Renegades | Christina Kao on Growing Le Mini Macaron
The gel nail brand co-Founder & co-CEO puts a fresh coat of paint on the beauty industry
Welcome to Renegades, Gold House’s newsletter series spotlighting Asian Pacific leaders and creatives who are carving their own paths and defying stereotypes along the way. This week, we sat down with Christina Kao, co-founder and co-CEO of gel-nail brand Le Mini Macaron. After growing tired of the time and cost it took to get gel manicures at the salon every two weeks, Christina co-developed Le Mini Macaron in 2015 with her business partner Francois as a solution to recreating easy, inexpensive DIY salon manicures at-home.
What did you want to be when you were growing up, and how does that compare to what you do today?
I studied French and Spanish growing up and spoke Mandarin Chinese at home. During college, I was fortunate to study abroad almost every summer (Nice, France, Salamanca, Spain and Taipei.) If you asked me as a teenager, my dream was to be an “international business woman” using my languages and jet-setting between NYC, Paris and somewhere in Spain! I guess I would say I’m fairly close to this dream as I am based today in Barcelona, and travel regularly to the US, around Europe and to Asia. I’m really fortunate as I get to use my languages (Chinese with our team members and suppliers in China, French with our team and clients in France, and Spanish on a daily basis)!
Can you share a bit about your journey and what led you to become the co-founder of Le Mini Macaron?
Let’s say, I never set out to become an entrepreneur! I met my business partner François (who is also my ex-boyfriend!) when we were both living in Shanghai. He’s actually the one who comes from a beauty background (previously working in supply chain with a French beauty wholesale company). I brought the marketing & creative side, so somehow we found ourselves designing products and packaging…then launching a Kickstarter campaign…then traveling to international exhibitions trying to land clients…then opening our DTC websites and Amazon…and eventually launching in retailers in the US and Europe. It was a winding journey with a lot of unintentional mis-steps and we now find ourselves 12 years later with an international business and a team of 40. We really do ask ourselves how did that all happen?!
What inspired you to pursue work in the beauty industry, and how have your personal experiences shaped the brand?
I really love working in beauty. While I never set out to do that (I had a background working at advertising & event agencies in New York and Shanghai prior to starting this business), I have to say that I’ve really found a home in this industry.
The shifts in culture we’re experiencing in the past few years, where certain under-represented groups (for example, women and BIPOC, which are specifically relevant for me) are now getting elevated – it’s really made me think, honestly, how fortunate I am to be an AAPI & female founder in the beauty industry today. Because actually, I’ve always felt such a camaraderie and was fortunate to have never really felt held back. And it’s this part that makes me want to continue building community within this industry amongst different groups of people because it is such a supportive one. When we recruit new team members, I’m often thinking of this – how can we give opportunities to people (especially up and coming ones) who want to break into beauty but maybe traditionally wouldn’t have a strong shot. We’re in a position to lift up people through employment or partnerships, and it’s really important to keep doing that.
Recently named the Best Gel Nail Polish in 2024 by Forbes Magazine, Le Mini Macaron continues to be an innovative market leader. Additionally, you launched Le Gel Tips (at-home gel extensions) earlier this year in April, which sold out within 2 weeks! What advice do you have for other founders looking to successfully disrupt the beauty space?
Beauty is an exciting and competitive space. This year, we’re very fortunate to be finding success with a number of product innovation launches that are catching the attention of the media and also selling out with our Chéries (our loyalists)! We launched Le Gel Tips, as well as Builder Gels, and last month, Liquid Nail Powders. It’s been thrilling to see that these more specific, advanced nail products are really landing with our community. They’ve gotten more into DIY nails at home (since the pandemic) and they’ve become really good at it too! I think for other founders, of course product innovation definitely disrupts the market (but this is not always the easiest to bring to life); however, I also think doing more partnerships with other brands or influencers can really help amplify your efforts. For example, a product collaboration between 2 brands can drive more interest from editors & excitement with influencers. If the brand is in a different category than you (for example, beauty + food), even better! This will bring new eyes to your brand as well.
Beauty as a category has exploded over the last few years with new brands, products, trends and more; Where do you see the industry heading next?
There have been SO many trends and shifts in the industry. One area I’m really interested in (but I do think it continues to be challenging and still needs a big push in development) is sustainable packaging. The amount of plastic and single-use that continues to be produced at (literally) earth-shattering volumes is just awful. We work with Sephora in France and they are starting to implement a ban on certain plastics. This is challenging for a brand to manage because sustainable packaging materials are still simply more expensive, however I’m happy that they have initiated this. It will force all the brands – big and small – to find new solutions. And when brands start to push, the suppliers will innovate faster. We really need sustainable options at competitive prices in order to make the big shift that the industry, and the environment, needs us to make.
You just launched the first-to-market nail powder innovation that creates a chromatic finish to nails called the Stardust Liquid Nail Powder. What was the inspiration for this product and what was the development process like?
Glazed Donut Nails were all the rage a couple of years ago thanks to a certain Mrs. Bieber. This trend has evolved to chromatic, pearlescent and metallic finishes all being super hot right now. People like adding finishes to their nails, especially if it catches the light. While nail powders have been around, we wanted to do this in a different format, so our Liquid Nail Powder comes in a tube and looks like a mini lip gloss. It has a doe foot applicator! So it’s a really innovative way to apply the powder – it goes on liquid and dries down (then you rub it in). It’s a much cleaner application vs. the traditional nail powder.
We accelerated this launch, as we had the idea back in December and we really wanted to get it launched right before Summer. So our NPD and production time was squeezed to about 4 months AND we air shipped the first batch in. This all paid off because it’s selling like hotcakes and the paid ad creative is one of our top performers. We also have more editors and influencers asking for samples than we expected! I’m really proud of our team for pitching in and making this happen so quickly. All the content, education, social, landing page, and videos look amazing.
Content creators have become such a tablestakes vehicle to reach customers in the saturated, DTC space. How have you approached crafting a creator strategy that works best for Le Mini Macaron?
Even though we’re indie, I think one of the things our marketing team excels at is our influencer strategy. We have built so many personal relationships with influencers and we work with them with a long-term lens. We don’t want to ‘pump and dump’ influencers. It’s about keeping them continuously updated on your plans and launches, rotating different influencers depending on the campaign, but maintaining great relationships with them so that they are also helping us out. They are often new at running their own businesses and trying to figure stuff out, so when there is an opportunity for us to help them (for example, I’m personally friends with several of them) like providing business advice and sharing knowledge, we will do that when appropriate.
What are you currently working on that’s exciting you the most?
We have a new product line launching in September and this is going to be one of our biggest launches ever. Personally, it’s been quite a new and different challenge to build out our strategy, communications and sales plan. I’ve been working on things I never had to do before. So, lots of ups and downs along the way. However, every time I get a retail buyer who commits to our new line, I get such a thrill. I think I’ve always secretly preferred the sales side to the marketing with our business!
Lightning Round
Daily habit: exchanging lengthy voice messages with my best friend
Favorite beauty hack or trend: Skipping conditioner in the shower, and using leave-in that doubles as a styling treatment
Comfort food: Galbi tang and mandu (even though I’m Chinese, Korean food has become my go-to in Barcelona because there are so many better restaurants here!)
Favorite nail polish color: Have you heard of the Red Nail Theory? ;)
Best productivity tip: Being OK with work that’s less than perfect when it really won’t impact the outcome
Favorite book: My boyfriend bought me What Would Dolly Do? when we were in New Orleans, and it’s full of decades of Dolly Parton’s wisdom. I love it!