The beauty industry is a reliable one, and this husband and wife run company recognized that early on in their development and decided to capitalize in a way where they could help people as well. Miranda Coggins first thought of the idea of starting a beauty company around 2003. It got going in 2005 when Miranda realized a key ingredient that could be used in making a lip balm, lanolin. She realized that this ingredient had healing properties that would repair damaged lips. Most of the products on the market had no lanolin and therefore only coated people’s lips but didn’t heal them.
As the company has grown, so have its problems. When demand grows as rapidly as it did for the Lano Company, it can be hard to deal with. Changes need to be made and things can get a bit messy when evolving from a small company to a large one.
The Lano Company on The Profit
The Profit Season 3 Episode 8
When Miranda and Marcus first meet, she explains what Lano Lip is; the first makeup product that put the company on the map. She shows him how it is made, the packaging, and everything else. Marcus is happy to see that she had developed the product to fix a problem that existed. Most competing products on the market don’t actually fix anything, but Lano Lip does. Further, frequent watchers of The Profit will know that there are usually some red flags with these companies initially when exploring the costs and margins. That is not the case here, Miranda appears to have all of her numbers in good order.
Once Miranda starts showing Marcus around the facility and their other products, that is where the red flags begin to appear. It seems as though this company is a bit of a one-trick pony. This is where we can notice some of the issues with building a company and maintaining a brand. The lanolin in her Lano Lip product is why Miranda named the company The Lano Company in the first place. However, Marcus finds that the only product with lanolin in it is the original lip balm. Nothing else contains lanolin.
At this point in the episode, we are introduced to Lane, Miranda’s husband. Lane handles the financial side of the business, while Miranda handles the creative side. He explains that one thing he needs to keep in check is his wife’s constant eagerness to make new products.
After being shown around the facility Marcus has identified some issues. Their line of youth makeup appears to be a bit out of touch and not destined for success. Some of the other products seemed to be completely at odds with the original product and the whole ethos of the company at its inception. The same ethos that brought them success in the first place. Finally, there were production issues that were preventing the company from hitting the next level in terms of profits and sales.
Marcus takes a deeper look into the numbers. The company lacks a solid foundation and can be easily overtaken by a competitor. Lano Lip only accounts for a small percentage of its revenue now. The company needs an identity to secure its position in the industry. He has his doubts, but Marcus makes an offer of $500k for 30% of the business. Miranda wants to knock it down to 20%, which she does but the final deal is $500k for 20% but the money will be repaid by a sum of $50k per year.
Marcus, Miranda, and Lane all go to meeting with Birchbox, a distribution company. In the meeting, many of the same points Marcus had made are brought up. The biggest problem seems to be that the business needs a stronger identity. In a dramatic moment of the episode, Marcus tells Miranda that she has two weeks to make a new line of products.
Miranda takes the advice to heart about branding and identity. The new line of products that she comes up with all contains lanolin. She also decided to make every product in the line all-natural. Now there was a firm angle and identity: natural products containing lanolin with its healing properties. Appropriately, Miranda named this new line of products Pure Lano.
At the end of the episode, the issue for Marcus and the company is still finding distribution. He takes the couple to meet with some QVC executives about having their products sold there. It takes a while and some persuasion, but eventually it is agreed that their products will be sold on QVC. A huge reason for their success in this accomplishment was the change that they made with branding suggested by Marcus. Having a line of products with lanolin would be beneficial to QVC since they had no other similar product line. Finally, Miranda and Marcus return to Birchbox, where they had gone initially and Miranda was given her two-week ultimatum to make a new line of products. In that meeting, the company lands another deal so immediately Marcus’s value is felt.
The Lano Company After The Profit
It has been a few years now since Miranda and her husband were featured on The Profit. They worked out a deal with Rejuvenol, a production company. Since Rejuvenol now handles the production they were able to move out of their warehouse facility and into offices. The company has expanded in every way and has lived up to the terms dictated in their deal with Marcus. You can still find and purchase their products via QVC, but you can also purchase all over the internet at different websites and certain retailers. The two original lines, Pure Cosmetics and Pure Lano, have expanded and a new line has also been introduced called Mirabella. It seems that the primary problem for this company when Marcus arrived is now their greatest strength. They have a solid foundation now thanks to their new branding, which was just a revitalization of their original branding.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is strictly informational; SEO Insights is not affiliated with The Lano Company, The Profit, or any of its subsidiaries.
