The Active Botanical Serum on display at the Gargiulo family winery.
Where the Gargiulo line is stored for age and bottled on site.
April Gargiulo, Founder, Vintner’s Daughter
When starting a brand, especially in the beauty space, one thinks they need to launch with 10 sku’s or more. In this competitive industry, you need to keep on top of the competition. For Vintner’s Daughter founder, April Gargiulo, launching with one serum (the Active Botanical Serum) and doing it amazingly is the main course on her radar. We chatted with April on her families winery about the business, her creative genius, and how she keeps leveled in this industry.
Being a “Vintner’s Daughter”, there is an implication that your parents had some minor or major inspiration in the brand, do you believe that to be true? Why or why not?
My mom has always been a skincare fanatic so for sure I caught her bug early on. I was never the girl in her 20’s spending money on handbags. It was always on skincare. And my father absolutely instilled in me the idea of quality at all costs. From food to farming, he believes that the very finest quality leads to the best products. Cutting corners is not acceptable. That is very much the philosophical foundation Vintner’s Daughter is built upon.
Let’s discuss also that your product, Active Botanical Serum, has been on the receiving end of accolades from Allure Magazine, Vogue, and even Gwyneth Paltrow herself—amongst all this praise, how do you stay grounded and focused? Or does it get in your head ever?
We are so honored to be a part of all those press outlets, but honestly I am performance and product driven, so what really makes me happy and inspired is hearing from the women and men who have incredible results. Nothing is better than receiving an email from someone who now has confidence in her skin. That can change everything.
If we can get to the meat, why only one product? It’s been a good amount of years since the ABS has been on people’s radars, will you feel it when it’s time to launch a new product?
We set out early on to only create game changing, category defining products.We can’t just put our label on pre-made formulas because for us, it isn’t about staying in a press cycle or filling up a shelf at a store. We are product driven, not marketing driven. The kind of products we want to make take years and years of research and development. Stay tuned though.
What is one thing you wish people knew more about, when it comes to you—the founder—or the brand in general? What could we set the record straight on?
That we are uncompromising and unwavering in our commitment to the very finest efficacy and quality. It isn’t a marketing message. Its real.
April looking over the families expanse, where they grow, produce, bottle, and sell from.
You are also a fabulous mother, potentially spurring more Vintner’s Daughter(s) haha—do you think that your little ones would want to start their own businesses (inspired by their lovely mother)? Or do you see something else in their cards?
They already do! They have been helping me pack boxes since they could crawl.
As a business owner, if you could go back in time and save yourself from embarrassment, failure, or simple mistakes along the way, would you? What would that moment be, if so? If not, please elaborate.
Too many to name!! I mess up daily. A funny one from my wine business days was when I accidentally printed my cell phone number on all our corks instead of the winery number.
If you could improve one thing or concept in the beauty industry, whether natural or non-natural beauty, what would that be? How could you improve that particular aspect?
Where do I begin? The beauty industry needs to change in so many ways, from labeling to distribution to promoting more inclusive messages around beauty. It is changing for sure, but we still have work to do. At the end of the day, I believe beauty is about a light in the heart. Its a hard thing to describe, but you know it when you see/feel it. That is the truest beauty and it is ageless, genderless, toneless and trendless.
