Linda Wang: Founder & CEO of Karuna Skin & Avatara

Episode 726

On this episode of The Kara Goldin Show, I’m joined by Linda Wang, Founder and CEO of Karuna Skin and Avatara—two purpose-driven skincare brands inspired by her personal journey and cultural heritage. Karuna pioneered Asian-style sheet masks in the U.S., bringing effective, ingredient-led treatments to a market that had never seen anything like it. With Avatara, Linda created a clean, dermatologist-tested skincare brand designed for tweens, teens, and beyond—offering safe, fun, and affordable products now found at Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods nationwide.
In our conversation, Linda shares her journey from retail buying for major fashion brands to becoming a beauty industry innovator. We talk about the inspiration behind both Karuna and Avatara, how she identified untapped opportunities in the skincare market, and the strategies that helped her brands stand out in competitive categories. She opens up about the challenges of scaling in mass retail, the importance of consumer education, and how she balances innovation with simplicity.
Whether you’re a beauty lover, aspiring founder, or someone curious about building a mission-led brand from scratch, this episode is full of insight and inspiration. Now on The Kara Goldin Show.

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Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up, that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. I want to be you. Just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked out, knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control. Control, control. Hi everyone, and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and really, some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Goldin show today. I’m so excited to be joined by Linda Wang, who is the founder and CEO of not one but two brands, Karuna Skin and Avatara, which are incredible, incredible brands. We’re going to hear all about them. I’ve been such a fan, I have to admit that I was turned on to Karuna Skin ages ago, and I’m super happy to see that you can also now get it at many Whole Foods throughout the country, of course, online too, but two purpose driven skincare brands inspired by Linda’s own personal journey and cultural roots. So growing up in Taiwan, Linda struggled with eczema and found relief through a family remedy. So love, love, love that we’re going to get to hear all about this, the sheet masks, like I said, the Karuna sheet masks are just to die for. So in 2017 then she launched Avatara, and you could find that at many, many stores, as well as online. It really focused on tweens, teens and beyond. But I use it as well, and I’m clearly not a teen, so I’m excited to dive into her journey building these category defining brands, and find out what it really takes to create a skincare or, I should say, two skincare brands that really empower and do awesome stuff for consumers. So Linda, welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Thank you. I’m so happy to be here. Super, super excited to meet you, and seriously, a big fan of your brand. So thank you so much. Likewise, absolutely. So, okay, so let’s start with the big picture. Tell us about Karuna Skin and Avatara. Karuna came first, I guess. And but how would you describe each brand and what makes them unique in the skincare space? Yeah,

Linda Wang 2:49
so when I started Karuna in 2009 my background was a fashion merchandise buys buyer, so I was already in the buying world, but more on the peril side, and I just got the itch, you know, I think on my 20s, I always get bored with projects I’m working on, and I was always looking for a new challenge. And little did I know that’s a very much of an entrepreneur trait. So I came up with 1000 ideas, and really landed on sheet masks at that time, my mom, you know, currently lives in Taiwan, but she always gave us, like, really fun skin care products from Asia. And I stumble on a sheet mask application. And I, you know, little more research I’ve done, I realized that that’s the only form of masking Asians do, and so it was so smart. It’s about adding hydration back in your skin instead of pulling things out. And that’s really, really it’s it’s a really important trait in order to keep a very hydrated and balanced skin. And as I dug in a little bit further about sheet mass and the technical background behind it, I realized that I came across a experience as a child. I you know, as you mentioned, I suffer a lot of skin conditions and ailments. As a kid, I just as as long as I could remember all my childhood stories or my siblings reminding me how bad my skin’s, you know, skin was, and my parents constantly were taking me seeking out remedies. And one time, we stumbled on a Eastern doctor, and he asked me to put an ointment on my rash. And then he said, When you go to sleep, make sure you wrap a plastic wrap around it so within days, that rash went away, and that was my aha moment when I discovered sheet mass, where the mass, fiber itself acts kind of like a plastic wrap and really helps you seclude and help you penetrate the active ingredient to get in your skin more. More, and that’s why it works. So because of that, that’s how I came up with an idea. Started sheet mask. And, you know, proud to say that I was one of the first sheet mask brand launched in the US, back in the in 2009

Kara Goldin 5:15
so, so amazing. So then, Avatara, can you talk about that brand? Yeah,

