With its exceptional products and aesthetically-pleasing branding, Apothecary 87 has become a household name among stylish and savvy men who want to look and feel their best. We had the pleasure of chatting to founder, Sam Martin, who shared with us his journey in business, the story behind the brand, and some thoughtful insights into what it takes to run a business.
From selling Pokémon as a young boy, to being the CEO of two successful brands, Sam is proof that determination, grit and discipline is what makes the difference between a successful entrepreneur and one who folds under pressure.
Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background in business.
"First of all, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. It’s an honour to be a part of it.
My name’s Sam Martin, and I’m best known for being the CEO of Apothecary 87. But I’ve also started a few businesses here and there, and I’m currently also CEO of Volstead Jewellery.
I’m 35 now, but have run a range of businesses since I was 17, and even ran a few money making projects when I was in my early teens, at school. My first “business” was selling Pokémon cards, and I made way too much money for someone that young, but it did give me the idea of having my own company and what it could be.
When I was 14, me and a friend decided that having a bar was the coolest future we could have, and it became a bit of an obsession. So at 17, I moved to London, to start work for an events bar, where I could learn the ins and outs from the best in the industry. The trouble was they weren’t hiring, so I moved down to work and learn on the agreement I’d work for free until they felt I added value. Working with the best, at such a high level, lead me to start a company doing events and consultancy in the bar industry.
Unfortunately, this was incredibly difficult and with a recession kicking in, it wasn’t meant to be. I moved back home to Yorkshire and tried again, starting my 2nd business in that sector, called Spiritus Bars. To cut a long story short, it was this company that lead me to start Apothecary 87, and I ended up selling Spiritus in my early 20s after 1.5 months of running Apothecary 87.
Apothecary 87 as I mentioned, is a grooming range, focused on high quality, performance and ethical products. The start of the business was a whirlwind, as we started the brand with £1,500 and by the end of year 1, we had a turnover of over £370,000 with our products sold to over 130 countries. The brand continued to grow and is now a staple in the grooming sector, making a range of products, and now having 2 physical stores alongside the products."
What inspired you to start Apothecary 87, and what sparked the interest in the men’s grooming & styling industry?
"So, as I mentioned, I was running a company called Spiritus. One of the hurdles I had, especially when offering consultancy services to bars, was that I was young. My history of achievements in the bar industry was always overlooked by the fact I was just over 20, with a baby face. Nobody believed I was old enough to have the knowledge to increase their business’ potential.
To battle that perception, I grew a beard, and it worked! I got more business and it was even quite good marketing, as 10 years ago, nobody really had beards. Unfortunately, having my first beard, my skin reacted really badly and became sore, painful and dry. I was pretty straight forward with my grooming routine at this point; Shampoo, Body Wash, Deodorant, etc. And I was sure there should be something to help keep my skin and beard soft and hydrated.
As it turned out, there were about 2 brands that had developed a product called Beard Oil. The idea, to condition hair and nourish the skin under the beard… exactly what I needed! But when I tried these brands, they actually made the condition worse rather than helping. I started to do some research, and look into what went into beard oils, the properties of various ingredients, and even googled the contacts for some people in cosmetic manufacture, so I could get advice. I ended up making my own beard oil, and it worked amazingly. Now I could keep my beard and keep up the success it brought me at Spiritus.
As time went on, beards started to get popular, and I was getting a lot of contact from people on Facebook and Instagram. They all started asking for beard growing tips, and what product I used. When I told them I made my own, everyone wanted to buy it. So after the umpteenth time of being asked, I thought 'Yeah, I can do this as a business,' and started setting it up. We ended up launching in November 2013, and hitting an amazing start!"
Can you talk about any challenges or obstacles you faced when scaling the brand, and how you overcame those challenges?
"Hahaha, I could be here all day with this one. Yes, an absurd amount of obstacles of various types. We’ve had issues with export, legislation, staff, cash flow, and about as much as you can imagine. We have even had run ins with large global brands stealing ideas from us. If you ever want to start an easy business, don’t go into cosmetics!
My approach to all hurdles in business is relatively similar. First of all, I calm myself down. Especially if it’s something big! Too much negative stress stops me thinking clearly. So I ask myself if I have the power to do anything in whatever situation it is. If the answer is no - stop stressing, it’s not in my control. But if the answer is 'Yes, I can do something,' then I also need to stop stressing as I can influence the situation. From here, I will start to think about the hurdles, and if the problem I’m seeing is actually just that, or if there are any other influences/causes that I should focus on. And then it’s a case of making a strategy to deal with it.
One thing I am very big on, is not keeping issues to myself. I’ll talk to my team, friends, my fiancé, or people I know in business. Not only does this help massively, but I’ve actually managed to do some pretty amazing things, off the back of sharing my experiences, so it’s been well worth sharing my hurdles."
