COSMOFACTORY

Deanna: [00:00:00] On this episode, we're talking about category growth. I'm your host, Deanna Utroske, and my guest today on CosmoFactory is Romina Brown, CEO and founder of Strategic Solutions International. The US-based company, more commonly known as SSI Consults, specializes in category growth management and related services for personal care and cosmetic brands.
Romina, welcome to CosmoFactory
Romina: Thank you, [00:01:00] Deanna. Thank you very much
Deanna: Yeah, no, I'm thrilled that you're here. I wanna get started just by saying what I think I know about category growth management, which is that this is basically working with a brand, uh, to grow a single product category, maybe, maybe it's color cosmetics, maybe it's haircare, and then grow that category by then, um, advising on product assortment, on pricing, but also on promotions or marketing that will all satisfy both consumer expectations and retailer objectives.
Um, I'm sure there's more to it than that Romina, uh, will you please tell us what category growth management, uh, truly involves?
Romina: First, I'd like to say thank you, Deanna, for having me here on your podcast. It's a, a pleasure and always a joy to talk with you. Uh, you've always been so supportive and such a great advocate for the work that we do, so I appreciate you, uh, allowing me to join you here today
Deanna: No, I'm, I'm thrilled. I, I know I'm going to learn more from you, and I, I'm sure our [00:02:00] listeners will as well. So I, I appreciate your time. Thank you
Romina: So category growth management, we kind of added the growth part in there because we consider ourselves as stewards of growth, but the term is more traditionally known as category management.
And it is the, the practice of identifying and seizing opportunities to really grow a product category. So there's a certain amount of objectivity that you have to have, an amount of curiosity that you have to have in order to grow the product category, but we really do it for our brand partners. And I think our, our value delivery is really in aligning with our brand partners because we are dogmatic about making sure that we find a, a path for them to grow within those categories, uh, from a retail perspective, with e-commerce, whether it be brick-and-mortar, online, through communications, innovation, product, all, all of the areas, uh, of development. We really work with them [00:03:00] strategically to, uh, make those categories more valuable
Deanna: Yeah. No, that's excellent too. And thinking about seizing opportunities and then what you shared after you, you shared that idea is, really talks about how specific it is to each partner that you're working with, um, is, is what I'm hearing. There's a real specificity to the strategy. Is that accurate?
Romina: Absolutely. And, and I f- I really find that that's our greatest strength, you know, helping our brand partners. I
mean, because we do it without regard for, you know, anything or anyone. Uh, it's very much about trying to deliver sales lift
Deanna: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so then are there maybe some technical skills or expertise that you use in your work that, that might surprise us that, uh, you know, don't, maybe aren't logically connected to that, but or, or maybe just completely, yeah, I don't know. Help me out
Romina: Yeah, you know, I, I'd say that, um, this one probably won't [00:04:00] surprise you,
but a large part of what we do is, is, is storytelling.
Deanna: Yeah
Romina: Turning large data sets into clear narratives that guide discussions and outcomes, you know, to the right fancy. Uh, so s- data storytelling is, is a really big one. But in order to do that, you have to understand the data,
and you have to understand also your brand partner. Uh, whether it's a brand partner or a retail partner, you have to understand your partner goals as well. Uh, I'd say clearly advanced analytics is a, is a part of it. It's not so... It does- I'm sure that doesn't surprise you either. But in order to do this type of work, you have to have that market mix modeling and regression thinking.
You know, you have to have advanced analytics. I'd also say ecosystem mapping
Deanna: Say more about that
Romina: Understanding how the entire ecosystem functions, so that would be starting with the [00:05:00] retailers back. Retailers, distributors, suppliers of goods and components, and how they all interact to move a category.
Deanna: Right.
Romina: So ecosystem mapping is, you have to understand that as well. Because if we're proposing options or ideas that are not aligned with reality, those realities,
they, um, uh, our brand partners are gonna look at us like we don't know what we're... Yeah, they're, like, we're, that's not the best partnership. Um, I'll also say probably one of the biggest things is option thinking or experimental designed thinking.
You know, like doing AB testing, planning tests out to isolate the impact of this change across assortments or pricing and promotions. So kind of AB modeling with our, with our clients as well. If you do this, then, then this. And if you do that, then this.
So, uh, that's, that, we do a fair amount of that as well before we make our strategic recommendations.
Our strategic solutions, we do a fair amount of that.