Linda Wang 5:20
absolutely. So my goal was always like, Hey, let me eventually look at a younger demographic brand, you know, as a sister brand. So at that time, my nieces were pre teens, and they started dabbling into skincare. And of course, every time I go visit, I’m like, What is my sister buying them? And I will, like, turn the bottle around, I started reading the ingredient list, and I realized that, you know, in there aren’t a lot of clean skincare products out there for preteen and teens at that time. So it was really important for me to create a, you know, a fun skincare line that really just promotes clean ingredients, but at the at the same time, like promote that there is this, like fun element, you know, into applying skincare less more like a chore, more like a social gathering, a ritual, a, you know, interactive, You know, activity that that kids do

Kara Goldin 6:22
well, and we’re seeing Gen Z. I have four of them, one that’s right on the cusp of being a millennial, but two girls and two boys, and my son grabbed one of the moisturizers that you had, and he’s 23 and it’s funny, because, you know, I think gone are the days where people felt like, you know, as a as a male, that you couldn’t moisturize your skin. I mean, it’s kind of crazy when you think about it, totally right. Like, it’s like his skin was just super dry from being out in the sun and everything, and so anyway, I just, I feel like, you know, you’ve got a big, big market.

Linda Wang 7:04
Thank you. Yeah, and I love that you know your son now, you know, gets into skincare, because before, it’s kind of like a notion where, like, you’re not manly enough if you’re using skincare products, but it’s education, right? It’s, it’s, you are applying moisturizer to your skin because it does get dry. I mean, there are a lot of environmental forces, like wind, snow, rain, or whatever, right? That could really disrupt that. And it’s so nice that he, he is using that, and that’s the new generation. Yeah,

Kara Goldin 7:39
definitely. So before launching both of your brands, you had a career in retail buying, as you mentioned, for major fashion companies. How do you think that experience prepared you for being a beauty entrepreneur?

Linda Wang 7:56
A lot, I have to say, a lot of my training really helped me build my company, just not on the, you know, merchandising side, but it’s a lot of operational side. We, you know, I, you know, I’m able to look at, you know, how does it? How do you manage a healthy inventory level, right? How to Negotiate with suppliers. How do we, you know, put out the right products in on shelves so it sells. A lot of it has to be train eyes when you’re walking in a store, looking on competitors and looking at the gap, what the retailer is missing. So you can present yourself, you know, as a, I guess, like, you know, a category or items that they currently don’t have their in their assortment. So all those things come into play,

Kara Goldin 8:50
yeah, definitely, and also very competitive category, just like beauty, definitely. So, so interesting. So a lot of brands have runaway best sellers. I guess you know, you have two brands. So would you say that there are, there was one product in each of the brands that are kind of the the runaway? Or is there any that are kind of neck and neck as as first and must rise.

Linda Wang 9:24
No, definitely we have. I mean, I’ll start with Avatara first, because we started 2017 so a lot of times your best sellers don’t last, like 16 years or so, but Avatara, since we started 2017 they’re actually, it really depends on the retailer. You know, Target, we have two skews currently are literally top two. They’re they go in head and head every week for since 2017 so people can’t get enough of those SKUs. It’s chill out, which is at aloe vera. I. Um mask, and then there is um, also drink up, which is hydrating. So those two are are doing exceptionally well, but on a brand level, including other retailers, are watermelon, which is watermelon hydrating mask that one takes the rain, that is nationally number one mass in the national skin care data. So first for sheet masks and for Karuna for you know, since we started 2009 I would say our hydrating face mask used to be the number one, but because we’re revamping that the assortment right now, so that one’s kind of taking a back seat as that kind of that belongs to the pro skin line. So we don’t sell that at Whole Foods Market. But in terms of like looking at Whole Foods Market, our bio cellulose quench mass right now is our number one. I think it also has something to do with the summertime right biocellulose Is 100% from coconut pulp, so super cooling on your skin. So it’s perfect for, you know, a day at the beach, you know, post sun care. So that one currently is our number one, and our skin care product is the all day cream. So that one is very light, velvety and super cooling on the skin, and that’s our number one.

Kara Goldin 11:24
I loved that you started when I first asked the question and you started to answer it. You said, it really depends on the retailer, because so often when you’re an entrepreneur and you’re launching a brand in any category, you know you you try it, and then all of a sudden it doesn’t work in that store. And maybe you want to say that it didn’t work in that store, but you start to feel like your baby’s ugly, right? Like, why isn’t it working? It all, you know, this is such a great product, but it really once you start to see different different brands, meaning Target or Walmart or Whole Foods. And yes, there’s crossover, but there’s so many factors, right? It depends on where you are in the store, who you’re next to, the lighting, all these factors, can you talk about that and sort of what your experience has been,

