This Dermatologist Built a $50 Million Skin Care Brand by Waiting 5 Years to Sell Anything
Dr. Muneeb Shah built an audience before he built Remedy, giving the skincare brand a foundation of trust and years of product research.
EXPERT OPINION BY VICTORIA WATTERS, MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR
Dr. Muneeb Shah. Illustration: Inc.; Photos: ; Adobe Stock
The most defensible consumer brands today share a peculiar trait: the company comes last. The audience, credibility, and consumer insight are all built years before a product hits the market.
Take Dr. Muneeb Shah, board-certified dermatologist and founder and CEO of the skincare brand Remedy. He spent roughly five years educating an audience of millions as “Derm Doctor” before he sold a thing. Beyond his following, Shah was building a running record of exactly what consumers wanted.
The conventional founder journey runs in the opposite direction: build a product, then pay to reach those who want it. In the process, you commission research, buy credibility via influencers, and acquire an audience. But Shah’s approach naturally encompasses those elements of brand building—and it’s paying off. Two years post-launch, Remedy has surpassed 1 million customers. It remains profitable and is pacing toward $50 million in sales this year, with growth Shah pegs at roughly 250 percent.
Education was the research
Shah’s content looked like standard dermatology education, but it functioned as perhaps the largest focus group in skincare.
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He accumulated a mountain of raw material before launching: years of comments and questions, plus more than 100,000 clicks and purchases through products he recommended for specific concerns. By the time Remedy’s launch year arrived, the operation became highly deliberate. His team built a consumer testing list of thousands of participants straight from his YouTube following.
That data highlighted consumers’ common frustrations with skincare products.
The data shaped the formula
Remedy’s first product, the Dark Spot Correcting Advanced Serum, was born directly from that record. Hyperpigmentation and melasma are some of the most common concerns dermatologists see, yet in-office treatments have real limitations. Hydroquinone is only safe for short stretches, many people cannot afford or access a dermatologist, and some patients simply cannot tolerate prescription-strength formulas.
Source: www.inc.com
