When Julie Pefferman and Tina Rowhanian launched CleanTan in 2016, the product was ahead of its time. There weren't any other tanning drops on the market—they were the first. They approached the development of the product by solving for every problem that existed with self-tanner at the time—odor, color transfer, no control of shade, and unstable formulations.

Pefferman used her creativity as a cosmetic chemist, replacing synthetic fragrances, dyes, parabens, and penetration enhancers with natural, innovative, and effective alternatives with a 2+ shelf life. The result was CleanTan Quickie Concentrate, a new way to create a sunless tan at home by simply mixing a few drops of the concentrated antioxidant tanning solution with any lotion or moisturizer to create a natural glow or super-dark finish. Product innovation like this must have revolutionized the sunless tanning industry, right?

The launch received a lot of editorial buzz, quickly becoming a customer favorite, but imitators soon followed with more affordable albeit diluted formulas. The launches became hero products, creating a flywheel effect supporting SKU expansion. While it is said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery for an entrepreneur, it's a bitter pill to swallow.

While the competition couldn't boast a long shelf life or the rich antioxidant TeaTan complex that fights free radicals associated with sunless tanning, they had the distribution of Sephora and Ulta. CleanTan made what proved to be a fatal mistake: they packaged the product in a 3oz bottle that lasted a year, a purchasing cycle that was far too long.

Pefferman said of the experience, "My job creating products of the future is trendspotting and predicting where things are going. I am good at it. Really good. However, CleanTan was a learning experience. We had to educate everyone on what a tanning drop was. There was no precedent for the size of the bottle to use. Instead of educating consumers, it turned out that we educated the competition. I learned that when you are first to market, you also need to be able to press the scale button or know someone who can!"

With an entrepreneur's unfettered determination and ability to use failures to inform the future, CleanTan is staging a comeback. Solid growth and a stable customer base have provided the foundation for a big retail launch in spring 2023 featuring new sustainable glass packaging.

CleanTan's efficacious formula, supported by sustainable, clean, and prestige positioning, will be the recipe for success this time around. For the relaunch they have fine-tuned the hero SKU, which replaces the need for multiple products while allowing the consumer to be in complete control of the depth of the tan. The team has a pipeline with two first-to-market tanning innovations for tanning primed to launch when the time is right. Finally, it seems that CleanTan may be right on time to capture its piece of the billion-dollar global self-tanning market.