Linda Wang 12:20
yeah, I think merchandising is huge, right? So, for example, recently, we were just in Target stores and we launched a collection of lip jellies, and we’re in kind of in the color aisle, sandwiched between larger brands. And I think that was, you know, definitely easy to miss. But once they pull us out, like one of the SKUs in that fixture, they pulled us out in a summer, you know, shop that was sitting in the by the cash wrap, dry vial. It’s called beach shop, and that SKUs like, literally, we saw it selling five times higher. So I think merchandising is, is really important, like, you know, to your point, with the lighting, the signage, all that, right? The other thing is, you know, different retails. Retailers cater to different demographic, right? It depends on if you look at Target, you look at Walmart, where are they located? At? You know, the real states in America, like, I think you service different clientele. So it’s really important that, you know, we are creating products that speak to Walmart’s clientele versus Target’s clientele, because the wants and needs are very different.

Kara Goldin 13:35
Yeah, definitely. So Karuna was your first brand. It’s one thing to launch a or, I should say, hear from your family and Taiwan that they know about these great sheets and masks, but it’s another thing to say, I’m going to go launch a company around this. I mean, how did you have the courage and the fearlessness to actually go and just go do this.

Linda Wang 14:03
Oh my God, I don’t know, but I’m sure you probably feel the same way. But I was at that time, just, I think I was 30 or 31 so now I’m looking back, I’m like, God, I was a baby back then, right? And I don’t know it’s just something like fire inside of me where I just felt like this concept, this idea, makes a lot of sense, and I did a lot of market research, so at that time, you know makeup removal wipes were was was happening, and then turn into your household wipes. So I realized that there is more of a consumer usage, you know, you know, evolution at that time, where people are just they don’t want to take a spray bottle and a cloth wipe things down. They want treat and toss and so I felt like sheet mask fell into that form that. Patient, so that validated me that this potentially can work, but it was really hard. I have to say, starting out, it was super overwhelming, but I remember I had to tell myself, and I back in the day, I would just tell myself, like, Hey, you’re going to list 10 things on your list, and you’re going to cross the first three off, and you’re going to add three more, because if I think about a to z, and I will, I would overwhelm myself, and then I couldn’t move the needle. I couldn’t start because it’s so scary. So that’s what I essentially did. And I was really disciplined. I was working out in my condo, and I literally would go upstairs, and that would be my office. I would get out of bed. Same thing I would, if I was going to work, I would go upstairs to the loft, and I’ll just start working. And because no one’s going to tell you, but you got to move things. You got to follow up with things there weren’t, you know, you don’t have meetings in place. You don’t have deliverables are due. So it’s just kind of like it’s you, you have to make that those things happen. So that’s essentially what I did. I took a baby, like little, you know, little baby

Kara Goldin 16:10
steps. And so you only launch with one skew. I

Linda Wang 16:14
launch actually with six SKUs, okay? And so, yeah. So I started in 2009 I officially launched in July. And at that time, you know, this side of the world, nobody knew what a sheet mask, you know, was. And it was a lot of analogies I had to come up, you know, trying to get that light bulb go off. And it was pre, it was before social media, so I couldn’t even do a visual aid, a quick video or anything to to share, to educate. So it became pretty much word of mouth. And you know, at that time, retail was very different. And I guess launching brands are very different back then, because you you really heavily rely on press, right? So you have to get you do decides, and you want editors post about you and talk about you and be in magazines. And those things were big. And at the same time, I knew, like previously as a buyer, I knew where buyers go shop for inspiration, so I would hit those stores first. So we’re talking about the Henry bendels in New York City, right? The Barneys like so those were really important. So I got in there and slowly started paving my way of distribution. Then later we went into Sephora and alta. So that’s how we essentially started with Karuna.

Kara Goldin 17:42
So did what was your first store that you actually launched with? It actually was

Linda Wang 17:49
Joy’s beauty in Hong Kong. Do you know of of them?

Kara Goldin 17:54
I do know of them but, but it’s wild that that’s that that was your first one, I

Linda Wang 18:00
know. And funny enough, when I first launched the sheet mask, I was like, I am never I’m not going back to Asia with this, because they already have a lot of mass options. And little did I know, there’s always a void and there’s always a space you can get into. So we went into Joyce beauty. The next one I went into was bliss boss. So that was another, you know, at that time they were all within, like the W Hotel. So all the W Hotel has Bliss Spa. So that was really great that we went into. And then the next one we went into was Henry Bendel. So

Kara Goldin 18:36
that’s wild. I think that might have been where I first tried. It was at Bliss Spa. So it’s, yeah, that was, that was amazing. So your nieces, I guess, influenced the creation of Avatara and its mission. Can you share that story?

