Ivyees "Everything Honey"

What is Ivyees?

Ivyees is a successful personal care company in which all products are made with tropical honey from own very own hives or with Manuka honey from New Zealand. The market for natural oral and personal care products is valued at $3Billion and is growing at 15% per year, and the Ivyees product line gives consumers exactly what they're asking for by providing products with the right combination of all-natural, clean ingredients, with the effectiveness of non-natural products, and an emphasis on dermatological and sensitivity testing. Ivyees was founded by Ivy Lawson, a bee enthusiast with degrees in engineering, and we’ve grown from a single hive to a strong presence on Amazon, in Whole Foods, and in a brick and mortar store in Boston’s North End. Ivyees has signed deals with some of the biggest retailers in the country, including Macy’s, CVS, and Walgreens, so we’re seeking investment to ramp up production to meet explosive new demand.

 

Business Model

Revenue Sources:

• Active:
• Whole Foods (22 Stores - $47k),
• Amazon E-commerce (120 units/day - $35.6k /month, 427k /year)
• Website ($120k Annual Revenue)
• North End Store (Average foot traffic 20 to 30 per day, $180K projected annual revenue)
• Future Potential:
• Macy's (12 SKU's projected annual revenue $900k)
• JC Penny (5 SKU's projected annual revenue $1.3 Mil)
• CVS Health (8 SKU's projected annual revenue $1.17 Mil)

In addition to expanding distribution to new retailers, Ivyees is expanding product lines to offer CBD-based skin care and dog treats. 

Customer Base

Health Conscious Consumers -

Everyday products contain harsh and cancerous chemicals (Paraben, Sulfate, Formaldehyde, Sodium Borate.PEG Compounds, Hydroquinone, Decyl Glucoside,= Fragrance, Titanium dioxide). Ivyees offers a complete Line of personal care products made with raw honey and 100% natural & organic ingredients. All of our products are gluten free and cruelty free and produce great results. 

Some of our products include:

Raw Honey - Creamed Floral & Ginger, Hibiscus & Sorrel, Logwood, HoneyComb, Honey Jerk Seasoning

Hair Care - Shampoo, 3 Conditioners, No-Frizz Spray

Skin Care - Cleansing Gel, Rosehip Oil, 3 Créme's, 2 Serums

Toothpaste - 6.5 Oz & .75 Oz

Teas - Dry Sorrel (3.5 Oz), Sorrel-Ginger Herbal Tea, Soursop with honey

 

The Market

• Ivyees product line gives a growing number of consumers exactly what they're asking for by providing products with the right combination of all-natural ingredients with the effectiveness of non-natural products and an emphasis on dermatological and sensitivity testing 
• The organic personal care market was valued at USD 12.242 billion in 2016. The market is expected to record an estimated CAGR of 9.74% during the forecast period (2017-2022), to reach a value of USD 21.103 billion by the end of 2022. This trend is in part due to a shift among women, who now control $5 - $15 trillion dollars of spending power annually and who across generations X, Y, and Z have all driven a societal shift where focus on what is put on and in their bodies matters.
• The U.S. Market for Natural oral and personal care products is valued 3 billion and is growing at 15 percent per year



COMPETITORS

• Tom's
• Burt's Bees
• Shea Moisture

• Inventory: $57,000
• New hire: $43,580
• MainVest Compensation: $6,420

Ivy Lawson
Founder & CEO
Ivy Lawson lived an ordinary life. She worked as an engineer for corporate America for 19 years. There was one thing, however, that Ivy’s ordinary life was missing; she was unhappy. Ivy was good at her job; she worked hard. But she was never recognized for her hard work. With a boss who constantly looked down on her, Ivy decided that she finally had enough and would leave corporate America.

When she left IBM, she decided she was going to downsize her house. As she was packing her things, she came across as a business card of a man who she met about seven years prior. He was the one who planted the seed for her to become an entrepreneur. She gave him a call and he remembered her after all those years since that one interaction. He had an opportunity waiting for her and asked if she would be interested in working with some bee farmers in Jamaica who produce raw honey. Ivy’s interest was piqued so she visited and checked out the scene. Ivy didn’t like honey, but when she tried this honey she loved it. She realized it was because this honey was straight from the hives. It was raw. It wasn’t boiled and unnatural and mixed with sugar, molasses, and corn syrup like the store bought processed honey. She liked it so much she convinced herself to visit 3 more times until she decided she was going to move her and two of her three sons to Jamaica. And that’s when Ivyees came to be.

Throughout the years, she has faced opposition. Not many people believed she could do it. They thought she was crazy to leave her well-paying job for a dream that could easily fail. This transition was an eye opener for her. It showed her who really supported her dreams and who did not. She lost many friends and family members over the years because they didn’t believe in her. But as Ivyees continues to grow and her success with the company, people have slowly come back to her. Ivy advises all entrepreneurs to

believe in yourself: “The thing I would say to anybody who wants to be a business owner is ‘Believe in what you’re doing because nobody else will’. They will discourage you and look like you’re crazy. You have to be strong enough to overcome those obstacles.”

Since then, Ivy has followed her own advice and has come a long way since starting Ivyees in 2008. She has faced adversity and overcome challenges to get to the place where she is now. Where is she? She’s happy. She is having fun. She cares so passionately about her products and believes in them too. Unlike the cosmetic industry who only cares about making a profit, her end goal is to help people become more aware of what they are putting in and on their body. And every day she works towards that goal and is enjoying the journey to get there. She is as happy as a bee.

Shawn Drew Lawson
VP of Marketing & Sales
Prior to Ivyees, Shawn has been in the banking industries for four years where he was an Assistant Branch Manager. Since joining his mother Ivy, Shawn has helped the business in many different capacities. Shawn has grown its sales, leveraged his expertise to monitor the company's financials, and established their brand across social media channels.