Amanda Matsui, Yuyo Botanics

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If wellness is a beauty category and hemp-extract is a wellness ingredient, then this topical and ingestible CBD business is an indie beauty brand. Amanda Matsui, co-founded Yuyo Botanics early last year and already the brand is shipping tinctures and slave to customers in Asia and Europe as well as selling to US consumers online and at Neiman Marcus.

Here wellness entrepreneur Amanda Matsui shares a profile of herself and the brand. 

Name: Amanda Matsui, Co-Founder

Indie Beauty Company: Yuyo Botanics

Launched: February 2018

Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee

Cash flow: Yuyo Botanics is self-funded. The brand is a 3-way partnership; and we all own equal shares of the business. We have not received any [outside] investment or funding.

And, we have successfully scaled our business despite the financial setbacks that most hemp companies encounter.

Indie how? I believe an independent brand refers to companies that are independent from the support of a larger brand or organization.

Team work: just the 3 founders

Distribution: Yuyo Botanics is sold globally through our own ecommerce site and at select retailers across the US, Europe, and China.

Years in beauty: 2

Years at Yuyo Botanics: 2

Entrepreneurial experience: This is my first company.

The business: We are a farm-to-bottle CBD company with a focus on sustainability in the farming industry.

The wow-factor: We are working hard to make our mark in the cultivation of hemp and to inspire cleaner practices in a new industry.

The consumer: women between the ages of 25-50

Milestone moment: We have brought awareness to organic and biodynamic farming practices to the hemp industry in spaces that wouldn't normally entertain these discussions i.e. Neiman Marcus.

Advice for fellow beauty entrepreneurs: Be passionate and don't sacrifice your value system for the fast track. In the end, you want to maintain your value of self. A brand is just a brand, what customers connect with is the story [and] you as a person.

Just one: A good moisturizer or oil! My brand changes all the time depending on who makes it and how clean it is.

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.