An Interview with Priscilla
It’s easy to look back and see how every piece of my past has influenced my decision to launch Ultimate Beauty Health. My father, a doctor, taught me about the science of our biology and how to use that knowledge one day to impact lives. My mentors at General Foods and J.M. Smucker taught me how to couple solid business strategy with building and leveraging good relationships.
I’ve always placed a very high value on relationships, both in life and business. In the consumer goods business, it all comes down to people. Consumers are real people who are looking for solutions in the goods they buy. As a consumer myself, I always have my consumer hat on. So, when I saw a need to supply a nutritional supplement that directly ties beauty to wellness, I knew I had what it takes to bring this idea to market and make a difference in peoples’ lives.
You launched Ultimate Beauty Health with products focused on nitric oxide. What made you decide to start there?
In my former roles, I worked with a company in the nutraceutical space, and later with a formulator who has studied the nitric oxide molecule since discovery in 1998. Our first formulation was for skin, hair, and nails.
Most brands separate these out for additional SKUs and sales. However, I was looking to introduce one product that would benefit all. As a customer myself, I love great products that can offer more than one benefit.
The formulator introduced me to nitric oxide. I invested hours that led into days, and weeks, researching nitric oxide and its critical importance to our bodies. To date, there are more than 10,000 published studies! Nitric oxide is essential for multiple body functions and is a required compound for healing. At the same time, our bodies decrease nitric oxide production as we age, so that told me there’s a need there to be met.
Through my research, I was aware of nitric oxide supplements in the workout and bodybuilding space, but I had no desire to compete with those, and those product formulations were focused only on the boosting mechanism. I wanted to expand nitric oxide much further.
We found a way to leverage the nitric oxide pathway as an advanced delivery system for synergistic ingredients that would promote beauty too. Since skin, hair, and nails are the last places to receive nutrients, we need that type of “delivery system” to get the nutrients where they need to go. To my knowledge, there is no other nitric oxide product on the market today that addresses these additional beauty benefits.
As you grow your brand, what is one message that has remained at the core of the brand’s mission?
We are “truth in beauty with purpose” — I personally want to put the truth back into beauty. This will drive every product decision we make. Our beauty is generated from within the body and is directly tied to our nutrition and health — especially as we age.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you?
Education. Although we are at a sweet spot of every consumer trend, there is an educational component to our products and that takes more time. We are a new company that officially began the journey just prior to global shutdowns in 2020, so that was definitely challenging for us, as we did not have the exposure and distribution base yet for people to already know who we were.
I took it slow, created our collagen product, began building relationships within the global beauty markets, and set out to support our distributors with a focus on education. I also applied for brand ownership and received our first registration from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for Ultimate Beauty® in 2021. We moved forward with phase 2 and built out the foundation for our consumer brand’s e-commerce site.
We are now moving forward with the next phase, which includes an upgrade to our packaging. We hope that people will better understand the multitude of benefits and the value we offer in just one (90 ct.) bottle.
What’s been your biggest pinch-me moment?
There have been several! It is when we have direct communications with a customer and they share their positive experiences with us. When our customers notice a difference, whether in the health of their skin, nails, or hair, or just feel better each day, well, that is the moment.
COVID-19 has thrown a huge curveball to many businesses. How has Ultimate Beauty Health reacted to the pandemic?
We essentially launched the business right before the pandemic. Not great timing to say the least. Like most businesses, we’ve had to get savvy very quickly about when and how to pause, pivot, or just plow forward.
I spent 2018 on research, working with my formulator, and putting together a business plan. I launched our professional brand, TruBeauty (now TrueBeauty Science), in September 2019, with our REJUVENATION nitric oxide-boosting multivitamin. I had plans to launch the consumer brand shortly after that in 2020. And then COVID-19 happened and of course, everything slowed down. So, I focused on maintaining solid relationships with my distribution partners and customers. They are still with me in 2022. Again, relationships are so important!
I also kept working with my formulator on additional product ideas. In 2021, I felt confident enough to launch our second product, our RECOVERY collagen activator, again focusing on the wholesale/professional market. Despite how the pandemic has impacted so many businesses, a good number of my customers are still with me and are excited about where our brand is headed this year.
What’s next for the brand?
We recently rolled out new packaging for our REJUVENATION nitric oxide-boosting multivitamin, and will do the same for our RECOVERY collagen activator later this year.
We’re currently taking meetings with several platforms to identify new wholesale and retail distribution opportunities.
And, we’re kicking off a brand awareness campaign targeted to the nursing and esthetician communities.
I’ve partnered with California Skin Supply to teach online classes on the importance of nitric oxide support for skin care, and I hope to continue that series.
We hope to expand education this summer with Global Consumer Industry and support Emerson Ecologics, our national distributor for integrated health with nutraceuticals.
As for online wholesale, we work directly with Pure Formulas. They have distribution warehouses in Florida and Nevada and our customer is their customer. We’re focused on doubling our sales by the end of 2022.
What’s your overall vision for Ultimate Beauty Health?
My personal goal is to continue to build a trusted brand that people love — because they’re feeling and looking better with our nitric oxide supplements. Especially after COVID, it’s more important now than ever to embrace a more holistic, integrated approach to health and beauty. People — especially women — are depleted. We're looking to reboot life. I'm a big believer in perfect timing. I think the our products can offer just the right support for a time such as this.
As a company, I’d like to see Ultimate Beauty Health generate enough funds to increase our charitable giving and invest in integrated health and beauty initiatives — whether this is through donations, partnering with institutions for R&D, or other means.
Fill in the blanks:
Besides nitric oxide supplements, my three desert island health and beauty products are:
A natural zinc oxide SPF lotion for face and body. Moisturizing lip balm. Aloe- based moisturizer for my hair and body.
To me, beauty means: Elegance, strength, and a good heart for humanity.
What keeps me motivated is: Learning something new every day that can help us spread the word. Ultimate beauty IS health.
Advice for those entering the beauty or wellness industry: Be authentic. Add as much value as you can. Solve real issues. Don’t give up. A good product at some point will receive the attention and funding it needs to grow and become sustainable.
Malachi 4 1 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.