand, you have a big financial impact in year one to begin with," said Glassman. "We're probably in a better position than an existing brand that hadn't planned for that upfront investment."
Pivoting and Adapting a Beauty Strategy
The most common question each of these brand founders asked themselves: should we cancel the entire launch? "Of course we questioned if we are doing the right thing by launching right now," said Glassman. "How do we make sure we're not being tone deaf in a time when so many people are scared and suffering? How do we make sure that we are giving back where we can, while still being able to support our team and our business, which is a delicate balance in itself."