In your opinion, what differentiates Apothecary 87 from other similar brands?
"For us, we care about quality. A lot of brands in our sector focus on price first, and strip out all the good things from a cosmetic product. We want to make the product that performs the best, looks the best, is ethical and one you can be proud of having in your arsenal of grooming products.
We always try to stand out, whether it’s pulling apart what a product should do and building it differently to how most know it to be, or we have toyed with crazy fragrances that stand out (gunpowder being the most extreme we’ve done).
Whatever happens, we try to be marmite. Do what we want to do, and don’t take the middle ground. Some people will hate what we do, but there’s a load that absolutely love it."
What has been one of your biggest highlights/achievements since starting the brand?
"There have been a few! More recently on more of a personal level, I have been really excited to support the British Chamber with their campaign and report to make the hurdles of Brexit more known to the government. Alongside their report, I was asked to speak as an expert in export, to the BBC, Financial Times, Sky News, and even a few news channels in France and Denmark!
Within Apothecary 87, there have been some great ones. I remember when we signed on ASOS as a client, how that felt. Hitting the 1st 100 countries that we sold our products to. Speaking to audiences around the world about business and our brand. And opening our flagship store!
Right now, I feel like we’ve hit a new achievement as the brand has evolved, in our new community campaign, Pay What you Want Wednesday. This is where we allow clients to choose what they pay for our service in store, so we can support everyone during this cost of living crisis. Whilst there’s no real “thing” we have achieved, I get a huge sense of accomplishment knowing, as a company, we are doing some real good for our local communities."
Looking ahead, what do you hope to achieve in the next couple of years with Apothecary 87?
"So, we’re changing our direction a bit. We are really restricting our B2B channels, and focusing more on B2C. This means more products, more stores in key locations, and really doubling down on how we deal with the clients that use our products. I’m super excited to do this, as it opens a lot of great doors for us as a brand."
On a more personal note, what has been your biggest struggle with owning and running a business, and how have you dealt with that?
"Wow, this is a heavy one. I’ve always thought that running your own brand, you have the highest highs and the lowest lows. I’ve been on top of the world one day, and 24 hours later, felt like I’m at the bottom of a pit with no way out, being overcome by situational depression. There has been more than one occasion that I’ve burnt out or even had physical symptoms of stress (although I am very active in not letting that happen again).
A few years into running Apothecary 87, we were crushing it. Things were going so well, and it felt like nothing could stop us. I came into the office one day (about a week before payday), and our FD told me we had less than £1 in our bank account and not enough funds to pay wages. I was hiding in an office trying to hold back tears as I thought about letting down my team and potentially even having to shut shop. What had happened was our FD had made a few mistakes, and all our invoices came out at the same time, rather than staggered as they should be, so whilst the money was still coming in, we didn’t have enough to operate.
Obviously, I took the advice I mentioned earlier, and calmed myself down and worked out a solution, but there were 48 hours when I thought everything I had built would crash down and I’d let my full team down. It’s one of the lowest I’ve ever felt.
To be honest, there have been other hurdles that have brought me to feel similarly, especially recently with Brexit, Covid and the price increases. But, as with any problem, clear your head, come up with solutions, and speak to the people around you.
On a side note, I have spoken to so many small business owners about struggles in business, and everyone has been through it. Whilst you’re the main character of your own story, you are not alone. So for anyone reading this, reach out if you want to chat about business, hurdles or anything like that."
Looking back, is there anything you might have done differently? Why/why not?
Tough one! Maybe there are things I think should have been done differently. There are times I could have handled something better, made a better choice and potentially put myself and the business in a better position. But I make my decisions with the insight and information I have at the time, so all my choices were made for a reason. Hindsight is brilliant, but I’m pretty confident in myself and how I make choices for the business."
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs looking to start up their own business/brand?
Be balanced with planning and execution. Too much of one, hinders the other.
Think clearly, work out why you are doing what you are doing.
Start a business you enjoy and that gives you a sense of fulfilment.
Finish the sentence:
I’m proud of myself for… (this is the hardest question yet). I guess I’m proud of myself for doing my best. Sounds lame, but I genuinely put everything I can into anything I care about. I think that’s something I can be proud of.
When I’m not working on my business, you can find me… working on my business. I think anyone running a company may fall into this trap. On a serious note, I’m trying to experience more, visit more places, be healthy, and be with my fiancé more.
I can’t get through the day without… People. I’m such a people person. Lockdown made me realise that I need to be around people, talk to people and interact with people. My least productive days are the ones where I’m locked away on my own.
Success is… whatever you want it to be. For me, there’s no end goal. I don’t want to think “I’ve done it." Instead I want to experience a journey that has growth and happiness.
To learn more about Apothecary 87, you can visit their website here.
Comments