The Story Behind the Skincare Brand That Changed What Men Put on Their Face | Mind Pump

In this episode the guys sit down with Jared Pobre, founder and CEO of Caldera Lab, to tell the full origin story of how he created a new category of skincare for men. Jared shares how moving to Jackson Hole at 40 with a new baby wrecked his skin and led him to use his wife's products — and why that sparked the idea to build a premium natural skincare line specifically formulated for men's thicker, oilier, testosterone-managed skin. He breaks down the product development process including wild harvesting survivor plants from the Wyoming wilderness, running clinical trials before launching, why they use exosomes as a delivery system, and why natural actives that work with your skin's microbiome beat harsh retinol-based products every time. The guys share how they started working with Caldera Lab near the beginning — Adam's psoriasis, Justin's dry skin and Sal's oily skin all responding the same way — and why their audience became some of Caldera's highest value customers. Jared also reveals that Caldera is now Nordstrom's number two men's brand just months after launch, has nearly 70% customer retention, and is growing high double digits this year.

Caldera Lab: calderalab.com/mindpump
Code: MINDPUMP for 20% off your first order.

GUEST LINKS

Jared Pobre — LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jaredpobre
Caldera Lab: calderalab.com
Instagram: @calderalab

LINKS

Mind Pump Store: mindpumpstore.com
Maps Fitness Products: mapsfitnessproducts.com
Instagram: @mindpumpmedia

0:00 - Intro
1:03 - Why Jared started a skincare brand for men — Jackson Hole, turning 40 and a new baby
3:05 - How he saw the early signs of men caring about skincare before anyone else did
5:42 - Why men's skin is fundamentally different — 25% thicker, twice as oily, managed by testosterone
6:42 - Why he refused to copy women's formulas and started from scratch with actives
8:48 - How the skincare industry works — the dirty secret of white-labeling and brand shortcuts
10:45 - Why going all natural is far more complicated and expensive than chemical formulations
13:06 - Why every men's skincare brand before Caldera Lab failed — and why that was a green light
15:07 - How Caldera launched in January 2019 with 10,000 units and immediately started selling
17:47 - Customer loyalty nearly at 70% and why men are the most loyal customers once you win them
21:12 - How Adam found Caldera Lab, how he got Justin and Sal to try it and what happened
28:58 - How Mind Pump validated Caldera's core thesis that the longevity and wellness market was the customer
30:54 - The skin microbiome — why skin health reflects gut health, liver health and hormone health
35:05 - The Good — wild harvested survivor plants from Wyoming, botanists and two years of development
38:40 - Clinical trials: 40+ strangers, third party labs, 60-90 days and holding their breath for the results
40:31 - How exosomes work as a delivery system and why The Great and Hydro Layer were built for normal to oily skin
43:38 - Why Caldera stays away from retinol and why natural actives work better for most men's skin
44:48 - Adam's psoriasis, Sal's microbiome take and why Justin's wife switched to Caldera permanently
49:05 - What's next — staying in their lane, deodorant coming, no supplements and the Nordstrom story