With an increased focus on skincare has come the need for a line emphasizing the importance of skincare (and self-care) for men. Men’s skin and self-care come together in the hybridized brand, HETIME, co-founded by Samantha Bergmann and Christopher Carl.
It all started with a simple phone call. Christopher, who had just left his previous job, began to think about his passions and what he really wanted to do. His love for beauty and branding, coupled with a desire to fill a niche, brought him and Samantha to the creation of their male-focused skin-self care brand, HETIME. According to Sam, the title alludes to the time that men can (and should!) take for their skin and self-care rituals. Their belief is that skincare is self-care — the ritual is just as important as the products sold.
HETIME’s launch was marked by the release of their own sheet masks. However, it quickly became apparent that the demand for men’s skincare expanded beyond this — prompting them both to expand their line. And their 5-year plan for the business follows a similar cadence: for Sam, this includes governing the field of men’s skincare entirely, releasing new products and continuing to push for the association of both self-care and skincare as one. For Chris, expanding further into the self-care and skincare sphere, having HETIME represent not only a line of products, but also as an ideology, and enlarging their customer base to all genders are at the top of his list of priorities.
Christopher and Samantha may appear at first to have many differences but in talking with them, there were a number of similarities as well — hence why they work so well together! In fact, they had some insightful things to share about the nature of effective leadership. Having spent time working retail at Ralph Lauren, Chris learned how to become comfortable talking to customers. His experience was so beneficial that he now believes that everyone should work a retail job at some point in their careers — to overcome the fear of engaging with strangers. After all, good customer service is integral to the growth of any brand! Sam’s path was a little different, having started her career journey working at Vogue. There she learned the true value of working hard and appreciating creativity through her role as an assistant to now editor-in-chief Sara Moonves. Her propensity towards customer service began to emerge during her time working at GLOSSYBOX, where each employee was responsible for manning the customer service line one week of every two months. Dealing with customers isn’t always a breeze, but it’s always a meaningful endeavor — for what customers say is key to understanding and evolving a brand!