All Natural: The Honest Company is a $1.7 Billion Success

Jessica Alba first came up with the idea of creating organic, all-natural products after she had her first child. She herself had allergies from early childhood and so wanted to provide a chemicals-free environment for her family. She quickly found out that she was only one of many women trying to find safe, non-toxic products to alleviate allergies and improve quality of life.

 

Determined to create her own household products, Alba went on a quest to find like-minded partners for her business concept. She even sat down with friends like Tory Burch and Narciso Rodriguez to test her pitch.

 

"They asked us great questions: What are you going to do when you run out of product? What if it's not delivered on time? How are you going to get people to your website?" said Alba.

 

 

Today Alba's growing empire is valued at $1.7 billion and she is one of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, even making the cover of Forbes Magazine in 2015. The Honest brand offers over 100 products for men, women, and children. Products range from household cleaning products, babies necessities, personal care, and supplements. The latest addition is Honest Beauty line of makeup, skincare, health+wellness, and tips+tricks on how to use products to recreate the red-carpet looks -- for example, Emma Roberts stunning look at the Emmys -- and tips on how to do it at home.

 

 

The niche customer base remains women, and in particular mothers, who care about the products they are using on the daily basis and supplements they are taking. An interesting feature is the convenience of monthly bundles of botanical body care and non-toxic products. For example, a cleaning essentials bundle of five different products of your choice (shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, etc.) is $35.95 a month. The same principal is for Honest Beauty, a starting bundle of three products at $50 a month with a possibility to choose different products each month. The bundle options are an incredible success as it brings 80 percent of company's revenue.

Like any successful entrepreneurs, Alba and her partners are facing some challenges from consumers that claim ineffectiveness of some of their products. In the end, the key message is that Alba wants a full disclosure of the ingredients and sustainable practices, and this information is available on Honest website.