Linda Wang 18:55
Yeah, they, you know, at that time, it’s funny, because they’re just kind of, the first product they got into was cleanser, because they started getting a little hormonal with the pH balance and stuff. So my sister started buying them a lot of, you know, cleanser on on the marketplace, and then that really inspired me. But because, you know, my brew and the company started in sheet mask, I thought, you know, let’s, let’s create a line of sheet mass and but cater to younger skin, remove, you know, all the harsh chemicals and actives that young skin don’t need because you don’t want to disrupt their, you know, barrier and hormone and things like that. So that’s how I started. So I started with believe eight masks. And I wanted to keep the name really fun. You know, our names like or chill out, you know, drink up. I think back then we just continue these ones. But we had fill it up. And, you know, there was just, like, really fun names. Or. Catchy, and that’s how I started it. And little did I know, you know, because we got ahead of the Gen Z, and now Gen alpha, right? Getting the whole skincare age is getting younger and younger, and we were really excited to learn about that. Because the one thing that you know, throughout the years I’ve observed, and as mass started getting more and more popular, that is the the entry product a young girl is going to try first. So you’re sort of seeing six year old, seven year old putting a sheet mask on. It’s a one time use. It becomes a, you know, a like activity that they do, right? So they run to target with their moms or stores, and they are like, can I buy one? And it’s $3 so the mom’s like, Sure, pick one. And so that’s, you know, that’s what we realize that that’s like, how we started converting them into, you know, trying skincare. So, yeah, no, it’s been really fun. I you know now my nieces are older, so they’re Gen Z, so one is going to be a senior in college, and one is just going to be a freshman in college this this fall. But I utilize their network, their community, their friends, and we do a lot of focus group with them who are like, what do you think of this design? What do you think of that? What do you think of this idea and the formulation? So really keeps me young, because it’s really fun to to create Ava Kara, because I get to learn about, you know, Gen alpha and Gen Z’s culture. So

Kara Goldin 21:38
are you global as well. You mentioned that you had started outside of the US. Was your first store for Karuna, at least. But can you talk a little bit about that and kind of the decision making process around that? Yeah, so

Linda Wang 21:54
Karuna definitely had a longer lag. So we are in Mecca, Australia, and previously were, you know, we were in Dubai, and then currently we are still also in Singapore and Malaysia. But as for Avatara, we’re really more focused in the US right now, although we just launched in Walmart Canada this year. So that’s very exciting in, you know, in terms of expanding internationally, is definitely my the next year and the next, you know, three years goal for Avatara as I feel like there’s a lot of room for growth. So we’re really excited about that.

Kara Goldin 22:36
What has surprised you the most about scaling in retail, you know, while keeping your products affordable and high quality. I mean, you started your first brand, Karuna in not in retail, and then you made, you got a ton of experience and making products and packaging, and different packaging, of course, for Avatara. But what has surprised you the most about kind of building the brand and scaling and mass retail while keeping products affordable and high quality?

Linda Wang 23:12
So there’s so many things. There are so many things, I think you know, first and foremost for me being having been a buyer. I think it’s really important that I read all the sale like selling reports from retailers every Monday. I think it’s really important to understand what’s working for them, what’s not, what can we assist? And also just look at trends right to see, like, does something happen to spike the sale of that, you know, does something marketing do to do that? So I think that’s really important, but at the same time, it’s, I believe, in sampling, I you know, and just giving out products to try. What’s really hard about growing a company is not getting enough customer base, right? You’re constantly looking at, how do you broaden your customer base? How do you become a known brand, and how do you become more relevant? So these days are a lot of social media, right? That that you have to different strategies, different channels, different platforms. You know one might work for a brand doesn’t mean will work for you, right? So, for example, like, Instagram is more prominent for Karuna, but not as much as Tiktok, but vice versa, Tiktok is more for Avatara versus, you know, Instagram. So I think all those things come into play. So I think that’s more on the marketing side, but in terms of, like growing and and, you know, it’s managing inventory and making sure you’re constantly in stock. And also, I think once you’re ramping up, a lot of times, you can’t keep in stock. So what do you do in those incidences? So a lot of times i i make my team will do an evaluation where it’s like. Okay, if you don’t, if you don’t fulfill orders in the next three weeks, what is your sales loss versus if you air them in what is, you know, which one is a better option. So typically, we do a lot of check and balances, you know, daily, to make business decisions, to make sure we’re constantly like in a in stock level. But that’s probably the most important, because if you don’t have stock to sale, you can’t grow. So you really have to make sure you manage that pipeline very well. And of course, that you know we’re constantly looking forward and planning forward. So for example, if I now we expand it into Walmart Canada, knowing that our supply chain, our inventory, is going to go up now. So just making sure that your suppliers are able to sustain your growth, and they’re able to grow with you, because if they can’t, then you’re going to again have a supply chain issue. So the bottom line, the end of the day, you’re selling products, and if you can’t produce them and get them on shelves, then you really don’t have a business. So that’s probably the most important, yeah, lesson that you know I’m learning and constantly managing on on a weekly basis well.

