The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson

Building a Beauty Brand with Ginger King

• Jennifer Ann Johnson • Season 3 • Episode 21

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Award-winning cosmetic chemist Ginger King reveals what it really takes to build a beauty brand from the ground up. With 30 years of experience and founder of Grace Kingdom Beauty, Ginger shares expert insights on everything from brand strategy to product development, testing, and launch.

Dubbed the “Queen of Cosmetic Chemistry” by Elle Magazine, she compares the creation process to pregnancy—three trimesters of strategic planning, scientific rigor, and smart scaling. Hear how she developed standout products like "The Stage Bomb for Lips" and "Hand Veil," inspired by Daymond John and Steve Harvey, and why solving real problems for niche audiences is her secret to success.

Ginger also dives into funding, marketing (hello, Times Square billboard!), and the mindset needed to thrive. Her best advice? Only take guidance from those who’ve walked the path.

Follow Ginger on Instagram @thebeautysharkginger for more beauty brand wisdom.

Visit us at jenniferannjohnson.com and learn how Jennifer can help you build the life you dream of with her online academy, blog, one-on-one coaching, and a variety of other resources!

Jennifer Johnson:

The beauty industry is a multi-billion dollar powerhouse, dominated by big names and legacy brands, but in recent years, we've seen a surge of innovative, independent beauty brands, shaking up the status quo. These brands are often led by passionate women entrepreneurs who saw a gap in the market and dared to fill it. Today, we're pulling back the curtain on what it really takes to launch and grow a successful beauty brand from scratch. We're joined by Ginger King, the founder of Grace Kingdom Beauty. She's turned her passion for beauty into a thriving business, navigating everything from product development to marketing in this highly competitive industry. Whether you're dreaming of launching your own beauty brand or you're an entrepreneur in an industry looking for inspiration and practical advice, this episode is packed with insights you don't want to miss. Get ready to be inspired, challenged and empowered. Your behind-the-scene look at the beauty building a beauty empire starts now. So let's dive in.

Jennifer Johnson:

So we're joined today by Ginger King. She's an award-winning cosmetic chemist and that is pretty amazing in and of itself and she's the founder of Grace Kingdom Beauty, a cosmetic product development firm located in New Jersey. She specializes in creating beauty brands from concept to launch, including formulation. She holds multiple patents and awards in beauty and prides herself on being Allure Magazine's beauty judge for breakthrough products since 2017. Also iconic fragrance judge for Elle Magazine in 2023, and then iconic skin product judge for Shape Magazine in 2023. She's been quoted in over 40 beauty magazines, including Harper's Bazaar, vogue and Oprah. She's been the keynote speaker and a regular TV beauty segment contributor on Good Day, sacramento. And she's most recently named the Queen of Cosmetic Chemistry by Elle Magazine and she's appeared in Forbes. We are so honored to have you here today. Happy to be here Jennifer.

Jennifer Johnson:

This amazing you have. You have been everywhere, haven't you? Yes, I have, and and you started out. I want to start from the beginning. I guess you have. You always wanted to do what you're doing now, or how did you kind of fall into doing what you're doing?

Ginger King:

I think in beauty has been in my childhood dream when, when I was born into beauty actually, my mom was the first woman started she said a boutique from Japan to Taiwan. So I grew up under that influence without me realizing it until I was 16. I came to America when I was 16. In the beginning I wanted to become a makeup artist because I saw how makeup can transform women's appearance and boost their confidence.

Ginger King:

But being Asian, I was asked to go to college. If you don't get a PhD, at least a master's degree. So I said, okay, why don't I major in chemistry and learn how to make cosmetics Smart? That's how the journey began.

Jennifer Johnson:

That is pretty amazing. And what was it that actually inspired you to create your beauty brand that you have?

Ginger King:

Okay, so I'm a cosmetic chemist for 30 years and my personal mentor is Sharken's Damon John. There was one time I was with him and he took out a lip balm and applied in front of me. I was like Damon, if something that's so close to you that's in your pocket, on your lips, it has to be mine. So I created a vegan lip balm that is full of superfoods, without petrolatum, without linoleum, without beeswax that is commonly seen in the regular lip balm. So that's the healthiest options I want to give it to him. While I'm doing this, I might as well open it up for all the entrepreneurs. And because damon john, he is a speaker, he's a keynote speaker. So I named the product the stage bomb for lips. It's for people who talk a lot, who speak a lot, regardless if you are, like a, really on the stage or not, because every situation, every conversation is a stage. So with that particular lip balm, that was actually the inspiration for me to become a public speaker as well. I got inspired by my own lip balm.