[00:06:00] Um, and then I also would say in terms of e- especially now how things have changed with AI, there's a, a, a fair amount of Understanding fluency, you know, tooling fluency. So like
using category management software, dashboards, integrating AI, CRM data, you know, the integration of all of that. You know, where before, you know, I might have run an analysis, "Oh, let me pull the whole team on this. All, all hands on deck. It's gonna take us a couple months." We can do that, you know, by tomorrow.
Deanna: Right,
Romina: So Yeah, full transparency on that. It allows us to be more efficient
Deanna: Yeah. I wanna go back to the, the where you started this answer, thinking about sort of, um, using advanced analytics and translating that into a storytelling, um, approach. Do you have a, a quick example you can share from, from some of your work that might help us think about that further?
Romina: Well, the storytelling is very specific around our [00:07:00] client needs, but, um, a large part of what we do is rooted in consumer insights.
And so I can, I can share an example of, you know, generally for the category, weaving in insights into data.
Like we, we harmonize all the data from the different points of, of, um, origin, like beauty supplier data, retail chain data, as well as Amazon data, which is now such a large part of the consumer decision.
Um, and then we marry in w- what are consumers saying about this? How do they arrive at these decisions? It r- really helps to support. So for instance, uh, a good part of storytelling, we think about, and this is very specific. Out of the research when we were conducting it, consumers told us that they did, that they preferred Black-owned brands. Why? And so one exam- what, when we were asking it before, "Oh, we pr- prefer them because we think they work better. Because somebody like me [00:08:00] created this product, they are ha- they're more likely to have the same characteristics as I do, the same needs that I have. So I think it's gonna work better for me.
I'd be willing to pay more for it," and all the, all the things. But now we ask them about it. Yes, Black ownership is still important, but it's important because of solidarity, because 300,000 Black women have been moved out of the workforce, and it's impacting the overall economics of the, you know, the, the Black economy.
So that turned into this wealth transfer conversation. And so we use that,
align it with how they're moving, uh, h- help our brands understand what they need to do for their channel strategy because of how consumers are now shifting. So because typically the brand storytelling, or the storytelling is around a particular brand. So we'll say for instance, uh, consumers prefer styling. They're moving away from [00:09:00] hard styling. They want soft, free-flowing curls, so mousse is this, and now you have the number one mousse, so we suggest you do this. Or, you, you know, so, um, the number one growing mousse, or whatever the story is, we pull from their data points, their strong data points, and align it with consumer behavior. Um, and we create a story for them to go in and say, "Oh, your velocity's higher than this brand. It's on the shelf, and it has two times facings that you have. It has more ACV or more store selling." So you need to tell retailer A that they would be more productive if, if they had... They're losing money by not having your product on the shelf.
So that's, that's a specific example without any brand names, but also in general, we just do it for the category and overall consumer dynamics as well.
Deanna: Yeah, no, that's all very helpful and, and that note about moving away from that someone like me, um, strategy, which I know we heard a lot about for a long time. But yeah, m- there's a lot more, I, I wanna say like nuance and weight [00:10:00] in what you're, um, what you're seeing from consumers now, so that's super helpful to know.
I wanna think a bit about, um, what we call soft skills. You talked about being in the age of AI, and I think these are important still and, and maybe especially, um, as we have so much more digital technology. I'll just give a for instance, um, about myself, um, as an example. It, it's very much in my nature to be observant.
I honestly often spend more time noticing and listening than I sometimes do writing and speaking. I get paid to write and speak, but the noticing and the listening are very central to my work. I, I'm wondering if there are soft skills that are valuable for someone like yourself, um, working in, in category growth.
Yeah.
Romina: You said noticing and listening, and for me, I kind of summarize that as curiosity.
It is so important for us to be curious about the motivation or the, the challenges or the blocks or the, um, you know, the [00:11:00] drivers of consumer behavior. So curiosity, like, it drives deeper questions for us to uncover the causes of category performance, the causes of category performance.
So we have to be very curious. I think that's a, a good one. Um, I'd also say, I don't know if it's a soft skill, it's definitely collaboration.
Deanna: Yeah, yeah. I think if you, if you work with other humans, that's a soft
Romina: Yes.
Deanna: yeah, if you do it well, yeah.
Romina: Right. Uh, you know, working with, you know, marketing, sales, supply chain, events, finance, you know, to align on, on goals. Those are, you know, that cross-functionality as well as, um, it can be so much more fun, to be honest with you.
