When it comes to building a purpose-driven brand and getting on the shelves of major retailers, few stories are as insightful and inspiring as that of Rebecca Alvarez-Story, founder of Bloomi. On the Shelf Talks Podcast, Rebecca shared her journey from sexologist and intimacy consultant to pioneering Latina founder in the sexual wellness space—with products now sold nationwide in Target and CVS.
For indie brand founders wondering how to break into retail stores, this episode was packed with actionable advice and hard-earned lessons.
Here’s how she landed in retail from Episode 2 of Shelf Talks Podcast, listen to the full story on your favorite podcast platform including Spotify and Apple Podcasts (link to episode below).
💡 How Bloomi Got Started: From Idea to First Product
Before launching Bloomi, Rebecca was already deep in the world of intimacy consulting and clean product education. But after working with multiple startups, she saw a gap in the market for clean, inclusive intimacy essentials—and knew she had the grit and experience to fill it.
“I started getting the same frustrations from people over and over. I thought, I’ve consulted on enough products—why not create my own?”
She launched Bloomi in 2018 as a curated marketplace of intimacy products, which eventually evolved into a full brand once she developed her own best-selling arousal oil.
📦 Building a Product-Based Brand from the Ground Up
Rebecca started lean—formulating products with the help of a fractional expert team, launching with small minimum order quantities (MOQs), and fulfilling orders herself from home during COVID.
Founder's Tip: Cold outreach works if it's thoughtful. Rebecca emailed the formulator of one of her favorite brands, complimented her work, and convinced her to help develop Bloomi’s hero product.
“I like to say all my cold emails are warm. I tell them why I love their work, and why I think we’d be great working together.”
📈 What It Takes to Get Your Product into Retail Stores
Rebecca had her sights set on mass retail early—and did the legwork to back it up. She conducted surveys to understand what products customers wanted next, refined packaging to suit retail shelves, and prepared her team, operations, and manufacturing before ever pitching.
Key Retail Readiness Checklist:
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Confirmed product-market fit through DTC sales and customer feedback
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Designed retail-specific packaging (hot colors, bold fonts, sturdy boxes)
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Ensured operations and manufacturing could scale
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Created a marketing plan to drive in-store traffic
“Before I even pitched to Target, I made sure we had R&D almost done, operations in place, and marketing mapped out. I wore red for good luck!”
🔄 Lessons from Launching in Target & CVS
Rebecca landed a major line review and got picked up in more Target stores than expected. But the rapid scale came with hard lessons around funding, packaging, and SKU strategy.
Retail Insights from Rebecca:
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Don't be afraid to negotiate your terms.
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Start in fewer stores if possible to test and optimize.
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Understand chargebacks, shrinkage, and long payment cycles.
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Don't rely on one retailer to be your sole money maker
“You need to be okay with not being profitable for 1–2 years in mass retail. It’s a long game.” says Rebecca.
💬 How Community, Content & PR Built Brand Awareness
Bloomi didn’t rely on paid ads early on. Rebecca used her background in education to write for media outlets like Well + Good and Byrdie, build a highly engaged community, and create content people could trust.
“I was doing the work before the brand even existed—writing about topics no one else wanted to touch and becoming a trusted voice in wellness.” says Rebecca.
🎯 Advice to Indie Founders Breaking into Retail
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Test DTC first to gather customer feedback and build community.
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Find the right broker—not too big, not too small.
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Over-prepare your pitch—you only get 20 minutes max.
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Drive your own sales—don’t expect retailers to do the marketing for you.
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Keep iterating—what worked online may not work on shelf.
“What I think is pretty isn’t always what sells. Retail taught me to lead with strategy.”
Ready to Launch Your Brand into Retail?
🎧 Listen to the full Shelf Talks episode: “Empowering Intimacy: Building the brand Bloomi with founder Rebecca Alvarez-Story” for even more tips and behind-the-scenes gems wherever you stream your podcast including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7LE9yVMYqlxrL1RIgOUVcP?si=46ad44b751594fbc
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empowering-intimacy-building-the-brand-bloomi-with/id1773675543?i=1000672988026
You Tube: https://youtu.be/E0p8BOOMAtg
👉 Want more founder insights? Follow us on Instagram @shelftalkspodcast
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