Jennifer Johnson:

So does he actually have your lip balm? Yes, he does. Oh my gosh, I just saw him in a magazine and I read the whole article. Very, very interesting. That's pretty crazy.

Ginger King:

Yes.

Jennifer Johnson:

And you created that lip balm because of him.

Ginger King:

Yes.

Jennifer Johnson:

Wow, you mentioned that you were a chemist for 30 years. Did you work for a beauty brand previously?

Ginger King:

Yes, I worked for many, many beauty brands. Yes, and I do consulting now for the past 11 years.

Jennifer Johnson:

Wow. So how did you identify the gap in the market when you first started your beauty brand? And maybe you're continuing finding the gap, and that's what makes you successful, but how did you find that gap that you wanted to fill?

Ginger King:

Beauty is very, very competitive. So when I started on my brand, fan Love Beauty, I didn't really want to compete in the beauty space, because when you compete in the beauty space, it's really just you know the color, the shade, you know. It's like there's no differentiation. So I wanted to create a brand that's really for entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs are so busy, they just want something that work, that's good for them, instead of you know, this is the latest shade, this is, you know, whatever the gimmick is out there so my brand is dedicated to entrepreneurs, so I started out with the lip balm.

Ginger King:

My second product was a hand veil. What is a hand veil? Which is a very lightweight hand cream. The inspiration was from Steve Harvey. Oh my gosh, steve Harvey. At the Tennis Conference, he said before any conferences, the first thing he does before he speaks is put on a hand cream. The reason is, when you talk, if you talk with your hands, you will appear more confident, but at the same time, the camera also zooms into your hand, so your hands better not be ashy. Oh my gosh, my hands, yeah. So I developed this, this. I call it hand veil. It's because I don't want this to be a traditional hand cream that people just use and feel greasy, because you don't want to drop your mic that way if you're holding a mic. So it's non-greasy and it's very moisturizing and you feel a protective layer as well you know, you just said I have a tagline for your.

Jennifer Johnson:

It's very moisturizing and you feel a protective layer as well. You know, you just said I have a tagline for your. It's the not drop your mic. Right, it sounds like you have. Really, what really makes everything work that you're doing is you're actually listening to people. Yes, you're hearing what they're saying, and then you're creating a product around that. Would that be fair to people? Yes, you're hearing what they're saying and then you're creating a product around that. Would that be fair to say?

Ginger King:

Yes.

Jennifer Johnson:

And I mean a lot of people don't do that right. A lot of people just go well, I'm going to do my own thing, it doesn't matter if somebody else wants it. This is what I want. But you're actually listening, and would that be one of your keys to success?

Ginger King:

I don't think so. So, besides my brand, I also help entrepreneurs to develop their own beauty brand, and the first thing I will ask them to do is go through a strategy session and when I hear the why why they want to do the brand I usually can tell if they're going to be successful or not. Because the thing I don't want to hear is because I cannot find something. So I developed this myself. First of all, you are not a cosmetic chemist. You do not know the regulation. Even if whatever you develop works for you, it's not a guarantee that will work for other people. So you know, and your why is really critical for me. Or some people will say I want to have my own beauty brand for the ego reason, for the money reason. Sure, those will come, but if you don't start with the right motif, it's very hard for you to sustain. It's like writing a book you don't start with the right motif it's very hard for you to sustain.

Jennifer Johnson:

It's like writing a book. You don't write a book to make money. You write a book for other reasons, right? So can you walk us through the early stages of development of of when you started your beauty brand?

Ginger King:

uh, I will say in general, just because I mentioned how I developed my brand was really because of damon. That's a very atypical, so I will share how a typical process should be. So, first of all, you really need to have a strategy session to develop your brand deck. The brand deck should include the mission statement, vision statement, unit selling proposition. Why are you different? Why would people buy your product? You need to think about your packaging, your pricing. You need to think about your distribution. Since day one. A lot of people say I just want to sell on my own website, but what if Sephora is knocking on your door or Target is knocking on your door? Are you ready to be in the retailer shops? So thinking with a big, with an end in mind, is critical. Also, you want to think about philanthropy, because it's been so competitive in the beauty space. If you find your beauty product and also helping a nonprofit, you're doing society good, so that could be also a very important factor.

