In 2011, Woodin, a chemist by education, met a man by the name of Zein Obagi. The two connected and he wanted Rick to come in and lead his innovation process when following his vision for skin health restoration in the, back then, brand new skincare brand, ZO Skin Health.
In a little bit over a decade, how has the brand changed?
— Pretty dramatically. When I started, we basically weren’t very well-known. What I think we did differently is that we’re going through the ideation process and trying to pioneer, breaking the technological barriers to deliver skin health in a way that’s never been done before. We operate from the firm belief of: ’build it, and they will come’; innovate it in a way that’s going to break the barriers.
Key takeaways
- The consumer is a little bit more cautious about buying 100% organic. They understand the reasoning behind it but they don’t feel that they’re going to get the results.
- The travel retail sector for Skin Generics reflects the domestic high street market. People are prepared to try, buy, and pay for products when they’re travelling and see them on an aeroplane, airport, ferry, or cruise ship. They buy a product and if they fall in love with it, they’ll need somewhere to buy it when they’re home.
- According to a UK retailer specialising in skincare, the comments from the consumers now are that a product is really expensive because somebody’s got to pay for the big beautiful counters that are in stores, and the salaries for the team of five people standing behind them. Consumers have clearly become a lot more savvy and aware of exactly why a certain product is so expensive.

”Ultimately, it’s the customers who shape the future — brands must inspire them to make the right choices”
Kenneth P. Pucker is a professor of practice at the Tufts Fletcher School. Ken worked at Timberland for 15 years and served as chief operating officer from 2000 to 2007.