Kara Goldin 26:18
And I think what you’re also touching on, no matter what category you’re in, you have two audiences. You have the retailers that you’re talking to, whether they’re a salon owner or a hotel chain or a big box retail store or even an Amazon right, you have to be able to keep it in stock, and they have to be able to count on you, but then you also have the consumer right that is has to count on you, that you know the packaging is going to open. It’s not too difficult. It doesn’t leak. It actually works, right? Or it says what you said, Say it’s going to do. So when you think about building the way that you have, what is the hardest aspect of that, that you have to maintain? Is it? I mean, I think timing is, is such a is such a key part of it? But I also just think, like, you know, keeping up with everything so Tiktok and all the social platforms that people might look for different ideas of what they’re going to buy from a

Linda Wang 27:25
few things. I mean, for me, I think you have to learn how you work. So I like to be in a competition with myself, right? So a lot of times, if I compare myself to other brands, it makes me nervous. So you I have to learn to, like, tune out the noise and focus on my goals, right? And how do I continue to grow? So I think that’s really important, because if you’re you don’t, you’re not as a founder, if you don’t have the right mindset, then your team is going to feel that right, and the energy is going to shift and the goals are not aligned. So I think that’s really important. But I guess you know, as you run a business like all the challenges you deal with is inevitable. They come up daily, right? So it’s, how do you manage them? How do you problem solve? So I’m always thinking option A, well, I’m already onto B and C, because just from experience, it doesn’t always work out most of the time, so I just want to make sure I’m prepared for B and C, for whatever curve ball is going to throw at me, but at the same time, I can manage those challenges. But I think the most difficult is hiring good talent managing people. I think that is the hardest job of it all.

Kara Goldin 28:47
So totally agree with you. It’s, yeah, it’s, it’s, and it’s like, walkable right where you’re keeping up with the talent, and then you think you’ve got it all right. And then something else happens along the way. So it’s constant. It’s a juggling act. Yeah, definitely, for sure. So what’s next for Karuna and Avatara that you’re just so excited about? Maybe it’s something that you recently launched. What? What are you most looking forward for to for both of these brands?

Linda Wang 29:24
So for Karuna, we’re really excited because we just gone through a packaging update, so we’re at the very tail end of that. So we’re really excited to roll out the new look, which we’re very proud of. And at the same time, you know, as I’ve mentioned earlier on this call, that in 2009 when I came out with those six masks, it was, it was time to to revive them. So we, we’ve, you know, came out with a new concept of pro skin. So we’re going to slowly be updating those, um. Mass to a different theme, which we’re really excited about. So that’s what’s ahead for Karuna. At the same time, we are launching a couple of holiday sets of sprouts, so that will be the first opening up doors to sprouts. So super excited with that opportunity and growth for Ava Kara, I think, you know, there’s so much happening with the brand we, you know, of course, started with the launch outside of sheet mask. This year we launched a collection of lip jellies. So we’re really excited to continue to to go outside of the mask, but also still drive mass innovation, but just get across category and think about fun, other fun products that we could expand into. And at the same time, you know, this year, for the first time, we had a Site, Site cap feature at Walmart. So I’m really looking forward to having more of those opportunities when your products and actually being merchandised in your brand a fixture. So that’s really exciting for us, and as well as expand internationally,

Kara Goldin 31:12
that’s super exciting. Well, Linda, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing all about both brands and the building and the journey your Karuna Skin pioneering sheet masks in the US and Avatara and making clean dermatologist tested skincare accessible for the next generation. Your story is so inspiring and such a great example of somebody who can just do it, just launch it. You don’t know if it’s going to work or not, but you’ve shown that you can do it, not once, but also twice. So and for everyone listening, be sure to check out Karuna Skin.com and Avataraskin.com and explore the amazing product lines all the existing as well as the redesigning, repackaging and the new products that are coming out too. So until next time, thank you again, and thank you, Linda, really appreciate you coming

Linda Wang 32:12
on. Thank you so much. It was such a lovely conversation. Thanks

Kara Goldin 32:16
again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit. And of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms. At Kara Goldin, I would love to hear from you too. So feel free to DM me, and if you want to hear more about my journey. I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal, best selling book, undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building. Hint, we are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks for listening and goodbye for now. You.

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