It's so much more fun when you're, you know, working collaboratively. And, uh, a big one I think for us is the ability to be nimble. Like nimbleness is the, is a soft skill, but it's such a [00:12:00] necessary skill. I, I remember someone saying to me, "If you don't bend, you'll break." But, uh, you know, you have to be flexible here. So flexible and nimble, I don't know, those aren't the same thing, but so being flexible is certainly one. Uh, but being nimble, uh, adapting to changing retailer needs and brand needs and market conditions, because the market conditions are changing so quickly and you wanna be able to understand the motivation behind those things and, yeah, so I, I like that we can, you know...
My team may not necessarily agree with me that we're, when we're turning on a dime, that, you know, how much I like to do that, but I, I think it keeps you relevant and it keeps, you know, you, you know, understanding what's really the driver.
Deanna: Yeah. No, I
Romina: another one too that I don't want, and I don't, and I don't think it's a soft skill anymore, I think it's definitely much a business skill and upfront is kind of like negotiation and, and influence.
So you see how influencers have moved to [00:13:00] the front. They've changed from the macro-influencers to the micro-influencers to user-generated content and all that. But I do feel like, um, influence is a soft skill as well.
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. No, '
Romina: Cause you don't really have any direct category authority, but it's, it's definitely a, a, a, you know, a soft skill, yeah
Deanna: Mm-hmm. No, that's fantastic. And so many of the skills you pointed to there, you know, curiosity, being nimble, being flexible, are all kind of reminders about how important it is to recognize that just because you have a lot of experience or a, a lot of data and a lot of wisdom, you might not know the answer for this moment or the next moment.
Like, you have to keep asking, you have to keep exploring and adapting and
Romina: and you have to be willing to say you don't know. That's kind of the fun part of it, digging and, you know, I'm, I'm, um, I say I'm never surprised by what consumers say to us. You know, and I, and I recently, [00:14:00] they say something, anything.
You know, they'll say something, anything, and it's like, oh. Oh, okay.
Is that how
you feel?
Deanna: Yep. Just when you think you... Yeah, you're not
Romina: I wasn't really expecting that, but you know, it's not, you know, I'm not the consumer and, and, and, you know, so you have to really be able to sh- show that up and serve that up in a way for, for our, you know, our partners
Deanna: Yeah. No, that's fantastic. And, um, I just wanna remind myself and, and everyone listening, you know, on this and, and future CosmoFactory episodes, we're starting to think about, um, what we describe as invisible beauty. So really about the people and, and the projects, uh, behind product success. Um, and, uh, for me, the cosmetic industry relies on a diversity of minds for its success.
This is something I've, um, observed, and I'm certainly not alone there. Um, so I wanna keep thinking about, you know, this idea of sort of a personal sensibility and, and maybe, um, even a, a superpower you might have. We've talked about curiosity and, [00:15:00] you know, I, I certainly, you know, bring a sense of wonder to my own work.
But maybe there are some other personality traits that show up for you both in real life and at work that, that are, that are relevant. Is there, is something that sort of makes Romina good at this?
Romina: um, I definitely think the curiosity is, is one, uh, because it helps with research. You know, it helps with exploring patterns and asking the right questions, you know, really kind of narrow- wiggling your way down to the heart of the matter.
Deanna: Right. 'Cause it's like you, you get an answer, but the answer only leads to more questions. That's
Romina: Right. One question begets another.
You know, that's the idea with it, and we, we create more work for ourselves that way, but it really, it does give you, you know, a better, more rich and textured, if you will, outcome.
But I also say, um, pragmatism, you know, is, is... So I- curiosity, and then I guess maybe the, the, the, the flip side of that is keeping plans [00:16:00] realistic. You know, there's a certain amount of pragmatism that you have to have as well so that it can be executable. You know,
kind of balancing ambition with what's really feasible, you know, what's really feasible. So you know, you pull back on the, pull yourself back into a place where, how can I really, you know, put this in a place where we can serve it up?
Deanna: Right
Romina: so but then there's another one that I think is, like, tenacity and fearlessness. You know, you've gotta have it. You have got to have it. You can't be, can't have thin skin. Um, you just have to be, you have to fall in love with the problem. I've had to fall in love with the problem. Mm. And when you keep that in mind and the consumer in, in, in the front, then it, it, it, it makes it easier to do what needs to be done.
But this fearlessness, I have this, this song, um, it's a, it's a rap song, I think. I don't even know who it's by. Uh, what, what's, uh, what is the guy's name? Uh, uh, it's called Never Scared. Bone Crusher. [00:17:00] It's by Bone Crusher. It's called I, I Ain't Never Scared.
