Shai Eisenman is a force to be reckoned with. If you’re based in the United States, chances are you’ve come across her viral Gen Z skincare brand, Bubble Skincare. Since launching in 2020, Bubble is now stocked in over 12,000 stores across the US, including massive retailers like Ulta Beauty and CVS.
There’s so many lessons and insights from our chat with Eisenman (who started her university studies aged 15…we’re serious) – particularly when looking at her career journey and the gap she saw in the market when she launched her brand.
As part of a rising cohort of beauty entrepreneurs, there’s so much to take away from the way Eisenman listened to her customer base, allowed them to buy-in and shape her brand, and build an immense cult following along the way.
Missing Perspectives: At 21 you were running a gaming company and overseeing over 100 employees. Were you always passionate about being in business? And what lessons did you learn from running a company in your early 20s?
Shai Eisenman: My father was an entrepreneur, so I knew from a young age that it was something I also wanted to pursue and was deeply passionate about. Becoming an entrepreneur at such a young age myself, I quickly learned that I am only as good as the team around me.
When building Bubble, I sought to include top industry leaders on my advisory board and leadership team. Together we have over a hundred years of beauty experience, which has played a huge role in our success.
What was your inspiration to launch Bubble – and what was the gap that you saw in the market?
My inspiration to launch Bubble began as I would walk down the skincare aisles of major retailers, realising there were almost no products that were both innovative and affordable.
You could either spend a lot on innovative products, or save with the same old-school products your parents have been using for decades. I wanted to give everyone access to something effective, innovative, and joyful, and we crafted our original products with dermatologists for Gen Z because we knew they would be the most excited by our desire to transform the incredibly outdated skincare industry.
What led to your focus on Gen Z consumers? Why are they your favourite demographic?
When I began doing the research to launch Bubble, there were hundreds of beauty brands that were catering to the 25+ age group, but no high-quality options made for the 13-27 group. Brands were still using the same harsh, over-drying, outdated, ineffective ingredients, complicated steps, and unnecessary anti-ageing formulas.
It made no sense to me that this demographic was stuck with options that hadn’t evolved and that didn’t deliver on what they really needed and wanted. To build the perfect brand for this audience, I began speaking with focus groups in this age range and the initial 5,000 people I spoke with evolved into what our community of 50,000+ brand ambassadors is today.
From the beginning, Bubble has always listened to our community and delivered the branding, products, and accessibility they desired. At its core, Bubble offers consumers what they have been lacking in the skincare industry—an option that is joyful, efficacious, accessible, and developed with expert dermatologists. This is still true to this day and is why we have such a cult following with Gen Z.
This demographic is one of the many that we deeply value as they give input and feedback on every aspect of the brand as we are constantly expanding our line to fill gaps that our community is asking for.
You’ve said that you have built the Bubble brand with your consumers – how did you incorporate Bubble users into decisions made at the company?
Our community is everything to us at Bubble and it is transparent with our Community Co-creation Model that leverages the insights and feedback of our 60,000+ brand ambassadors ages 13-60+ to ensure our products are both highly anticipated and guaranteed to be adored (products that don’t earn a 90% acceptance rate from community testing don’t launch). Via this process, Bubble gives a voice to consumers, a group whose thoughts and feelings are too often neglected and denied by decision-makers who don’t seem to understand what the next gen of faces is looking for.
Our team has daily conversations with the community and uses these daily learnings to inspire new product launches and optimise products that are already in development. Before hitting shelves, each Bubble product has been worked on for two to three years. The formulas are developed by our team of in-house chemists with the help of our Dermatology Advisory Board and tested by community members. The combination of continuous dermatologist product testing and the incredibly high standards of Bubble’s skilled team of in-house formulators has led to Bubble’s 89% customer retention rate.
What role has Bubble played in educating consumers about misinformation in the beauty industry?
Educating consumers is a super important topic – one we think about every single day. In today’s social-media focused world, consumers can become overwhelmed by all the information and feel like they need a 12+ step skincare routine that is $1k+ to achieve their skincare goals. We have been working since launch to ensure that we include education in every aspect of the brand. We recommend a simple 4-step routine (cleanse, treat, moisturise, and protect) which is outlined on every one of our products.
We’re ensuring that we take the necessary steps to educate all of our consumers about appropriate skincare routines and products. Our expansive education efforts can be found in the “Skin School” section on our website, HelloBubble.com, and our routine recommendation tool.
Here at Missing Perspectives, we often talk about how running a startup involves a lot of peaks and pits. What have been some of your biggest learnings from running Bubble? And what advice do you have for new founders / young women interested in pursuing a startup?
Running a startup, I understand that there are always peaks and pits involved, but every unique moment leads to learnings for myself and the company as a whole. The biggest challenge has been the speed at which the company has grown. Since Bubble’s launch in late 2020, demand for our unique offering has been exponential. The scale at which we are expanding has caused some growing pains, but we look at each pit as an opportunity to climb up to a new peak.
My advice to new founders is to listen to your consumers above all else. Keep your focus on what your consumers actually need and want, and don’t assume that you know best. Every decision we make at Bubble, from product names and packaging to the formulations themselves, is made in collaboration with our community and focused on the needs of our consumer. This community-first approach has led to a loyal, engaged customer base who are passionate advocates for the brand.