Credo (credobeauty.com) has recently become the ‘go-to’ shopping hub for all things natural beauty. Lydia Kandel, Credo’s director of marketing, took time to correspond with Happi.com about the business that was founded in 2014 but has moved to the forefront of retailing with the recent rise of all things wellness taking over the beauty and home space.
 
Happi: What is Credo all about?

LK: Credo is home to some amazing niche brands, including: Puremay, Aether, Mara and Vertly. Our perennial top-selling products include: Beuti Skincare Beauty Sleep Elixir, Marie Veronique CE Ferulic and Lily Lolo Mascara. We have eight locations across the US: San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, Plano and sell online at CredoBeauty.com. Our newest launch is  Soapply for Credo Liquid Hand Wash.
 
Happi: What is your brand story?

LK:  In a market saturated with toxic, harmful ingredients and false label claims, the conventional beauty industry has taken advantage of consumers for decades. In 2014, Credo was founded by the same team that launched Sephora.  We believe that everyone deserves cleaner, safer products — made with high-quality, clean ingredients — and the right information to make better purchase decisions. We carry the largest, safest, cleanest beauty assortment in the US and are committed to helping people discover the most beautiful, effective and clean beauty brands available today. Every Credo location has trained makeup artists and estheticians on staff, guiding shoppers through product benefits, ingredients and solutions based on individual needs and preferences.

We offer over 100 brands across makeup, skin care, body, hair and fragrance categories. Our extensive Beauty Bar offers everything from express facials and brow waxes to makeup lessons and clean beauty swaps. In select locations, we also offer signature Tata Harper spa services.
 
Happi: What makes your company different from others?

LK: It is pretty common for retailers to have a "free of" list or restricted substances list - and Credo is no different with our Dirty Ingredient list.  But what we have done is to go even further by creating our "Credo Clean Standard" using our Dirty List as a foundation and adding operational layers: ingredient documentation including composition statements, following good manufacturing processes and clear definitions of "natural" and other terms. 

But what we are most excited about is that we are incentivizing all of our brand partners to fully disclose the components of their "fragrance" which is protected by trade secret. But this trade secret has perpetuated a lot of the consumer distrust. We ask that rather than keeping the ingredients proprietary, which has long been the standard, we celebrate our brands that will clearly categorize them for our customers (essential oils, natural, naturally-derived, synthetic).

While many of our brands were already in compliance with our Credo Clean Standard, we did give a deadline of Oct. 1, 2019 for some of our smaller brands that may need some time to get there. We also hold consortium calls every 4-6 weeks where all of our brand partners can participate and we tackle topics that are part of our Clean Standard and offer resources and shared ideas to help them in getting there (like the latest innovation in preservative systems, backing up marketing claims, labeling requirements are some of a few that we have held).
 
Happi: Tell us about Credo’s latest developments and how they are shaping the business.

LK: There’s a lot going on right now!

• New brands – We are merchants at heart and are always searching for new and innovative brands formulating in the clean space. We aim to be the launch pad for the best and latest brands that fit our high standards.
• “Credo Live” – We just launched our Hero shopping platform to connect live online shoppers with associates in our stores for personalized service, which is especially valuable when talking about specific skin concerns or looking for makeup shades. Credo is the first beauty retailers to be using Hero.
• Credo staff – Our staff is comprised of awesome makeup artists/estheticians, who serve as experts in the clean beauty space.
• In-store beauty services – We offer makeovers, mini facials and waxing (all clean) and house 4 of the only Tata Harper Spas in the US.
• Events – We execute 6-10 events per month, creating unique experiences with brand founders and expert staff. We also host larger, hallmark educational events called Mission in Action events hosted by different members of our Clean Beauty Council.  The council is a group of experts and advisors that who have been propelling the industry forward. Our council is made up of are seasoned veterans of the clean beauty movement with decades of experience between them. A PhD skin pharmacologist, a makeup artist focused on natural, holistic beauty, a founder of the organic certification movement, an aromatherapist and teacher, a public health advocate and market-mover-- these are the current Council members we're fortunate to work with.

 
Happi: What’s next for 2019?

LK: We are looking to add additional stores in 2019, so stay tuned for more news!