From Kickstarter to Big Box Retail Why Customer Feedback Is Key With Touchland Founder Andrea Lisbona
Jan 11, 2023
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Andrea Lisbona, the innovative Founder of Touchland, shares her journey of transforming hand sanitizer from a mundane necessity into a stylish personal care revolution. She discusses how to use customer feedback for product innovation and building a loyal community, especially through Kickstarter. Lisbona emphasizes the power of social media in creating an authentic brand experience and explores the necessity of nurturing company culture during rapid growth, revealing lessons that can inspire entrepreneurs across industries.
Touchland revolutionizes the hand sanitizer industry by transforming it into a desirable beauty product through innovative design and joyful user experiences.
The brand's community-driven approach, exemplified during its Kickstarter campaign, emphasizes the significance of customer feedback in shaping successful product offerings.
Deep dives
Creating a Unique Brand Identity
Touchland stands out in the personal care market by transforming the perception of hand sanitizers from a mundane necessity to a desirable beauty product. The brand emphasizes the importance of creating a joyful user experience, inviting consumers to 'Touch' and engage with the product rather than being driven by fear of germs. Founders recognized that the hand sanitizer category lacked excitement and sought to revolutionize it through sleek design, innovative packaging, and luxurious formulations. By shifting the focus from hygiene to enjoyment, Touchland has successfully captured attention and loyalty in both personal care routines and retail spaces.
Community-Driven Growth and Innovation
Touchland employs a community-driven approach to product development and marketing, which has been fundamental to its success. The brand's Kickstarter campaign served not only as a fundraising mechanism but also as a platform for market validation, engaging early supporters who played a role in shaping product offerings. Through feedback from backers and active social media engagement, Touchland continuously evolves its products and cultivates a dedicated consumer base. This focus on community enables the brand to thrive even as market demand for hand sanitizers fluctuates.
Strategic Retail Expansion
The expansion of Touchland into over 4,000 retail stores marks a significant milestone in its growth strategy, highlighting the importance of a diversified distribution approach. By cultivating relationships with retailers like Sephora and Target, Touchland positions itself as more than just a hand sanitizer brand, presenting itself as a lifestyle product. The brand's omnichannel strategy, including direct-to-consumer sales, equips it to adapt to changing market dynamics, especially amid rising customer acquisition costs. Ultimately, Touchland maintains its focus on strategic growth and brand integrity to ensure sustained success in a competitive marketplace.
With a hunger for innovation, Andrea Lisbona decided she wanted to disrupt and commodify an ordinary industry. The industry of choice? Hand sanitizer.
Since its launch 10 years ago (long before 2020 boosted hand sanitizer sales by three digits), Touchland has become the leading skin-forward hand sanitizer brand and sits as the most awarded hand sanitizer on the market.
On this episode of WorkParty, Andrea explores the lessons she learned launching a revolutionary personal care brand (on a global scale!) and shares how she built a visionary team along the way.