As I write this, we're only a few days away from launching our three new cosmetic cream sticks (two blush shades and one highlighter.) I'm so excited to bring these products to market! They all double as quality makeup AND skincare products, a concept we’re committing to for all our new products. We want to be able to offer you more than just the basics. It’s a complex process for sure, but we keep reminding ourselves that the more of these products we develop, the better we’ll be at it!  

Otherwise, April was once again full of travel to Montreal. We held our first Montreal-based event alongside many Womance and Sans-Façon clients and social media content creators, and while there, we were we were able to showcase our new cream sticks. The response was really great, which took a lot of pressure off my shoulders. I’ve talked before about the lengthy process of creating a new product, like the lip oil; sometimes we work on products for so long we almost forget that one day we’ll actually put them on sale (and only then do we find out if what we’ve created is well received or not!) Fortunately, our process ensure that we’re not often wrong. Thanks to you, the lip oil has been an incredible success in our stores, online, and in our 300 points of sale across Quebec. Speaking of our points of sale, that’s where things get complicated. It’s crazy how difficult it is to predict pharmacy sales. Since pharmacies keep all their stock in large warehouses, we never really know when or how many products they will order. Then – boom – one day we receive a giant order, and sometimes, it’s a bunch of smaller ones. Cosmetics production requires large quantities. During a launch, it can be anywhere from 2000 to 10000 units per product, and an order of just 5000 units can quickly deplete our inventories. Obviously we can’t just shout "SANS-Façon" and automatically fill our shelves to complete our orders, so we need to plan ahead. One way we do that is by doubling the amount of containers we produce for each order. So, if we get an order for 5000 units of a product, we make sure we have 10000 containers ready to go. That way, when it’s time to reorder, we’re ready to pack and ship more product as quickly as possible.  All that's left is to supply the laboratory with the raw materials. It's been just over a year since we completed our first pharmacy rollout, so I'm giving myself another 6-12 months to come up with a more accurate forecast of our sales. For now, we're adapting as best we can!

During the month of April, we hired a new resource for the company, a marketing and sales director who will be in charge of both Womance and Sans-Façon. We can’t wait for her to arrive on May 20^th! We chose someone with a diverse background who is used to working with several brands at the same time. For those of us in marketing, it's a big challenge to be simultaneously creating for two different brands, but our new hire is up to the task. I’m already looking forward to seeing the impact she'll have on the company and the entire team.

This means of course that one of our amazing team members is leaving us. Obviously, it's never a great feeling when someone moves on, but it's really part of the adventure that is entrepreneurship. It happens, and it will continue to happen again and again. It may seem strange to write this, but I find it beautiful and honourable when someone is able to recognize that ultimately, they want to experience other things. It takes courage to decide to take a step towards change, no matter how small. Sometimes, that can look like mustering up the courage to talk to a new coworker, signing up for a dance class even though you don’t know anyone, or trying to discover a new passion or art form even if you don’t have experience. It’s often during periods of change that we feel the most vulnerable and self-conscious, but I am convinced that it is during these uncomfortable periods that we grow and evolve the most.