Ginger King:

So I would start with the brand deck. Then you work with a cosmetic chemist that understands your brand and developing the products and the whole process actually takes nine months, like having a baby the products and the whole process actually takes nine months, like having a baby.

Ginger King:

You're saying nine months to develop the product, or nine months to kind of get to the point where you can start developing the products. Nine months to develop the product. Wow, the first trimester. I love the first trimester. Yes, we will be doing the brand development. Actually, I can help you through the whole thing. I do brand development also. You will look at the competitive reviews, kind of scoping out what's different.

Ginger King:

And if you're a hair care brand, fragrance is extremely critical because when it comes to hair care, people buy the fragrance. They sniff it before they decide if they want it or not. Totally agree.

Jennifer Johnson:

Yeah, skincare, they don buy the fragrance they sniff it before they decide if they want it or not, totally agree.

Ginger King:

Yeah, skincare, they don't want fragrance, so, skincare, you don't have to worry about fragrance as much. Haircare absolutely fragrance. So for the first three months you're really looking at. You know what kind of products you're making. You work with the chemist. Then the second trimester is you have the chemist doing the prototyping and also doing stability testing, doing the micro challenge testing, doing the repeat insole patch testing. There are a lot of testing to be done.

Ginger King:

Cosmetic chemistry is very different than, like you go into the restaurant, a lot of this di wires. You know they. I create this on my own. You know I do this in my kitchen, but you know what they are missing. They're missing. The biggest part is on the testing part, because it's not like you go to a restaurant, a chef cook you something. You eat it, you don't have diarrhea, you are fine. But cosmetics, you cannot have separation on shelf, you need to have Right, right. So that requires but cosmetics, you cannot have separation on shelf, you need to have no, right, right. So that requires testing and a lot of DIYers. They don't understand this part. They don't understand what goes into it.

Jennifer Johnson:

That makes sense. It may not irritate your skin, but it may not last on the shelf more than a week.

Ginger King:

Correct. And also preservatives. When you put preservatives in your product, it does not mean it will not spoil.

Ginger King:

You need to go through a micro-challenge testing. What is a challenge testing? It's after you have the product consumer buy the product. What if they go to the bathroom? They never wash their hands. They dip their dirty finger into your product? You need to guarantee your product will not grow mold, or your shampoo conditioners in the shower. Do you notice how many times your bottle actually has mold around there? You need to make sure inside the product is still good, because bacteria like water, anything, humidity oh, they thrive. And this is the reason why preservative challenge testing is extremely critical.

Jennifer Johnson:

The things that you don't think about. You just think oh, how easy is that. If you're a DIYer, oh, I'll just make it my kitchen. There's many, many steps and you've been through that.

Ginger King:

Yes. So let's say second trimester, right? So the third trimester is scale up, because when you can make in a small scale, even with a chemist, they do. A small scale in the lab, that's not translate, you can make it in the production. It's just like you can cook a delicious the lab that's not translate, you can make it in the production. It's just like you can cook a delicious whole meal. That's not guarantee you can do cater for like a thousand people, banquet, right, right. So there will be something lost in translation because of different equipment you need to. So you will have to do a pilot batch to make sure to minimize the translation. And this is again where a cosmetic chemist comes in. Your cosmetic chemist needs to help you with the first pilot batch to make sure if there's something different from the lab batch to the pilot batch, the cosmetic chemist needs to be able to sign off to make sure it's okay.

Jennifer Johnson:

And I assume that's to make sure that this batch is the same as this batch, which is the same as, so it's all the same. Yes, differentiations.

Ginger King:

Correct.

Jennifer Johnson:

Wow, that's the third trimester and third trimester.

Ginger King:

You also need to make sure your packaging. A lot of times your packaging and the product may not be compatible. You need to do your package compatibility testing, especially if your product comes into a pump. You know sometimes the pump that you have to pump more than 10 times the customer will not be happy about it or leakage you have one leak in the shipment that goes to your entire shipment, so you need to do job tests. So that's the reason why I say when you want to start your own beauty brand, please work with a professional. Don't do yourself, unless a professional is a cosmetic chemist.

