On the Skin Centrick RangeMe brand profile page, you will see two icons next to the company’s name. To its immediate right is the RangeMe Verified icon, which is earned by Premium subscribers that qualify as “ready for retail” based on specific requirements developed with input from the buyer community. 

To the right of the Verified icon is an icon of the ECRM logo, which lets buyers on the platform know that they can meet with Skin Centrick in-person at an upcoming ECRM Session – in the case of Skin Centrick, the Everyday and Holiday Cosmetics, Skin, Fragrance & Bath Session which will be held this coming January in Rosemont, Ill.

The reason I call this out is because Skin Centrick’s Founder & CEO, Chithra Kannan, is a perfect example of a brand-owner who understands the power of leveraging both ECRM and RangeMe to engage with the buyer community, and because of this, the brand is already on a trajectory of success rarely seen in a consumer packaged goods startup. 

Launched only last October, Skin Centrick has already landed deals with several retailers, distributors and e-commerce platforms and attributes 90 percent of this business to connections made via ECRM & RangeMe. But we can’t take all of the credit. It’s the combination of Kannan’s business analytics prowess (she has a degree in Business Analytics from Harvard), her marketing savvy and her very buttoned up yet adaptive approach to buyer meetings that have helped make the most of the exposure that RangeMe provides combined with the face-to-face access to qualified buyers at ECRM Sessions.

“The way I see it, there is not one without the other,” says Kannan. “RangeMe is an everyday thing. You get daily exposure to retailers that are searching on the platform, plus there are the Immediate Opportunities and direct submissions. With ECRM, you get category-specific, one-on-one buyer connections. If you do one or the other, you’ll see success. But if you pair both, your opportunity for success increases dramatically.”

Indeed, Skin Centrick is a perfect example of this. Among the customers that have come from conversations initiated via ECRM & RangeMe are Beauty Bridge, Cencora, Cocotique, CVS.com, Flip, Sano Health, Shop LC, and Walmart.com (both in the U.S. & Canada), and Kannan is currently in discussions with at least a half-dozen more.

In this post, we’ll unpack some of the elements that have contributed to Skin Centrick’s success, and how Kannan leverages the tools provided by ECRM and RangeMe to make the most of the exposure and access they provide. But first, a little about Skin Centrick and Kannan.

Goal > Plan > Action > Success

These words are in the header image of Kannan’s LinkedIn profile page, and sum up her approach to everything, whether it's a project to develop AI tools for child care, investing in startups, empowering other women founders through mentorship programs, or launching her own business, as she did with Skin Centrick. When she decided to enter the beauty arena and studied the category through her business analytics lens, she found a white space that was ripe for innovation.

“In the beauty category globally we are all moving into natural, clean and sustainably-focused products,” says Kannan. “By the same token, everybody wants results – so efficacy is critical – but they don’t want to spend top dollar to get those results. So I wanted to provide both in a better way.”

Kannan saw an opportunity with serums and oils, and began working with a chemist to create products that were natural yet provided great efficacy, using ingredients like turmeric, ginger and nicotinamide for their powerful benefits. She then tapped into the power of crowdsourcing, distributing samples of products to consumers, then taking their feedback and plugging it back into the research and development until she had the best products at the right price, with sleek packaging and the marketing and education behind it to give it the best chances for success. 

The result was an initial line of 30 products for skin, hair and lips that are beautifully packaged to highlight the key ingredients, supported by in-depth consumer education on its website, instagram (283K followers), TikTok (351K followers) and even on LinkedIn for the B2B audience.

“We are very transparent,” says Kannan. “We share not only the ingredients and product information, but also information on how to use each and what benefits they will get from them. This transparency is what gives consumers the confidence to try it. And once they try it, the efficacy is what brings them back.”

Secrets to Skin Centrick’s Success on RangeMe

With her products and distribution capabilities in place, it was time to get in front of retail buyers. Kannan signed up for a Premium subscription on RangeMe and built a brand profile page that highlights all of the key attributes of her products with stunning artwork and links to her website and all of her social media accounts. She then took the steps to become RangeMe Verified so the buyer community would know she was ready to do business. 

All of the effort paid off. “Every day I could see how many retailers were looking at the products and we started receiving regular sample requests,” says Kannan. “We even have several retailers in Europe that are interested in working with us, and are currently exploring the steps we need to take for that.”

She also regularly submits products to retailers hosting Immediate Opportunity campaigns, as well as directly to retailers she feels are a good fit for her brand. Both the submissions and organic connections via her profile have resulted in deals with several retailers.

Kannan’s RangeMe advice

Kannan recommends three things to get the most from RangeMe:

Optimize your profile
First, make sure your profile is optimized to drive more organic traffic, which has driven business her way via buyer searches. “Ensure you have presentable content, quality pictures, and complete all required information,” she says. “This assists buyers in understanding your offerings as they browse. I wasn’t the best at this initially, but I continually refine my approach and apply the lessons I’ve learned.”

Submit regularly!
Kannan submits products to all relevant Immediate Opportunity campaigns (available for Starter, Premium and Pro subscribers) and also submits products directly to retailers (available to Premium and Pro subscribers). This is a more active approach to RangeMe that many brands, like Sugar Bliss and 8 Track Foods, have found a great deal of success with.

Tap into RangeMe and NIQ insights
This probably comes as no surprise given her business analytics background. Kannan taps into the RangeMe profile insights to study buyer activity on her profile, and analyzes the NielsenIQ data that’s available to all Premium subscribers to identify category trends and fast-selling products. “This information is invaluable for understanding current and future product demands.”

