JustJared.com‘s Jared Eng caught up with Jess at the 2013 Variety Power of Women event to chat about The Honest Company, her business that provides natural, safe, and effective products for the family and home.
Just Jared: Congrats on all the success of The Honest Company! What are some of your hottest products right now?
Jessica Alba: People love our bundles, so we do a diapers and wipes bundle. So it’s $20 a week to get an unlimited supply of diapers and wipes, and you get to pick out your own designs. Parents love that because it’s also delivered straight to your door. They get the cutest ones out there and our diapers perform more than 35 percent better than any other diaper on the market.
JJ: Which products do you use the most?
JA: I use everything! I have kids and dogs, so laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, body wash, everything. I should just send you a box of stuff! We have the best-smelling bathroom and floor cleaners. I did all the scents. Christopher [Gavigan, co-founder] thinks I’m crazy, but I love essential oils, so I wanted it to smell like aroma therapy.
JJ: What originally made your start the company?
JA: I looked around the marketplace and I was a new mom, and I had an allergic reaction to a baby laundry detergent. I found out that there are all these untested chemicals in baby products, even a numbing chemical that numbs a baby’s eye in baby shampoo. There are chemicals in diapers that can burn your baby and they get these burns that permanently scar. I did not want my kids to be exposed to any of that stuff. I was trying to find better quality products and it was really hard to find a company that I could trust. So I was like, “It would be so much easier if there were a company that did all the hard work and provided everything I needed, was affordable, and easy to get.” So that’s why we initially started online and our price point is super competitive.
JJ: What is Honest’s biggest milestone to-date?
JA: I feel like every day we’re hitting these huge milestones, but one of the things that I’m most proud of is we have a non-profit called Baby2Baby.Org that’s incorporated into our business model. We’ve given 20,000 units of product. We’ve given time and money to Baby2Baby and that’s huge for a start-up.
JJ: How do you intend to grow the brand?
JA: Expanding our product line. Our customers want us to have more adult products like deorderant and shaving oil, so we’re working on that. And then maybe we’ll go into hard goods and soft goods. It’s just about what our customers want.
JJ: Are there any other business ventures you’re interested in?
JA: I really think the beauty space is interesting and I’ve been looking into it for quite a while. I also think kids and extra-curricular acitivities, and food and nutrition, is a big deal. So I’m looking into that space as well.
You can check out The Honest Company’s website or pick up their products at select locations of Gelson’s, Nordstrom, Costco, and various baby boutiques! – Just Jared