The Radiant Rhino Series Part 9: How a North American Beauty Brand Landed in Taiwan (And What It Cost to Get There)

I’ve sold online (Amazon and my own website), to smaller retailers, pitched national giants like Walmart and Whole Foods, and eventually sold outside of North America in Taiwan.

That last part surprised a lot of people.

Customer acquisition costs in North America were climbing faster than my caffeine intake, while demand overseas was quietly exploding. Taiwan turned out to be a very real opportunity.

It was not, however, easy.

The purchase order was large. And no one in North America wanted to finance a big PO outside the region.

So, I negotiated terms directly with my manufacturer and the Taiwan buyer and fulfilled the orders.

One of the biggest lessons I learned:

Retail is a margin game.

Wholesale is a volume game.

Over time, The Radiant Rhino became more of a volume business. Wholesale outpaced retail and selling outside North America became far more lucrative for the brand.

Global expansion. Operational gymnastics. Mild panic.

All part of the journey.

Coming up on next: the wrap-up and the lessons that stuck long after the panic subsided.