Jennifer Johnson:

Right, exactly, you know and this applies really to many different areas of business when you're trying to do something, don't try to save money here or there. You can save money in places, but not on the places that really, really count, and that's going to really affect your business. I had an attorney on where we were talking about that. You should not skimp on the legalities of your business. You need to make sure you work with an attorney, and if they're working on doing a beauty brand, they should work with someone who knows what they're doing.

Ginger King:

Absolutely.

Jennifer Johnson:

Now, what were a few challenges, perhaps, that you have come across as you were building this brand?

Ginger King:

Okay. So I actually restaged my brand because in the beginning I just make. I'm a cosmetic chemist, I make sure my product is good, you know, and when it comes to the graphics side, I kind of rely on other people because graphic is not my strength. However, I didn't really serve people enough. Like people actually don't like my graphics, even though I've been quoted by over 100 times a year by beauty media. The beauty media is not pushing my product. So I actually asked them what is going on? You know, why are you not helping me to promote my product? They tell me we don't like the packaging, because if the packaging doesn't look good on our pristine magazine, we will not promote it. So I changed my packaging.

Jennifer Johnson:

Wow. So would it be fair to say that? Should you have somebody looking at that Like somebody who's versed in?

Ginger King:

yes, but I did work with an award-winning graphic designer, but what happened was I didn't get buy-in from the editors first oh that's important because everybody have a different angle of looking at the packaging, but I think it's pretty might not be pretty to you.

Jennifer Johnson:

It's subjective or objective. Yes, exactly, exactly so. I know a lot of listeners may be just starting their businesses or thinking about starting a business, but they don't have the finances to do that. How did you and sometimes it's really, really inspiring to hear from another entrepreneur who started their business to say, hey, you know, how did you tackle that financial situation when you started your business? What did you do to finance your business?

Ginger King:

situation when you started your business. What did you do to finance your business? Savings, personal savings. I have spent like hundreds of thousands of dollars from my past corporate jobs. I had a six-figure job before my consulting business, so it's from all personal savings. I didn't take out a loan. I didn't have anything. But for majority of the people you know, you should really start with friends and family first. That is your first round. The second round should be your SBA loans, unless absolutely needed, and also once you need to prove that you're already on the track. Then that is when you get investors, because investors will not. When you get investors, because investors will not give you tuition money To get your investors money. They want to know that you know. When are you getting my money back?

Jennifer Johnson:

They all want to know that.

Ginger King:

Yeah right, it's like what is it for me and when am I getting my money back? If you cannot answer these two questions, no one is going to invest in you. And also, you don't want to dilute your equity since day one. There are so many brands without any investor.

Jennifer Johnson:

You know like.

Ginger King:

Sarah Blakely's bank 100% own, no outside help. So you can have outside help. You can try to barter with people like I do this for you, you do this for me, kind of deal. Or you can get friends and family, a spiel launch or line of credit from the bank. You know those. Uh, this should helping you to get through the first run until you go into retailers. Then that's when you really need to have mega support from investors. Absolutely yeah. But then when you have a PO on hand from the retailers, investors will jump in, but not on the early stage, because you don't have approval concept. You know investors. They don't know if you're going to be successful or not. Right, so bootstrap as much as possible.

Jennifer Johnson:

That's definitely great advice, for sure, no matter what kind of brand or business you're starting for certain. So, up until now, what has been your best marketing strategy that you've used for your beauty brand?

Ginger King:

Best marketing strategy, I would say. I did a billboard in Times Square.

Jennifer Johnson:

Oh, wow.

Ginger King:

Yeah, that drew a lot of attention, and I have Devin Zhang's photo. There too, he was holding my product.

Jennifer Johnson:

Are you serious?

Ginger King:

I'm serious.

Jennifer Johnson:

That's so cool. That's pretty amazing. That would definitely. I could see why that would work. And how did you make that connection? How did that all work? Was it through people you knew?

Ginger King:

Well, yeah, I do know the people who do the Times Square available and I'm personal friend with Damon, so I got his permission. I can do this. He said, yes, done.

Jennifer Johnson:

Wow, that's pretty, pretty awesome. Now this is kind of a how do you balance staying true to your core values as a business and as a person, yet keep up with the different beauty trends that keep coming at you, I'm sure, every day, because it seems like every single day we see a new product on the market? So how do you balance knowing to the core what your company is about but yet still trying to appease the consumer and staying on top of trends?