Like, you are aware, keenly aware of everything around you, all of the, you know, competitive space, but not focused on it.
You're focused on what your goals are and what you're trying to deliver to the market. So I, so that fearlessness translates into I ain't never scared.
Hip, hip-hop taught me everything I need to know, Dion. so one particularly, um, resonates in this moment.
Deanna: And now I lo- I'll have to update my playlist after this,
this
Romina: Bone crusher. The bone crusher, yes
Deanna: You know, and, and you've talked about the idea of collaboration being fun. It sounds like the research, the curiosity driven, um, being fun. Are there other aspects of this work for you that's maybe intellectually playful that there is
Yeah, I know there are moments for me in my writing where, like, I, I will just love the sentence. Like, like I just, I just get into what I ... [00:18:00] Like, it's just a
Romina: I think it's it's, it's the translation or being able to play back what
consumers are saying. Uh, I really want to give voice to their experience in a way that honors the consumer group, in a way that they're not misunderstood, in a way that they're fully heard, and so that brands can address them. I'm like, "You do with it what you want, but what you will, what you will be is informed." And so, uh, that I, I have to say I really enjoy the most be- being able to deliver uninterrupted kind of... We do have to put some filters on it sometimes, you know, because these consumers, I'm telling you, they will say, they will say anything. Um, but, you know, but I guess the best part for me is being able to integrate the two. So you take the data, quantitative portion of it, and you mix it with the qualitative insight, and then you deliver an elevated, uh, unique value
in the [00:19:00] market. And to me, I think that is the greatest, uh, joy for me in this work, delivering unique value
to our partners, uh, in a way that they seem to really, um, understand and I, I don't wanna overuse the word, but in a way that they truly value.
And so Yeah
we, we appreciate that.
Deanna: No, that's awesome. You know, as I, I listen to everything you've shared so far, it, it's clear to me that this is something of a team sport, right? You've mentioned your, your team, um, you've mentioned your partners, um, in various ways, y- whether it's retailers or brands. I'm wondering if you can maybe say more about who's involved in the process, particularly in terms of maybe the tasks and activities that they do, the, the input that goes largely unseen?
Romina: Well, uh, as I mentioned before, we are connected partners. Or maybe, maybe I didn't mention this, but we are connected partners with Nielsen, and I'm very proud of that partnership with them. So we have, um, we are their only partner in beauty, and, um, like I said, I'm very proud of [00:20:00] that partnership. So they are a data partner to us.
We share data back and forth. We also have partnered with, you know, brands and companies like Mintel in the past as well. So they are, you know, sort of collaboration partners on category information data, benchmarks, market context, um, things like that. But we also have, within my organization, uh, people who are very, we are very heavily focused on the reporting, the technical side of the data.
So we have, uh, recently, uh, partnered with a company called TabsTellus, and they are best-in-class data integration, harmonization, so that we can have a multi-channel view of our data. We have beauty supply store data, as well as we were the first company in the world to capture consumer syndicated data for the beauty supply channel, as well as we have retail chain data through our partnership with Nielsen, and we also have Amazon data, 'cause we know how [00:21:00] important that is.
Soon to add, uh, TikTok to that as well. So we have multi-channel data, and, uh, we'd grown to a point where we needed a, a data harmonizer
and integration partner, and so Tabs is our partner, uh, for that. They understand that far better than we do, and so we, uh, work with them on our, on our platform that we created.
It's called SSI Pathways
for multi-reason, for multiple reasons, to create a pathway to this consumer, but also, um, it's just, um, uh, our pathway to the data,
uh, integrated, harmonized data. We have a, a marketing, uh, lead on the team who does a lot of the insights summary and help the, help brands and the general public understand our insights reporting and the value that they can bring to our brand partners. I have serious, heavy, deep in data analytics. We have, um, a tech lead on data, data reporting manager, senior analyst. [00:22:00] Um, and then we also have a fractional COO, who's more than fractional at this point. Uh, we're But she definitely does, um, she's heavy, has, you know, big experience on data, uh, as well as sales, market, lot of operating excellence, um, allowing me to focus on growth and the next phase.
And then we also have our insights and research partners as well,
Deanna: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I knew there was a lot going on.
Romina: Yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot more than CZI because people see me and they think SSI, and I'm like, "No, look, look. Come forward, you guys. It's a whole team.
There's a whole SSI army here."
