How I Create and Develop Products

Sharing all my secrets.

There are so many verticals to oversee as a founder that it’s simply impossible to be great at every single one. But if you’re going to pick one to strengthen, let it be your product development acumen. In a sea of millions of options — what’s your differentiator? And, how do you build on that concept to create something cohesive, that’s buildable and brings customers back? Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on my favorite part of the job: creating and developing products.

There is something uniquely holy about having a concept in your mind and then physically getting to hold your vision in your hands. Tangibility, it’s a beautiful thing. To have the capacity to dream up something entirely new, coupled with the power and discipline to see it thru fruition.

You get to hold your work sacredly as your own for only a little while. It’s like this special little secret you have with you and your direct team. And then, all at once it’s launched into the ecosystem, set free for you to make it yours. You’re the reason why I get to do this, and you’re the reason I continue to push myself to the corners of my creativity. As with any release and exchange of energy, products are essentially algorithms. You can present the ingredients, benefits, and marketing story to your customer, but ultimately you are no longer the driver of said product’s narrative — your community is. You can, however, create an iron clad product plan, beginning with product profiling and culminating with a layered, omni channel launch strategy to articulately communicate your points of differentiation.

Today, I’m going to let you in on the development process of how I create my products from start to finish. I’ve been asked this so many times, and I’ve been hesitant to share because I get emulated quite often. But, in the spirit of Substack, here we go.

Identify the White Space

Nothing excites me more than the challenge of taking a legacy category and developing something entirely new that hasn’t been done before, while holding true to the principles that ground it. I’ll use our Algae Retinol Face Oil as an example — this was the first clean retinol at market (back in 2018!) I knew I wanted to create a retinol product in an oil format, and that I wanted it to be both strong as f*ck and free from any endocrine disruptors (even in trace amounts). This presented many challenges, and I get even more determined to do something when I’m told it can’t be done. There are so many products at market now, but there is still room to re-imagine the texture or the delivery system along with applying your unique brand story to it. In my case, we always add in our proprietary algae.

My Own R&D

Before I get to profiling, I do a copious deep dive on the category or product I am developing. I also present my top ingredients for each formula at the next stage, so I am always on the lookout for new exciting technology to add to our formulas. While I do trust my team to present me with the latest in R&D, I like to be on the pulse of everything myself. I go to this convention every year I call the Ingredient Festival — the scientists there love it when I call it that 🙃 but it’s the Society of Cosmetic Chemists Convention and I visit the booths of all my top raw material suppliers. I have a personal relationship with every supplier we buy from that find a home within my products. I also am big into wellness and use my pure fascination with that category and apply it to skin, like when I added Ashwagandha to my Volcanic Sea Clay Detox Masque back when we started formulating that in 2017 and no one knew what it was…

Create the Product Profile

The journalist in me thrives at this stage of development. “What is the story,” is something my entire team can attest they hear at least three times a day. The story starts here at this stage and is echoed through every other part of the process here on after. One of my biggest strengths as a brand founder is that I am endlessly creative and constantly coming up with new ideas for products. Don’t worry they are not all good, but I’m not scared of bad ideas because some of my best have been built off of those. When inspiration strikes, I lean in — so typically I am writing several product profiles in the same night. The Product Profile is essentially the product’s north star. I custom build every MARA formula with an independent team of world renown chemists. The product profile starts with the working name of the formula (usually I do not have this yet — Clear Skin Mineral Milk started out as Super Mineral Clarifying Oil Serum.) Then, for the product description, I write a mini novel on every attribute that surrounds the product, written in the context of using the product for the first time. Like future you journaling, but for a product. I do have another slight advantage in that words flow through me like water — if you have a hard time writing, ditch the novel concept and just answer in bullets.

Here are some sample prompts — the more detailed you can get, the better. This is where the magic happens.

• What are the functions of the product?

• What does it look like?

• How do you feel while using it?

• How does the bottle look and feel when its in your hands?

• What sensations do you get with it touches your hands? Your face?

• What is the vicious?

• What is the sensorial experience? Are we in a spa? Are we walking thru Big Sur? Are we fragrance free?

• Does this product have a specific vibe? What is the mood?

• Do any immediate images come to mind? Write those in too.

• Does it have a color story already? What about words — how do you describe it?

• What is the shape of the bottle? Is it a pump? How much product comes out?

• How do you feel: immediately after use, an hour after use… the next day?

• What claims will you make? What will your consumer perception studies include?

Formulation

This can take anywhere from six months to three to four years (!!) in some cases. I am a perfectionist so it tends to take longer. We go through rounds and rounds to make sure it is just right — I won’t settle until I know it’s worthy for a spot on your shelf. Sometimes the road gets windy here. Whenever we are at a stalemate with the formula, I go back to my product profile and read it again and again. The formula always ends up exactly like my story.

Components

During formulation, I begin to source components. Sometimes it’s easy and we use a component we already use which is like the best for me but requires the least amount of creativity. I custom molded several of my components which is $$$ and I do not recommend, at least to start. I design MARA myself, so this part too is fun. At this point I usually have a color theme and then work with one of our painters to develop the artwork for the top of the box! Each box has a custom work of art that I have commissioned and own the rights to. Always allow more time for this step. Every single time I’m late for a launch, it’s because I didn’t order this shit soon enough.

FYI — I go to Luxe Pack and Makeup LA every year to stay on top of the newest developments in packaging.

Moodboard

I have a moodboard for just about everything. This is my other favorite part because I start envisioning how I want the rollout to look socially and digitally. I I begin collecting a mix of vibe images, model images, product shots, etc to refine the concept, vision and color story. For Clear Skin, I came to work one day with the coolest idea, a vintage milk truck for our deliveries. My mood board was filled with creepy B&W milk man shots but it totally communicated the vibe. It also had a bunch of baby cows for some reason haha and like cottage core dairy girl vibes. Now that we are more established, we have a lot more fun with marketing and story telling.

Finalizing the Marketing Story

This could be its own post, so in the essence of space I will abbreviate. Once everything above is done, we build out the marketing story. I write all of the marketing copy and slogans. I typically free write hundreds of versions of the product description (which ends up on the back of the carton) along with every thought that comes to mind that surrounds the product. I assign two words and a color for every launch — these become the DNA of the marketing story. Here is a checklist of everything else we work on at this stage:

• Consumer Perception Marketing Claims (takes ~2 months)

• Marketing Insert Cards & PR Mailer Design

• Launch specific merch

• Influencer rollout & Launch Event

• Community event / strategy

• Photoshoot (e-comm, lifestyle & social)

• Ecomm layouts

• Marketing Levers (email, SMS)

• Digital Ads

• Sampling strategy

• Retail strategy

And that my friends, is how you bring an idea to life! There is still so much more that I didn’t cover, but I hope this gives you a little insight to my process. At this point in my life I am just feeling really grateful — I was born to do this and I thank the universe daily that every turn brought me here. Just like product development, the road to finding your purpose will be littered with redirections, disguised opportunities and revisions.

To find your calling in this world is one of the universe’s greatest gifts, and one that should not be taken for granted if you happen to effortlessly land on it early in life. If you have an idea or have been itching to start a brand, consider this your sign to get going. You won’t know your potential until you give it a try. I can’t wait to share what we’re launching next…

Love, Allison