Ginger King:

Well, I'm a cosmetic chemist, but I'm also a consumer and this is the reason why I stick to clean beauty, because and I actually get hammered by some cosmetic chemists too, because you know they will they will tell me like my product, they are like a paraben free, whatever free right. I get hammered by other cosmetic chemists because you know you are a chemist, you're not. You're not supposed to tell people, you know, because those things are actually not bad in terms of cosmetic chemist standard, but I'm I'm a consumer too. If there's any noise out there saying the product, regardless if the research is valid or not, I have a responsibility as a brand to make sure my customer is gonna be liking and buying my products.

Ginger King:

At the end of the day. If my products don't sell, I cannot service more people. This is something, like you know, people always say I want the best thing on earth, you know. So I only like. I want an anti-aging product I use once and done. It's never going to happen, because if that happens, the company is going to go belly up. They only have one time sale and if the company get belly up, you're not going to find the product again.

Jennifer Johnson:

Right.

Ginger King:

This is a consumer's world.

Jennifer Johnson:

That makes sense. Absolutely, it does. Now, is there a moment in your entrepreneurial journey that you ever felt like giving up, Like things just weren't going right and you felt like I don't know what I'm going to do? Has that ever crossed your mind? Has that ever been a moment like that Of course, of course.

Ginger King:

Entrepreneur is a roller coaster.

Jennifer Johnson:

It is.

Ginger King:

Yeah, it's like you never know what's coming tomorrow. But if you have, you set you a goal, you know like you look at your goal like three times a day. That's what propels you and this is the reason why, when people do the strategy call with me, I would like ask them why seven times? Why do you want to do this and why is that and why is that and why is that? Like peeling an onion, because when you first ask them why, they give you a very superficial answer. You know, I, I've been in beauty, I, I love beauty, I want to do this. And then, why is this important to you? They give you something different as you fight again, it's another answer. Until you kind of drill down what is your real? Why? Because without that real, why, once they hit the bomb, they say forget it, I'm done right.

Jennifer Johnson:

So is that what you think got you through all those tough moments? Were the real? The real? Why for you? Or was it something in conjunction with that?

Ginger King:

you? Well, I think about my real why all the time. So, yes, there will be tough moments, but you know how they say tough times don't last, tough people do.

Jennifer Johnson:

That's true. That's very, very true. I would agree with that. So how do you, going back to the consumer, how do you incorporate into what you're doing as a business your customer feedback? What do you do with that? If a customer comes to you and says something, how do you incorporate that into what you're doing?

Ginger King:

Well, so far I have five-star reviews from all the consumer feedback. But then mentioned earlier how the editor said your packaging's ugly. I changed packaging. That's another $20,000, $30,000 expense, but I did it.

Jennifer Johnson:

So it's listening and then making the change if need be. Yes, yeah. What would one piece of advice if you could give new business owners or aspiring business owners out there, or even people who've had their company for a while, what would be one piece of advice that you would give them?

Ginger King:

One piece of advice would be you. There are so many advices out there, right? Everybody can give you advice. Everybody is actually giving you an opinion. You only ask advice for with people that who have actually proven they have done it before. So you know, you kind of see who has done it and listen to that person rather than the reason. Part of the reason why I also have my own brand is because I do consulting. I help people to build their own beauty brand from concept to launch, including formulations they can own, and I need to prove to people I have my own brand too. Otherwise, why are you believing me? If you have never created your own brand, how are you helping me to create the brand? Right, you go to a lot of cosmetic chemists. They only know how to do product.

Jennifer Johnson:

They don't know how to help you to push the brand right. You go to a lot of cosmetic chemists. They only know how to do product. They don't know how to help you to push the brand out. So your advice would be only accept advice from people who have done what you're doing. Yes, and that's great advice, because we all know that there's a lot of coaches and consultants and many different people out there who I want to help you. I want to help you, but they don't know how, because they haven't walked in your shoes. They haven't done what you do. So that's a great piece of advice for certain. So, ginger, I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation today and I know that there's probably an aspiring person out there who wants to be in the beauty industry. If they want to get a hold of you, how can they do so?

Ginger King:

The best place is actually my Instagram, the beauty shark ginger. That's where I'm wearing a shark.

Jennifer Johnson:

The beauty shark. Yes, that's amazing. I love it. All right, and we'll make sure that we put that in our show notes as well. Thank you again, ginger. So much for joining us today, thank you.

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