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: https://calderalab.com/mindpump

Code: MINDPUMP20 for 20% off your first order.

GUEST LINKS

Jared Pobre — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredpobre

Caldera Lab: https://calderalab.com

Instagram: @calderalab

LINKS

Mind Pump Store: https://mindpumpstore.com

Maps Fitness Products: https://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