bareMinerals

A struggling Bear Essentials bath and body shop in San Francisco had a foundation it could not move through retail. In 1997, the new chief executive flew to QVC, walked on air and sold $45,000 of foundation in one segment. Leslie Blodgett joined Bear Essentials as vice president of marketing in 1992, became chief executive in 1994, and put the Bear Minerals original loose powder foundation on the air at QVC on August 30, 1997. The product was talc free and contained five minerals. The retail price was $39 per jar. The channel was the strategic asset. Department counters trained customers one at a time, three minutes per face. QVC trained millions of customers in a single broadcast, with Blodgett herself on screen demonstrating the powder on her own bear skin for an hour.