Today we’d like to introduce you to Kacie Schady
Hi Kacie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Yes, I’d love to! I grew up on a working farm and had a close relationship with my grandparents, who taught me the importance of a sustainable lifestyle and the symbiotic relationship we have with nature. Think home-grown, scratch-made meals made with love and reusing or up-cycling everything to be mindful of limited resources. These early memories in the raspberry patch, or next to Grams at sewing machine had a profound impact on me and instilled the farm-girl work ethics, creativity, and resilience that ultimately shaped my entrepreneurial spirit. As I matured and saw this strong woman I revered in a different view, I could see that my Grams was also a skilled and industrious woman well ahead of her era – she was no 1950’s housewife – she successfully continued running the farm and household independently for 30 years after my Grandfather’s passing.
I now am the 5th generation owner of this farmhouse and cherish these memories in this precious place of inspiration, where I ultimately founded my own business rooted in these values I grew up with – empowering everyone, especially women, to live a healthy lifestyle in symbiosis with nature and with sustainability at the core. I’ll get to how I do that through skincare, I promise😉.
My professional background is rooted in fashion retail, studying textile and apparel design in college and stumbling upon my superpowers of connecting with customers and delighting them in my first retail job at a small boutique in northern Indiana. From there, my retail career blossomed into a corporate role spanning over 14 years at a large national retailer (shoutout to Maurices, a fantastic company that I’ll always love!) There, I directed Store Experience and Operations for 900+ locations before pivoting my career to launch my own company: Love and Light Botanicals. During this career transition I also needed to invest in a new set of skills to build a skincare brand, so I went back to school to study cosmetic science with Formula Botanica. They are a leading global university specializing in organic and natural cosmetic formulation.
I’m also a twin, married (officiated by my beautiful twin sister Karin) for 2 years to a wonderful partner and human, Chris, and live in Hopkins, Minnesota. I still love to relax/work at the farmhouse in Michigan whenever we can get away, accompanied by our two rescued (and often spoiled) dogs: Romeo and Louie. 🐾
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha! There is no such thing in life… or in entrepreneurship. Some of the most valuable things I’ve learned in the past 2 years have been about myself and how and when I’m operating at my best. Those lessons have emerged from new and unexpected problems that you run into in the course of building a brand. Then you find a way to push through. I have learned that this is my new superpower… I love solving big, scary problems.
Perhaps the biggest struggle was facing the great unknown: Leaving a very secure and successful corporate career and salary, to start out my own venture was very scary. As a classic Type A, I always have to have a plan. So naturally, I thought about this move from all angles, but ultimately I had to just take a leap. I remember the first month… I spent time cleaning and renovating the farmhouse that I had just bought 3 months prior, and just thought and thought and thought about my business idea. This wide open headspace was a true gift to myself, and worth the risk. That same year I got married, moved to MN and went back to school. A year later I launched the brand, with the first 3 products. I would have never been able to do all of those things in a single year, while working a full -time career. This was the foundation I needed to get where I was going, but taking the leap was not easy for me!
Navigating how to finance a startup business was also a new challenge. I decided to start small so we did not have to take on debt to build the brand. I started a consulting business and found the most amazing client that I still work with part time. This really helped cover the startup costs of our skincare brand! I cannot say enough amazing things about my friends at Zipline, and I’m proud to be a part of their growth story as they are a part of mine.
I’ve had a lot more opportunities to learn and grow in the first year of business – working through the complexity of building and running a cosmetics lab (in our home actually!), regulatory requirements, sourcing and setting up a supply chain for packaging and raw materials, and mapping out a process to develop, test and market natural cosmetic products. Even things as small as learning how to source and maintain our small lab equipment were all new adventures. There were also changes within the FDA’s regulation of cosmetics in 2024 – our first year of business – which required navigating some rather complex rules and systems to register our facilities and products.
In hindsight some of these seem small, but they certainly did not seem small at the time. It’s reminded me of the importance of taking stock of where you have been, and finding gratitude in the journey and what you’ve gained from the experiences along the way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Love and Light Botanicals?
Founding a healthy skincare brand was inspired by my personal journey with hormonal acne, and sensitive skin. Following the beauty industry’s advice to “fix,” “correct,” and “reverse” my skin issues left my self-confidence damaged and my skin barrier compromised. This is why I set out to develop a line of plant-powered skincare, specifically formulated for sensitive skin. I couldn’t find products (or marketing!) that worked for me, so I decided to make them myself. Leveraging my studies in organic cosmetic science, I developed high-performance, natural products that repair and strengthen the skin barrier and brought them to market as Love and Light Botanicals.
In an industry focused on negative fear-based marketing, I knew that it was really hard for most consumers to decode “clean” marketing claims and ingredient panels. So, at Love and Light Botanicals, we are committed to holding clean skincare to a higher standard. Using international standards for cosmetic safety as a baseline, our strict internal standards for ingredient health and safety are what set our Positive Aging skincare apart. We use plant-based ingredients you can recognize and design our formulas using well-researched insights to give consumers confidence, especially those with sensitive skin. No fragrances or dyes here! We are on a mission to redefine beauty by embracing and loving the (healthy) skin we’re in, in a sustainable and practical way.
Love and Light Botanicals offers a fully customizable 3-step skincare routine that can work for anyone. Both full-sized and travel/sample sizes of all our products are available at our website LoveandLightbotanicals.com and at select local retailers. You can also catch us at one of our pop-up events in the Minneapolis area. And for anyone looking for more insight or information about their personal skin health, I invite you to schedule a complimentary one-on-one skincare consultation with me, too. I am always happy to share what I’ve learned and discovered in my journey with anyone who might find it helpful on theirs!
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Minneapolis is like a small city community (especially our adorable Hopkins neighborhood) with big city offerings. Whenever our friends visit they fall in love with the charm of our downtown Hopkins murals and raspberry pride. It’s also a treat to have so many amazing restaurants and entertainment so close by. In any given summer weekend I can grocery shop at the local farmers market, take a SUP yoga class, go for an off leash hike + swim with our dogs, hit an art fair, grab a drink on a patio, and so much more. It’s also a fantastic gardening community, we’ve slowly turned our front yard from grass to vegetable and perennial gardens. 🌱
Minneapolis also has a fantastic business community with so many resources for small business. Hennepin County provides incredible resources and support to local businesses. I recently completed an entrepreneur accelerator program offered by Hennepin, which was the most amazing experience and added so many great people to my network of business owners. Checkout www.elevatehennepin.org if you’re a small business owner in Hennepin county!
Being a transplant, the one thing I don’t enjoy is our long chilly winters. I’ve learned to embrace the hibernation, but 6 months is a long nap. If anyone has any sage advice for embracing a Minnesota winter, I’ll take it!
Pricing:
- Every product is under $50
- Free shipping over $60
- Book a free 1:1 consult with our botanical formulator
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.loveandlightbotanicals.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveandlightbotanicals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loveandlightbotanical/
