SUCCESS STORIES
Inspiring Tales of Startups,
Growth and Overcoming Hardships
BY CHRISTINA BUSWELL
SUNNY GRIFFIN
Founder & CEO, Astara Skincare
Telluride, Colorado
S
unny Griffin, founder and CEO of Astara Skincare, was
in desperate need of a cure for her dehydrated skin after
recently moving to the mountains of Telluride,
Colorado. “I was studying raw foods and living really clean,
and the chemicals in most products didn’t sit right with me,”
Griffin recalls. Fortunately, she met a woman in Telluride who
created skin-care products using raw botanicals. After noticing
revitalization in her skin, Griffin decided to venture on a business partnership and the two began selling their skin-care
products to friends and local shops.
Astara’s big break came when a beauty writer for The New
York Times visited Telluride and tried their products. “She
loved them so much that she featured Astara Skincare in a
two-page article in the Sunday Magazine section,” Griffin says.
And with such wide media exposure, Astara’s brand was officially launched!
Beginnings
In the first few years, Astara Skincare faced a number of obstacles being a self-funded small company. “We definitely felt like
David going up against Goliath in the early years,” she says.
To help create brand awareness, Griffin focused on getting
the Astara Skincare brand in front of the press. “I spent much
of our first two years going to New York City, sleeping on a
friend’s couch, and calling beauty editors as well every spa and
cosmetic store I could find,” she says. “We also had a huge
learning curve when it came to servicing the spa industry. That
is where ISPA came in handy!”
Keys to Success
Looking back, Griffin is amazed at how the company has
grown through the years. “From our humble roots as a local
skin-care company in the mountains of Telluride, Astara
Skincare now has an international presence. We have also
branched out from resort spas to become highly successful in
day spas and specialty outlets,” she says.
Astara Skincare has weathered its fair share of ups and downs
Putting the
Spotlight on Brand
Awareness
but Griffin states that they have learned from prior mistakes.
“Our biggest business failure was to trust the wrong people.
We are much more careful who we ‘get into bed with’ now,”
she says.
She owes part of the company’s success to great press. “As
a former model, I have great connections with beauty
editors—this has resulted in features in the top beauty and
fashion magazines, as well as celebrity endorsements.”
In fact, Griffin says contestants in the Miss America as well
as Miss Teen USA pageants have previously posted selfies on
Instagram wearing the Astara Skincare masks, giving the brand
even more press exposure. “What has defined us as a
company is not giving up,” she says. “We have a passionate
belief in what we do, and walk our talk.”
Griffin sees a bright future ahead for the skin-care company.
“Our five-year forecast is to double our sales volume and continue expanding internationally. With [an estimated] 300
million wealthy middle-class, China is definitely a growing
opportunity for us.” n
Years as an ISPA member: 18
First learned about ISPA: “I found out about ISPA through
my niece, Nancy Griffin. She was studying the spa industry at
Cornell Hotel School. My first ISPA Conference & Expo was in
1994 held in Palm Springs, California.”
Reason for joining ISPA: “We realized that people who really
care about their skin were going to estheticians, not department
stores, and that estheticians work at spas. The spa industry was
where we needed to be. The people at ISPA were the experts on
the newly expanding spa business and we wanted to learn
everything we could.”
Favorite ISPA resource: “Having a booth at the yearly ISPA
Conference & Expo in the early years of the company definitely
helped put us on the map. The ISPA Conference is always a
great opportunity to networking with spa owners and other
vendors. We have also used the ISPA Job Bank to look for sales
representation, and refer to the ISPA research for key metrics
and trends.”
July 2015
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