Sam Arcadipane has recently launched her very own brand of collagen-infused organic teas — jumping into the wellness space and the popular interest in collagen, her newly launched brand — Fusspot Collagen Beauty Tea, with its distinct hot pink irreverent branding has, taken the market by storm.
Sam Arcadipane is a veteran of the brand and marketing space and highly decorated educationally, with a Bachelor of Business in Marketing amongst other advertising and public relations qualifications. Sam initially held key positions in many brand and consumer goods organisations in the 2000’s including Mattel, Hanes, CoverGirl Cosmetics and Hallmark Cards. She also held a National Marketing Manager role with Kmart and then moved back into licensing for nearly 7 years with Haven, managing both the Nickelodeon and Sanrio brand portfolios across Australia & New Zealand, which gave her the freedom to develop mass-market brand portfolios across multiple retail partners. Sam then moved back into marketing (and e-commerce/digital marketing) with roles in the capacity of Head of Marketing with retailers in the furniture industry, motor cycle industry and with global companies like Cotton On and PETstock, before adapting her skills to provide senior strategic consultancy services within various industries over the last 18 months. After The Bugg Report learned of Sam’s new brand, Fusspot Collagen Beauty Tea, via LinkedIn, we spoke to Sam about her new venture.
Sam after all those years of big corporate roles, what was the catalyst for you to take the decision to commit to your own business? It really wasn’t a hard decision, it was more about what the business could be and when to take the leap… I had wanted my own brand, my own business, for some time, but just didn’t have a solid idea that resonated with me to be both in-demand by the mass market and to be profitable. After starting several business plans and doing a lot of research and deciding these ideas weren’t going to ‘cut it’ — I continued researching until I found something I both loved and believed in, that was in demand, and that I could stand behind. Once the idea came to life — it was all systems go!!
What led you to investigate and settle on organic teas infused with collagen as your chosen field? I had been reading a lot about hydrolyzed collagen peptides and was extremely curious, we’re all getting older and I was doing a lot of research into this space, and being an avid tea drinker — the idea popped up one morning and then I started to investigate the feasibility — and once I had researched and found the incredible benefits of tea for both your skin, your health and your wellness, well, it just stemmed from there… but that was the easy part — then it was “how am I going to make this happen?”
SamCo Brands has a cool logo and suggests that there may be more to come? Yes… I wanted a parent company because I have heaps of plans — there is a pipeline of other ideas in the making — but Fusspot Collagen Beauty Teas was the starting point and the first brand or cab off the rank — stay tuned for more though!!!
I am interested in your packaging and colour palette, what was the thought process behind bright PINK? That was easy!! The packaging had to reflect it’s point of difference — this is not just another ‘tea’ — this is a hybrid beauty product — a “Beauty Tea” — as it’s infused with hydrolyzed collagen peptides and are specifically formulated tea blends that have been developed with a Tea Master to support your beauty and health from within — they’re all rich in polyphenols, antioxidants and flavonoids, so I wanted this brand to really stand out, and not be another ‘tea-brand’ but to be marketed as a ‘beauty-brand’!! If you’re after a basic tea, go to your local supermarket, because this is a premium beauty/tea/supplement ‘hybrid’ product and it’s the first in the world! I also wanted to ensure that I had environmentally friendly teabags, so that was also a challenge as they had to be biodegradable, compostable and to minimise micro-plastics — it’s important all brands do this and it was important to me, especially being an Australian brand and business and caring for the planet! Packaging is just so important — it’s impactful and tells a story, so I’m hoping the bright pink also will shout out that “I’m different and check me out!!”
As you continue to develop your brand, have you given any thought to engaging an influencer or celebrity to endorse your product? We’re being contacted regularly now from influencers and collaborators, which is fantastic — we only launched 15 weeks ago so it all takes time to become discoverable, but we’re getting a lot of interest and working with those that we resonate with and who are actual tea lovers, who are into wellness and beauty, who are interested in anti-ageing and who will actually drink the tea! I’d love to have a celebrity endorse the brand so let’s keep our fingers crossed!!!
Will you engage all of the social media platforms to assist with your growth plans? Yes, of course! My background over the last 20+ years has always been retail and driving consumer awareness, and the last 10+ years I’ve mainly worked in eCommerce and digital marketing, so the channels to drive growth and consumer purchasing has moved from TV, print and radio and funneled far more heavily into the digital/social world — so we’re right across all of the social media channels and focusing there to drive awareness and interest! Today, most retailers and brands are very heavily focused in the digital and social space, so it’s pretty saturated, but you’ve got to be there to be in the game!
It looks like you have chosen to sell your product direct from your website. What was the process you undertook to make this decision? That was always the intention to be an online brand! I’m constantly doing web integrations and will continue to do so… with an exciting eCommerce deployment happening in the next few weeks on www.fusspottea.com which I believe our customers will love! I really enjoy the eCommerce space and running an online business was what I set out to achieve — less overheads, adaptable, dynamic and you can control your messaging almost instantly!
Will you entertain the concept of working with retailers to sell your brand? Yes of course! I’ve had some wholesale enquiries and orders so far including a yoga retreat, a few beauty salons and I’m in discussions with an independent chain at the moment, but they have to be a good fit for Fusspot Tea as well… I’m happy to discuss opportunities across any retail industry as long as it makes sense!
What work went into the formulation of the product? I travelled overseas, went to trade fairs, met with multiple suppliers, did a lot of discovery and research, for months and months, and really did my due diligence to find the best partners to work with and collaborate with! It was quite the journey as it was pretty challenging to make this happen once I got the idea! But determination and perseverance, a lot of trials and eventually you land where you want to get to! I wanted to have a choice for my product offering — with loose leaf blends, teabags and trial a few powders (chai and matcha) as Collagen Beauty Tea is a very new concept, to see where consumers would choose with their money and so far, all 11 blends are all kind of selling at the same rate!
I notice that you are shipping the product all over the world. What are your biggest markets to date? New Zealand and Canada are probably the biggest so far, but that’s only after 15 weeks since launch, so let’s see where it goes! I’ve even had an order from Switzerland!
The Editor — Sam, this is a fabulous story and as I said to you, we always knew you would be famous. All of that studying and hard work, learning and application has certainly paid off. As you progress a little further into the development of SamCo Brands we would love to check in with you again. Congratulations on your achievement, you should be very proud.