Launched: 2021
Founder:
Key Executives:
2024 Full Year Expected Revenue Range: $30 to $50 million
Offline points of distribution globally projected for 2024: 87,000
Primary Category: Personal Care
Other Categories: Body Care
Key Markets: United States
Retail Partnerships:
Primary Distribution Channel: Prestige
Other Distribution Channels:
Funding Rounds: Venture Capital
In May 2023, Vacation closed an oversubscribed $6 million Series A funding round led by Silas Capital with participation from True Beauty Ventures, BFG Partners, Sonoma Brands, Marla Beck (co-founder and former CEO of Bluemercury), David Grutman (founder of Groot Hospitality), Heela Yang Tsuzuki (co-founder and CEO of Sol de Janeiro), and others.
Notable Investors / Funding Partners:
Angels:
Notable Advisors / Board Members:
Dakota and I worked in marketing and advertising together, and a few years ago we were working remotely from Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Naturally, we were spending a lot of time on the beach, drinking piña coladas and wearing sunscreen. In this sunny setting, we got to talking about why sunscreen is so boring when it’s used in such fun environments. After some research, we discovered that sunscreen actually was a lot more fun in the '80s and before, when the marketing was all about tanning. While we understood why the message evolved to focus on protection and responsibility, we figured people today were now on board with the importance of SPF. They want to protect their skin, so it’s time to have fun again. With that, we set out on a mission to make sunscreen fun.
We do this through what we call “leisure-enhancing” sunscreen. This manifests in four ways:
Insight provided by Lach Hall, Founding Partner, Executive Chair, Marketing
What are your key business initiatives for 2024?
2024 is going to be a super exciting year for us, and we’ll be focusing on two major goals: growing our line of “leisure-enhancing” sunscreen products across multiple categories and expanding our retail distribution to make those products accessible to even more people. Watch this space!
What are you most proud of having accomplished?
I’m extremely proud that we’ve flipped the conversation around sunscreen on its head, and have made heaps of progress towards realizing our ultimate mission: making sunscreen fun. In doing so, we’re helping people prevent skin cancer, sunburn, and photoaging, without using fear-based messaging. Our community talks about applying sunscreen as a joyful respite in their day, instead of a dreaded obligation.
What has been the biggest surprise?
We are all constantly surprised and amazed that our (admittedly wacky) brand world that we’ve built has resonated with so many people.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
Our whole goal is to make sunscreen fun, and that is our point of difference. Our hypothesis was that sunscreen didn't have to be a chore. It could be something you’re excited about, look forward to wearing, something you share on social media, talk about with your friends, and something you might go out of your way to buy—versus an item you pick up last minute when you forgot to bring it with you on holidays. In a nutshell, it’s sunscreen that enhances your moment in the sun: aka “leisure-enhancing” sunscreen.
Please share your insight on the future of the beauty industry.
This has been the trend for a bit now, but I do think things are going to continue in this trajectory: companies and consumers alike may begin to acknowledge the validity of formulating with a combination of natural and synthetic ingredients, instead of villainizing one or the other (usually the latter). When used appropriately, opting for safe, clinically proven synthetic ingredients can help achieve both a better result for the user and for the environment.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
A piece of advice that has stuck with me is to work on things that feel like play to you, but look like work to others. And this bizarre world we’ve created with Vacation is essentially just a personification of our bizarre personalities, and the things we find ourselves in stitches joking about when we’re hanging out. So I guess, when you’ve found “work” that feels like play to you, you’re likely in a good spot to find some success in it, and at the very least, you’re going to have a great time regardless!
What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made?
The week before we launched our first fragrance, we cut production down to 500 units because we were worried no one would want a sunscreen scented fragrance, and we figured between the three founders we could find 500 people to give these things away to if it did flop. We sold through the 500 units in just a few hours after launch, and had to beg the team to come in on the weekend to make the remaining units. And because the product was meant to be limited edition at first, the supply chain we created was in a constant state of catch-up trying to meet the demand. After over two years, we just recently solved this pain point by building all new, custom packaging; it has been quite the journey!
Paying it forward, what advice would you give to someone contemplating launching a beauty brand?
Measure twice, cut once. It's really difficult to build and launch a product. The act itself is expensive and could take years, not to mention the time spent determining whether there's a demand for it once it’s in market. So for anyone contemplating launching a brand, I'd suggest that they spend triple the time they think they need to ensure their idea will resonate and to keep tweaking and developing it until they know that it will. The best way to tell if you’re onto something is if people laugh when you show them what you’re making.
If you could change one thing in the beauty industry what would it be?
I would love to wave a magic wand and make all of the world’s sunscreen filters approved in the US. It would pave the way for so much product innovation and would even allow for superior UV protection in some cases.
