Honey, A Bee Flew Into The Spice Jar

Let's fly around the beehive and explore the origins of Honey Pot. Honey Pot has been named the world's first plant-based female vaginal product. In recent years, Honey Pot has been under the scope of investors since her market emergence in 2014. In recent weeks, the internet has been buzzing about her new reformulation & hearsay about Ms. Betrice selling the brand.

Beatrice Feliu-Espada is now a household name around the US. She has stormed the feminine-hygiene industry with grace. Her origins are still unclear to many, but the story is simple. Her path into entrepreneurship has inspired many young black women & great minds alike.

Before her market emergence in 2014, she worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a pharmaceutical tech. She entered the industry straight out of high school! However, like any great learner, her experiences served her well!

Espada grew up in Phoenix, AZ in a moderate-income family. She was not gifted any special doors into "success" or what we know today as Honey Pot. Beatrice is a hustler personified; she has created a legacy from intuition and hard work! At the age of 38, she presented a new innovative product that not only paid homage to the culture. This product provided women around the nation with natural hygiene care. But many ask "how did she do it?"&"what were her aspirations?"; let's fly around the beehive and see.

A Pollinated Market

In 2014, the feminine hygiene industry was globally valued at upwards of $34 billion. Here in Espanda's backyard, the market value for feminine hygiene was valued at upwards of $3 billion. She was a small queen bee in a garden run by corporations like Procter & Gamble, SCA, and Unilever. These corporations also sold under other retail brands that catered to various segments of the industry as well. However, Beatrice didn't consider any competition.

Before Honey Pot, Beatrice, like any other consumer would use the next best alternative. She too would use her favorite pad and wipes. Ms. Espanda did not have the idea of Honey Pot until early 2012. She had begun to experience bacterial vaginosis early that year, this took a toll on her confidence. For eight months to a year, Beatrice explored various medical options to cure her new condition. One night her grandmother came to her in a dream verbalizing the needed active ingredients for Honey Pot.

While creating Honey Pot she worked as a retail broker for Rhythm Superfoods to leave medical school. Her time spent at Whole Foods allowed her to learn about healthy eating habits, herbs & vegetation and drew connections from her pharmaceutical background. We should also note that Ms. Espanda co-ran a cleaning business on the side to supplement her income. Honey Pot was started with a $21K loan from her brother/co-founder in early 2013. She was determined to build her wealth by any means but noticed that she no longer wanted to trade her time for money.

The Strangest Honey Supply

After using what would soon be known as Honey Pot for one year with family & friends, Espada was ready to hit the market. Beatrice has a love-hate relationship with venture capital, she's stated that "you need a prototype and reason" in her interview with Dot.La. In the coming years, Honey Pot raised $725k and more after 2016. Beatrice used the most traditional form of marketing available; word of mouth! Espanda begged her older brother & co-founder to invest more into their brand so they could attend the Warner Brother's Hair Show in Atlanta, GA.

Most new business leaders fail to see the value in unpromised opportunities, not Espanda. Within a three-day period, Honey Pot had sold 600 units to all new customers! Beatrice knew that she had a market-worthy retail product, but she needed to figure out how to increase her working capital. Honey Pot in its origin had a very tight budget and no full-time employees. To market her brand she would attend tradeshows, and she would also make the products at home in her kitchen with the help of a small team. Beatrice was on her way to retail with her newfound all-natural product.

While still working for Rhythm Superfoods, she took the chance to pitch her brand to Whole Foods. This courageous act landed Honey Pot on the shelves of multiple Whole Food locations gaining more needed awareness. While her word-of-mouth marketing tactics seemed to have a steady ROI, brand advocacy landed Honey Pot in Target.

Beatrice had sold Honey Pot to a hairstylist at the Warner Brother's Hair Show, who would fly

back to Minnesota to spread the buzz about an unusual honey supply. This buzz caught the ear of a new Target employee; Monica B, who would later contact Beatrice to schedule a meeting to learn more about her product.

The rest is history. After launching her website for Honey Pot in 2016, she would go on to make $30k online and $240k the following year after wholesaling feminine wipes and pads. The work never stopped for Beatrice and her team however, she still managed to work at Whole Foods for 6 months after her brand release in Target. Not only did this business leader take the "harder way", but she showed young black women that their problems can be their motivation.

Honey Pot was created using all-natural derived ingredients. Honey Pot took the market by storm by its being the first black-owned authentically natural feminine hygiene line of products. She had become an instant icon to many young black women; her drive, talent, and story warmed the heart of millions!

A Spoon Full Of Spice

Over the past week, the internet has been in a full-out frenzy over the new reformulation of Honey Pot. Many have been left to feel as if their money & loyalty don't matter to the brand. Contrary to popular belief that's not the case, Honey Pot actually added more shelf life. This buzz is coming from the use of the Yuka app and its lack of a formulation algorithm.

Many experts took to Twitter to defend the brand and shed light on the hopelessly uninformed. Certified formulation chemist; @yourfavchemist, took to Twitter to explain the new preservatives added.

The original formula has a very short shelf life. She also pointed out that many of the original contents are currently hard to source. Take coco glucoside, for instance, it's all-natural. This active ingredient is found in coconuts and acts as a surfactant. This ingredient allows the soaps to spread more and increase sensitivity to water. Sadly, coco glucoside is hard to source currently due to labor shortages and extended shipping time.

Many fail to realize the grand gesture Honey Pot made! During our current economy, consumers are tight on cash flow and need to utilize products that last. Honey Pot also has yet to increase its product price since the new & improved formula.

Other experts like @estherolu presented great points about the reformulation and also the new retail store guard; the Yuka app.

The Yuka app has a few vital shortcomings. These issues make it nearly impossible to trust the results of every scan. Many consumers are easily persuaded by the use of information. On another hand, many consumers will not research the results presented by the app.

Problem 1:

The Yuka app lacks a formulation algorithm.

This algorithm would allow the software to properly evaluate a formulation. The current software algorithm can only present data on individual ingredients found in each product. While this may be needed to evaluate certain ingredients, it does not show the accessed risk of the complete formula.

Problem 2:

There is no personal health assessment feature for the algorithm.

This algorithm feature would allow the software to evaluate your personal risk per ingredient.

Ex: You and your spouse want to enjoy a nice bottle of wine. Your spouse can't eat grapes, so you scan a random bottle of wine to assume the risk. Your risk evaluation would be the same, but your spouse still has a higher risk if consumed. The use of personal health data would allow a more accurate risk assumption.

Many also believed that the Honey Pot founder had sold the company for personal gains. Beatrice took to the company's Instagram account; @thehoneypot, to clear the air with her loyal consumers. Beatrice and her co-founder are still in full operation of the Honey Pot brand. She also stated her brand changed the labels to meet new federal regulations and she hopes that her loyal customers can understand their transparency.

In less than a decade, Beatrice Feliu-Espada has created a multi-million dollar brand. She started her brand during a time when she desperately needed peace from her bacterial vaginosis. Over this past decade, Espanda has truly shown the world what it takes to build a sustainable brand. She worked countless hours, held meetings, failed, and continued to try again. She not only pushed herself to new limits, but she also set the bar higher!