Tanika Casimir started her Delaware County-based skincare and home goods brand Elizabeth Peyton Creations with just $100. In the six years since launching, she’s beaten her annual revenue goals by as much as $50,000 and is now looking to ramp up wholesale, including a line of white labeled products.
In addition to growth plans, Casimir is launching several new products in the second quarter and exploring the creation of a membership-based creative co-working-like space that would support startups like hers.
Casimir is targeting downtown Wilmington, Delaware, for such a concept, which she expects would include office space, kitchen production facilities, plus a multimedia area where businesses could host podcasts or shoot photos or video. While no lease has been signed, Casimir is targeting such a project for mid-2023 or 2024.
“I'm big on giving back to small businesses,” she said. “I really feel like when I first started, a lot of businesses didn't have spaces to do things, make products….” That was certainly the case for Casimir, who self-funded the business and began product development in her kitchen before eventually moving to her current space in Springfield.
Elizabeth Peyton Creations wasn’t initially intended to be a business. Casimir started creating products when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Wanting to eliminate unnecessary ingredients and give her mom clean alternatives, Casimir read up on products and started making her own.
“I was like, OK, let's try to change our lifestyle,” she said. That included the products they put on their bodies. Already using natural skincare, Casimir wanted to further strip out any chemicals and started making soaps, lotions, body butters and scrubs from ingredients like fruits, vegetables and shea butter.
When a neighbor expressed interest and purchased a selection of those products, Casimir began to wonder if she could have a business on her hands. She was no stranger to starting a company – Casimir previously ran her own wedding and events firm in addition to working in residential and corporate interior design.
In April 2017, Casimir launched Elizabeth Peyton. The brand takes its moniker from her mother’s middle name and the name of a flower girl at a wedding she worked on. The little girl reminded Casimir of herself and she was drawn to the name.
To launch, Casimir began selling products at various markets like Uhuru in West Philadelphia, eventually expanding throughout the tri-state area. Her vending spots have included the Philadelphia Flower Show and the Christmas Village, both in Center City, as well as at Cherry Street Pier.
This year, Casimir will also be part of the Clover Market, selling her goods when it comes to Chestnut Hill and Collingswood, New Jersey.
In the six years since launch, Elizabeth Peyton’s product lineup has grown significantly thanks in part to Casimir taking it on full-time in 2019. To grow her line, she listened to customer feedback and now offers a selection of body and facial care products, as well as home goods. That includes bath salts; shower steamers; foot balms, scrubs and soaks; soaps; plus body washes and oils. Her skincare includes toners, masks, roller oils, a facial wash, and a facial oil. Individual products range from $8 to $28.
This spring, she plans to introduce several new products including a coffee bean under eye cream in April and a natural deodorant line, expected to debut in May.
Like the products she started making for her mom, each is handcrafted and uses natural ingredients like chamomile, vitamin E, shea butter, peppermint, banana, and lavender. She sources ingredients from local farms where possible.
In 2019 she added home goods in a nod to her background in interior design. Those include a room spray, Turkish towels and two types of candles, including the best-selling soy wax jar candles. She makes the candles and sprays herself, but sources towels and other household goods.
Casimir said during the two most pandemic-riddled years, business took off and she beat her goals – which are undisclosed – by $20,000 in 2020 and $50,000 in 2021 before seeing sales stabilize last year.
Her primary demographic is women and sales come from across the country, with New Jersey and California being top markets. At present, 70% of sales are retail and 30% come from e-commerce. That’s a figure Casimir would like to not only flip but exceed. In future, she wants at least 80% of business to be e-commerce, something she’s hoping her focus on wholesale will drive. “That's a great opportunity there,” she said. “The goal this year is really to push wholesale.”
More than just working with retailers, she is also considering launching a white label division in which shops could purchase her products with their own branding on them.
“I've gotten a lot of requests [for that],” she said.
At present, Casimir is the sole employee but with expansion planned, she may look to bring on help and relocate to a large space. If all goes to plan, that could be the new maker space she has in mind.