Deanna: Yeah, yeah. No, that's fantastic. And clearly when we think about category growth, there is a ROI that, that we expect, right? Growth of a particular category. Um, but I'm wondering if there are advantages to category growth management, um, that are maybe not as obvious. Are there, are there things... Yeah, help me, help me think [00:23:00] further
Romina: You know, so, uh, yes. And I, and I think oftentimes you, you might not be the only one who doesn't understand the ROI, uh, who's- that might s- that, you know, might, might get lost because as I think about it, if we do it well, if we do it objectively, then there's a, there's a benefit to everyone. There's shelf efficiency when we're telling the right stories, when we're looking at, you know, category management.
So some of these sort of non-obvious return on investments would be better assortments, placement, and y- all of that can really lift the entire category sales, even without, you know, huge price changes. When we get the right, you know, items on the shelf. So I'd say improved shelf efficiency is one that people don't always look
at. Shopper loyalty, understanding, you know, better behavior. You'll have improved category relevance, you know, in [00:24:00] retailers. So it leads to repeat visits, multiple purchases, higher rings, more market basket, uh, you know, f- larger market basket. So I just think that people undervalue that as well, if we really do category management well.
I'd say the cross-category effects as well, understanding consumer behavior, what else they're doing, what else are they buying, what's important to them, what are the key trends? So it, it, you know, it's... That cha- those are changes in one category that can boost sales in another related category and, you know, align with shopper momentum.
So, um, I, I, you know, those are some of the ones, and there are some other ones I can think of. Maybe- the, the impact of having data-driven, the risk mitigation of having data-driven decisions,
data-backed decisions. That's kind of, you know, in the back of the mi- I mean, when you go to retailers, you need data.
Once you reach a certain point, you have to understand your data and theirs, you know?
And so I, I think one of the [00:25:00] kind of hidden ROIs is, um, that ongoing learning. It reduces wasted spend on ineffective promotions, or having the wrong mix, or the wrong products, or the wrong number of fa- facings and, and all that.
So, I mean, I guess I'd say shelf efficiency I said, um, shopper loyalty
would be increased. Uh, what was the last one I said? Uh, oh, cross-category effects, and then, you know, kind of the data di- dri- data-driven,
the mitigation of risk for having data-driven
Deanna: Yeah, no, that's all super helpful. Um, and I do have, uh, one more important question to ask you, but I wanna take a moment and sneak in a little thank you to our listeners here. Uh, if this is your first episode or if you're a regular CosmoFactory listener, uh, please know that we are truly grateful for your time and attention.
And if you are enjoying this conversation, we always appreciate a positive review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening. Uh, and before I get to my last question for Romina, I [00:26:00] want listeners to know, uh, that new CosmoFactory episodes will be available on the first Tuesday of each month.
So if you have not already, go ahead and tap follow on your podcast app to be sure we show up in your feed next month. Uh, Romina, my last question for you is something of an optimistic one. We talked a bit about, um, fun and joy earlier, but I, I wanna ask directly where you find the greatest joy in your work.
And, and if you have an example to share, I would love to hear it
Romina: You know, honestly, the greatest joy, uh, simply put, is that, you know, I, I, I, W- I, we, SSI, we really find joy in turning messy data into clear, actionable plans that, you know, our brand partners can implement, that they can actually implement. And so I think my, my greatest joy is, is what I link to our greatest strength and our greatest weakness.
So our greatest strength is that [00:27:00] when you win, we win. Our... When our brand partners win, we win. That's enough for us. But it's also a weakness because we're behind the scenes. Like, nobody knows we're back here powering this with all the, you know, the insights and the data and the... So we probably need to talk more, but really our brands are doing the talking for us. That is the greatest joy. And, uh, and, and, and based on the amount of growth we've had, even in this down market, we are seeing, um, we are seeing, um... We're, we're seeing growth. So my greatest joy is watching our brand partners win, uh, having them recognize our commitment to their success in the market, um, sticking it out when things get tough or when things are, are good, helping them to continuing, continue to promote or helping them to predict the road ahead.
You know, this is make it worse before it gets better, but let's just see where we are and, you know, and really, and develop our path forward. So the greatest joy is, [00:28:00] is watching all of that and knowing that we had a hand in it and helping them and having our brand partners really recognize that we're truly, truly here partnership with them.
So that's really the greatest joy.
Deanna: Yeah, no, that's so wonderful. I, I really appreciate your sharing that. And Romina, thank you for joining me today here on CosmoFactory
Romina: Deanna, thank you for having me. I really appreciate it, and I value the work that you do and the, the perspective that you bring to the market and always, and always have. So thank you
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