Innovator of the Week
Rita Toth
CEO of StretchPatchTM
Please provide your 30-second pitch about your company.
Skingreat LLC’s beauty brand the StretchPatchTM made its worldwide debut with a new collection of scar and stretchmark treatment transdermal hot patches featuring the brand’s unique up-to-12-hour time-release ingredient delivery system.
The StretchPatch is a large, lotion-infused, anatomically fit self-adhesive transdermal patch, combined with heat stimulation.
The StretchPatch is a new, patented and innovative approach and formulation to treat scars and stretch marks, and was developed in collaboration with experts in biochemistry as well as fine-tuned by our FDA approved domestic manufacturing facility for large-scale production.
This makes the product superior to any other currently commercially accessible scar and stretch mark treatments and makes the StretchPatch truly unique and one of a kind.
In short, a scar treatment device that actually does the job that it was hired for.
Who or what was your best resource for starting your company?
My women-owned and led innovation was born in the heart of New Hampshire with the help of local mentors and professional networks, such as SCORE, and I have been privileged to work with mentors such as Leo Glasheen and Walter Daub. Their hands-on experience and quick reaction times to pull together other relevant resources based on the business’s needs was truly remarkable and a game changer for my start-up.
What was your biggest obstacle in starting your company and how did you overcome it?
Access to funding and access to customers were/are my biggest obstacles, and these pain points are strongly interconnected. You have a wonderful product but you don’t have the funds to scale up and reach your customers. Almost a maddening thought.
The start-up arena tends to favor digital innovation for its simplicity and scalability in a hope to be a hit, to be the next ‘UBER’. This is a trend that pushes physical product innovations to the backburner, while resources and public interest are depleted by failing digital projects.
The only solution I found was to keep reaching out, and not to hesitate to ask questions or ask for directions. All paths lead you somewhere and nowhere at the same time, and there are no right or wrong moves. I kissed a few frogs, but continuously building the support network made me connected to the right product believers that eventually led the StretchPatch to its launch phase.
What’s the best advice you have received?
The best advice I have received came from my Mastermind Group team members, Joel Arsenault and Kandi Edson and their message was simple: you can do it.
Cliché? Perhaps, but if timing is everything, this advice was spot on. In the midst of dealing with FDA, supplier relation, legal, distribution, branding, packaging, web development, business plans, network building, USPTO, listings, finances, it’s hard to maintain sober vision.
What about the NH lifestyle appeals to you?
I have had the privilege to travel around the world and live in many places, but the kindest and most welcoming, good-hearted people are residing in this region.
We came over from Hungary just to visit a friend in the Lakes Region, and we fell in love with the place instantly. I wanted to have a safe, and close-to-nature location for my two sons, Zephyr and Kyper, yet, as a professional coming from a fast-paced environment like Procter&Gamble and Harvard University, I also wanted to make sure that my passion for building new resources and businesses can also flourish. I believe that here in NH I can get the best of both worlds from professional life to family, and give back where it’s needed the most.
What does the future look like for your company?
After 4 years of intensive research and development, it is thrilling to see the vision of the StretchPatch Stretch Mark Care System come to fruition.
I plan to expand the SkinGreat portfolio with additional product launches in 2018, while exploring retail partnerships around the globe. I have e-commerce plans in place for Central Europe, and the StretchPatch is currently on QVC, Sam’s Club and ULTA Beauty bound and to be listed on the top, most sought after super channels, while I am constantly looking for the right investors to make these action steps even more impactful.
The brand launch was also accompanied by a new e-commerce website, www.thestretchpatch.com, which will feature the StretchPatchTM inaugural four stretchmark care products, the Mild, the Original Formula, the High Potency, and the XL size scar management patches, contributing to continuously build up the brand and deliver the product news to customers.
Skingreat’s vision is to help people to feel confident in their skin and feel good about their bodies, which inevitably improves the quality of their lives. I like to think that I am heading to the right direction.
You can connect with Rita on LinkedIn or with the StretchPatch on Facebook.