Adding ECRM into the mix

It was through RangeMe that Kannan was introduced to ECRM, when she participated in a RangeMe Live program, which gives newly-upgraded subscribers the opportunity to “dip their toes in the water” with three in-person buyer meetings at a relevant ECRM Session. For Kannan, this was ECRM’s Indie Brands - Beauty and Personal Care Session in October 2023.

Each of those three meetings were a success, and she became hooked on the ECRM format and process, as well as the white glove customer service provided by the team, and followed up with a full registration at ECRM’s Skin Care, Bath, Cosmetics, Natural & Clean Beauty Session this past year.

“The category matching and dedicated time you get with buyers are what I really love about ECRM Sessions,” says Kannan. “It’s not like a trade show when you put up a banner and wait for someone to come by, and when someone does come by they are often not the correct category buyer. At ECRM, you are matched with the right category buyers for your products. One large distributor gave us a yes right there at the table, and that opened us up to potential distribution across 3,200 small pharmacies. Plus, I have a dedicated Client Success Manager who I can reach out to for any of my needs.”

ECRM Sessions center around the highly-curated, pre-scheduled in person meetings between buyers and sellers, in addition to tons of networking opportunities and education (click here for an overview of the full ECRM experience). A great deal of Skin Centrick’s success in these meetings comes from her approach to them.

Behind Skin Centrick’s successful buyer meetings

Skin Centrik’s formula for successful buyer meetings is simple yet packs a lot into her meetings. As she participated in the 10-minute meetings, following is how she breaks it down:

First minute: Setting the stage
At the start of the meeting, Kannan outlines how she would like to structure the meeting and segment the 10 minutes that are available

Next two minutes: Skin Centrick pitch
During this time Kannan presents her brand and products in the context of the buyer’s needs and objectives for the category, which she researches in advance from the information provided by ECRM on its Session portal as well as her own research. “Before the Session ECRM already gives me what I need to know about the buyers,” says Kannan. “It enables me to show them how I feel that Skin Centrick can fit into their needs.”

Next two minutes: Buyer response to the pitch
During this time, Kannan lets the buyer fill in any gaps or indicate any additional needs they might have for the category.

Remaining five minutes: Discussion
The remainder of the meeting is dedicated to a back and forth discussion based on the information each shared during the first half of the meeting, as well as any next steps that will need to be taken following the meetings.

While brands participating in the 20-minute planning session meetings can divide up the time accordingly, Kannan notes that this format makes even a 10-minute meeting feel like a long duration. And with the quick success Skin Centrick has had from these meetings, one can’t argue with the effectiveness of her formula. 

And while Kannan tries to be in all of these meetings, she also relies on her team for their outstanding support in her efforts, whether at the Session or behind the scenes, and specifically called out several of them, including Divya, Ben, Penny, Goutham, Nazim Sushmitha, Sunitha as well as her family and friends that were involved in the process.

Consistency & visibility: keys to emerging brand success

Emerging brands face an uphill battle; they want to get into the mass retail chains, yet these larger retailers are hesitant to work with a brand that has yet to establish a proven track record. But according to Kannan, this is where ECRM and RangeMe become a tremendous asset. 

“The reason why big retailers don’t want to take these small brands is because of uncertainty,” she says. “They don’t want to take a chance on working with a new brand that may not be able to deliver, and that will hurt both the brand and the retailer. With a presence on RangeMe and regular participation in ECRM Sessions, you have the opportunity to build that trust and build that confidence over time. It also gives you the opportunity to start small. For example, after our CVS meeting in Arizona they gave us the opportunity to start out on their online platform. Now that the gate is open, once they see how we respond to orders and how customers are reacting to our products we can grow from there.”

Showing up consistently over time is important, too. The repetition of buyers seeing you year after year is invaluable for building this trust. “You can’t just go to one ECRM Session and then say, ‘this didn’t work.’ The more often you go the more you register in the buyers’ minds and the more you are going to grow. Each time we went we saw increased interest from the buyers.”

Kannan also recommends that emerging brands not overlook the opportunities presented by independent retailers or buyers from other retail channels like e-commerce. Each of these is a step toward demonstrating your capabilities and that you can be trusted when the time comes to work with a larger retailer. One side benefit is that smaller retailers tend to get products on the shelf faster, and end up being more feathers in your cap down the road.

Of course, not every retailer is going to be a fit for some or all of your products. And while this is a hard pill to swallow, nevertheless it’s a fact of life that brands must accept. “Not every buyer you meet is going to be a fit, and brands have to understand that that’s not a bad thing,” says Kannan. “Maybe you will be a fit later on, maybe you’ll never be a fit. But that’s okay. You don’t want to be everywhere; you want to be in places where you are a fit because that’s where you are going to sell. You don’t want to just sit on the shelf and not move.”

Connecting the dots… in the U.S. and beyond

Moving forward, Kannan plans to continue adding new products to the lineup and to eventually expand her reach globally, especially since retailers around the world are already reaching out to her. Once her capabilities are in place, she will leverage the combined forces of RangeMe and ECRM to have the same impact in those regions as she does in the states, and she will apply her business analytics acumen to all of the insights from RangeMe and the direct buyer feedback from ECRM Europe meetings to continue to refine the way in which she goes to market.

“Typically breaking into retail can take a brand three to five years to get the break that they need,” says Kannan. “The beauty of ECRM & RangeMe is that they literally fast-forward that process.”

Watch the full video interview with Kannan here!