It looked like Kendra Kolb Butler had it all, living in Manhattan, balancing the commitments that came with being an SVP of Marketing and Communications, a wife, and new mother. Haunted by something she heard on the radio, “Sometimes you have to jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down,” one day she and her husband, who worked in private equity, left their successful careers, packed up their young family in 2015 and decided to leave the city grind behind.
Do what you love, follow your heart, and you will always find a way. Life is short. This is the mantra that led them to Jackson, Wyoming, and the impetus for launching Alpyn Beauty. Butler’s passion for wild crafting, clean beauty, and her new environment is infectious, so the fact that the brand has secured launch distribution in Credo and Goop is not surprising. This is one indie brand to keep on your radar.
How did you get into the beauty industry? Was that always your career path?
I had an obsession with beauty products from a very young age. When I turned 14 and could finally start working, I would save all of my paychecks from my first job and spend them in the cosmetic aisles of the local drug store. I was there so frequently that the employees knew me by name. I started my career in 1999 with an internship at Parfums Givenchy in London, then segued briefly to entertainment PR in NYC, but quickly found my way back to beauty.
From the outside it seemed you were “living the life” with a corner office on Madison Avenue, working for a prestigious skincare company. What made you give it all up and move to Jackson Hole?
I set lofty career goals for myself, and it soon became apparent to me that the more I achieved, the less fulfilled I became. I heard somebody say on the radio, “Sometimes you have to jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down,” and that quote haunted me. Do what you love, follow your heart, and you will always find a way. Life is short.
You launched your beauty brand with two retail locations. Why start with retail, and how did it inform the development of the product range?
I come from a retail background and it’s what I know best, what I am most comfortable with. Good retailers know how to launch brands and have a beautiful way of telling your story from a new and different perspective. When you believe in the partnership and are aligned, it’s a no-brainer. We launched with three SKUs—a cleanser, moisturizer, and eye cream—because they are the cornerstones of a good beauty routine. We have a new launch slated for January 2019.
Have you noticed anything new or noteworthy in the way your customers shop with you, trends they are following, or products they’re purchasing from Alpyn Beauty Bar?
The thing I love about my clients and Jackson Hole in general is that nobody follows so-called “trends.” People in Jackson are aware of trends in beauty and fashion, but they are mainly in search of things that make them look good and feel happy. The store/brand motto is “City chic, mountain minded.” It’s that beautiful contradiction of fly-fishing by day and wearing a red lip and stilettos at night. Jackson is like a marriage of the best of both worlds—untamed nature and sophisticated culture—and Alpyn Beauty embodies and captures that concept.
Can you explain the name of your brand Alpyn Beauty? Tell us about your branding, aesthetic and imagery.
Alpyn Beauty (pronounced AL-PEN) was inspired by the region’s renowned alpenglow: the ethereal pink light cast at sunrise and sunset, which illuminates the mountaintops, meadows, forests, and valleys where our ingredients grow. Essentially, “alpenglow” is redirected light bouncing off the mountains, and it is hard to explain it in words—it’s just something you have to see! I wanted that feeling to be reflected in the packaging with the subtle accents of pink. The aesthetic has a very luxurious feel, and of course we use 100% recyclable glass because it’s best for the environment.
Which ingredients or parts of the formulation give the products their efficacy, and what were the difficulties faced when creating formulas with clean ingredients?
The PlantGenius Complex (comprised of our local WY mountain plants) is the icing on the cake, and that is what sets our formulas apart. However, we also infuse each product with plenty of other (nontoxic) results-driven power ingredients. We really didn’t experience any difficulties in formulating clean.
Wild crafting and hand cultivating is at the core of your formulas. Dan you explain this process and why it’s important?
We wildcraft (the sustainable practice of harvesting plants from their natural or “wild” habitat) and hand cultivate (raising plants by hand, not machine) a complex of botanicals that grow at an elevation of 6,200 feet in the mountains surrounding Jackson Hole, WY. This is important because these plants are amongst the hardest-working, most resilient in the natural world. They’ve found a way to adapt, and flourish, in high altitude with low humidity, little oxygen, intense sun, harsh wind, and heavy snowfall. Our extracts and actives are naturally supercharged with potent plant power!
How did you bring the product from concept to commercialization?
I started by sharing my story and lab samples with some very experienced and successful beauty industry veterans that I knew would give me valuable and honest feedback. There was a very positive response right out of the gate! My next step was to conduct a consumer study within my Alpyn Beauty Bar store clientele, letting them test the formulas and report back on the results. After seeing such an overwhelmingly positive response, I felt confident we found something special and were ready for launch.
Understanding the challenges of retail firsthand, what is your distribution strategy?
Slow and steady wins the race. We are carefully selecting retail partners that have strategic marketing platforms to support the business and, more importantly, an active client base that aligns with our brand ethos and reaches our consumer. Of course, Credo Beauty and Goop felt like the perfect partnerships for launching this brand.
Would you share how you’ve funded the business to date?
We are privately funded.
You’ve launched the product range with three products. What is your growth strategy?
Our growing season in Jackson Hole is June through August, so it just ended. We’ve discovered a plethora of new wildcrafted actives that we will start rolling out in our 2019 launches. We’re constantly on the search for new, natural, efficacious ingredients to add to our product roster.
You’ve worked in the beauty industry for 15 years, what’s the biggest change you’d like to see in the beauty industry?
Consumer transparency is key. Most important, however, is innovation and discovery of new, exciting ingredients that benefit the skin and enhance the efficacy and results of the formulas—that’s what we’re about! I’m constantly searching for active ingredients that are new or undiscovered. I believe that nature always finds a way to get the job done, and she has provided us with all of the answers—we just have to get out there and discover and find what she is trying to show us. I am fortunate to live in a place that is perfect for that!
What are your thoughts about the beauty industry becoming more eco-conscious, and more organic brands entering the market?
Love it! Rising tides float all boats. I have so much respect for all of the beauty brands out there—launching and building a successful brand isn’t easy—but I think remaining eco-conscious is key, even if it is a little more expensive to manufacture products that stick to this ethos, it’s worth it in the end.
What do you miss most about New York City? This may sound crazy but being able to order takeout from anyplace I want any time of the day! ☺
