How Raw Sugar Living's CEO Is Fighting Inflation In The Beauty Aisle

Mike Marquis, CEO of Raw Sugar Living, a $100 million hair care brand, joined the company in 2022 after two decades at Johnson & Johnson. He emphasizes keeping operations simple and maintaining product prices under $10. His transition to Raw Sugar Living, a founder-run company, involved respecting the founder mentality while implementing structure and discipline for scale. Donda Mullis, co-founder of Raw Sugar Living, remains actively involved, and Marquis highlights the importance of their collaborative relationship. Raw Sugar Living initially gained significant brand awareness during the pandemic due to its agile response to the demand for hand soap and hand sanitizers, earning it "vendor of the year" at Target in 2020. While the brand diversified temporarily, it remains primarily a hair care business (65%), with body wash and cleansing (25%), hand soap, kids' products, and even a pet line. The pet line, a three-SKU offering found at Petco, emerged from consumer feedback, applying the brand's clean and affordable philosophy to pet care. The brand's commitment to "clean" ingredients, a differentiator 11 years ago, has become a baseline expectation in the beauty industry. Marquis explains that consumers now seek clean products, especially in categories like hair care, where concerns about scalp health and hair fall are prevalent. Raw Sugar aims to be a trusted clean brand for essential shampoo and conditioner routines. To identify new product opportunities, Raw Sugar leverages online platforms like its website and social media for "test and learn" initiatives. This approach, exemplified by the pet business, allows the company to gauge consumer interest and scale successful concepts, mitigating the risks associated with traditional large-scale product launches. Raw Sugar recently underwent a rebrand, an intentional decision to evolve with the market while maintaining core brand elements. The white bottles and bamboo caps were retained to ensure existing consumers could still identify the products. The rebrand focused on visual refinement for a more elegant design and improved product formulations, all while adhering to the under-$10 price point. Marquis notes that as a small, independent company with 35 employees, maintaining consumer loyalty during a rebrand is crucial, and extensive testing confirmed the chosen approach. Marquis attributes Raw Sugar's efficient operation and revenue exceeding $100 million to its small team structure. He believes "small teams get stuff done" by fostering company-wide communication, enabling quick decision-making, encouraging risk-taking and rapid failure, and leveraging external resources. This agility also grants them favorable access and partnerships with major retailers seeking innovative collaborations. Communication is a cornerstone of Marquis's leadership style. He writes a weekly newsletter to his team, a practice he started at J&J, which provides reflections on past achievements, future challenges, and macroeconomic trends impacting the business. This direct, authentic communication, even with occasional typos, builds trust and keeps the team informed, fostering a sense of connection. Marquis emphasizes learning from peers, mentors, and colleagues, rather than solely relying on books. He values networking and seeking recommendations from trusted individuals. He recently read "The Five Dysfunctions of Teams," which reinforced his belief in quickly addressing team dynamics that disrupt productivity, regardless of individual intellect. He describes himself as someone who "would say what everyone is thinking, but no one wants to say." This trait developed early in his career, transitioning from finance to marketing, where he often questioned decisions from a financial perspective. He became comfortable with conflict, believing that addressing "the elephant on the table" with genuine curiosity leads to productive outcomes. This approach was instrumental in the rebrand, where candid discussions with Target about future needs led to a significant overhaul rather than minor, ineffectual changes. For the next 10 years, Raw Sugar aims to stay true to its values, focusing on delivering high-quality, affordable products that bring "everyday joy." Marquis believes that while good marketing sells a product once, an excellent product ensures repeat purchases. The rebrand specifically challenged the team to create amazing hair care products while keeping them under $10, a significant undertaking given supply chain pressures. The commitment to the under-$10 price point led to strategic trade-offs, such as using 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in bottles instead of 100%, which would increase costs beyond their target. Marquis hopes that infrastructure improvements will eventually reduce PCR costs, allowing for greater sustainability without compromising affordability. Beyond packaging, Raw Sugar integrates sustainability into its operations. They work with retail partners to meet specific metrics and have consolidated distribution centers near their manufacturing base in the middle of the US. This significantly reduces carbon footprint and logistics costs by minimizing transportation. Marquis notes that these behind-the-scenes operational changes often have a greater environmental impact than visible packaging elements. Employees, driven by the brand's ethos, actively contribute ideas for reducing environmental impact, such as optimizing the number of bottles per shipping box. Marquis views large corporations like Unilever and P&G as Raw Sugar's competitors, believing that defining the market by businesses of their size would set "low aspirations." His career trajectory at J&J, starting as a financial analyst and moving into marketing, was fueled by a curiosity to go beyond assigned tasks and understand the broader business implications. This proactive approach helped him think strategically about improving margins and driving sales, setting him up for subsequent roles. His time as product director for Clean & Clear, where he was involved in the "Morning Burst" campaign, was a career highlight. Later, as global marketing director for Listerine, he gained experience leading global teams and expanding the brand into new markets like Russia, Turkey, and Indonesia. This role taught him the importance of simplifying complex business models and consistently communicating them, even to the point of "getting sick of yourself hearing it" – a sign that the message is finally resonating. In 2016, he became Global President of Hair Care Acquisition, overseeing the integration of Vogue International (OGX and Maui Moisture) into J&J. This experience taught him the critical importance of preserving the acquired company's culture, founder mentality, and intimate relationship with customers and consumers. He emphasized that the goal of an acquisition is not to impose the larger company's way of doing business but to learn from the innovative, agile smaller company. This role solidified his enjoyment of running an end-to-end business with a smaller, close-knit team. This realization ultimately led him to seek a CEO role like the one at Raw Sugar. He used a "make me move list," a self-reflection tool recommended by a mentor, to assess opportunities based on career, family, location, and personal values. He updates this list regularly, even using an AI agent to compare new opportunities against his evolving priorities, recognizing that personal circumstances significantly influence career decisions. Marquis also discussed the concept of "poly" and "mono" cultures regarding punctuality, acknowledging that different cultures have varying views on time. While he sets expectations for punctuality within Raw Sugar, he emphasizes understanding that lateness often stems from cultural upbringing rather than disrespect. He encourages timely communication if delays occur. Looking ahead, Marquis hopes Raw Sugar will significantly grow its community, measured by repeat purchases, rather than just social media followers. He believes that a broader community of product lovers will drive financial success.