Meet Kristin Fracassi | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Fracassi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, what do you attribute your success to?
I’m blown away with the success we have had at Root and Splendor. When we launched a little over a year ago I had no idea we would be where we are today with selling nationwide direct-to-consumer and selling in bulk (up to 50-gallons at a time) to retailers across the country. As I reflect on conversations with consumers (both individual and wholesale partners) they are always complimentary about the passion I have for my products, the education I provide, and our emphasis on relationships. I believe these factors have contributed to our success.

My passion for Root and Splendor started long before I even knew I would have a company. When my 4 boys were younger, I blindly trusted the products I was bringing into our home and thought they were all “safe” to use on my kids, especially the natural products. After doing my own research, I learned that even natural ingredients can be toxic (both to humans and the environment). I had been naïve in both trusting companies and thinking that “natural” meant “non-toxic” when in fact they absolutely are not synonymous. As a result, I grew very frustrated with the home, cleaning and body care industries. My passion was solidified when I could not find what I wanted for my family – all natural, all non-toxic, all eco-friendly products that worked with excellence.

That was the roots of beginning formulations for Root and Splendor. I was creating these just for my family, but as my research continued I realized I needed the help of scientists and chemists to achieve the results I was looking for with my very high standards. After 5 years of formulating, we finalized the products that we currently use today. I wanted more science to prove to myself I had achieved my goals, so I decided to get my laundry products third-party lab tested. When our results came back as premium, I knew I wanted to make these products available to all people. I knew we had something extraordinary.

Root and Splendor operates with the utmost integrity and honesty. As consumers, we should be able to trust the companies that make our products, as well as trust the packaging. Our passion permeates into all aspects of our business. I knew we would be fully transparent to our consumers about our ingredients, always choose safe ingredients and sustainable packaging, and partner with refill shops as a way to promote less waste into recycling centers and landfills. So much research and thought goes into each and every decision at Root and Splendor that education and connections became a natural next step for our business.

Our consumer base is the driving force behind our brand; we formulate and make decisions in order that you feel great about bringing our products home. When talking with consumers, we connect with them relationally. We truly care about them and I think they feel that in conversations. I love nothing more than talking with a consumer in person or over the phone, answering all their question, hearing their story, and giving them all the details about Root and Splendor. We love explaining the science on how we get premium results (odor removal, stain removal of all stain sources, deep cleaning, brightening colors, whitening whites, and softening clothes) with just 1 Tablespoon (1/2 fl oz of product. I love explaining how surfactants and enzymes work, teaching about the difference between natural and non-toxic ingredients, how we can use such few ingredients, why we choose sustainable packaging and why we do everything that we do. We have a story behind all of our decisions and people seem to love hearing those stories, too.

At Root and Splendor there is heart behind all that we do. People seem to notice our sincerity and we are grateful for the success this has given us.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
There are a few other cool things that make Root and Splendor stand apart. I think the single thing makes us unique is the high bar we have set in formulations. We absolutely will not waiver in our standards of being 100% natural, 100% non-toxic and 100% eco-friendly. Along with those criteria, we absolutely must have highly effective formulas. I have learned as a business owner that there are plenty of opportunities to cut corners and there is just no question for us about this. We will always follow our standards, even if it means a lot more work and a lower margin.

Another awesome component about Root and Splendor and something that is surprising to others is that I formulate everything, but I also make everything by hand and package it. I really enjoying small batch handcrafting and am out in my warehouse measuring, mixing and blending in 50-gallon drums at a time. It’s my creative outlet and most people don’t realize these are our formulas and we make it all ourselves! It’s very exciting.

I’m so honored that our business is spreading by word of mouth! We haven’t paid for advertisement and have grown through grassroots marketing and friends telling friends. Our consumers genuinely love and are excited about our products so they have been naturally sharing them with others. In a little over a year since launching Root and Splendor we have been able to ship to customers nationwide and currently partner with 40 different retail locations around the country. Some of these partners are farm stands, apothecaries, salons, natural grocers, and refill shops. Refill shops or low waste stores are the shops where you can keep refilling a container as a way to keep your packaging out of the landfill and save money due to not buying packaging time and time again. We are so grateful for all of our partners, for the love that our customers have for Root and Splendor, and that they share it with others!

Giving a kickback of our profits to our community is also central to our brand. The organization that we have chosen to support is Safe Families for Children. We plan to donate 10% of our profits to this national not-for-profit. This is one amazing organization that works to help keep children out of foster care whenever possible. So often, when families are in crisis, whether it’s from homelessness, addictions, medical situations or losing a job, they don’t have friends or family to call to help out with the children so the parents can get the help they need. Too many times foster care steps in and parents legally lose some of their rights. Safe Families for Children is voluntary; the parents call when they are in crisis and ask for vetted volunteers to provide a safe home for their children until they can get back on their feet. In the meantime, the parents retain all their rights, we offer support and community to the parents, and encourage them to take positive steps to getting their lives back on track. My family has served as a host family and have cared for 8 children for varying lengths of time in the last few years. It’s an amazing program that ultimately helps families develop community and step out of their isolation, but also teaches us about truly caring for others.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oooh, this is fun! First of all we would have lots of beach time. Typically visitors don’t live near the beach, so hanging beachside and swimming in the waves is a must. Perhaps one day we would take a sailboat out, too, and enjoy the coastline and watch some dolphins. Oh, while we are at it, maybe even some deep sea fishing to catch some fish to bring home to cook up some fresh poke bowls. Sitting on the patio of our house, sipping on a cocktail, watching the sunset and the kids play sounds really nice!

In the next days we would probably do some hiking (earlier in the day so it’s not too hot), take the kids to skate parks, eat at a taco stand, visit Torrey Pines and the glider port, maybe even go down to see Big Bay and all the ships. Hanging out in downtown Vista and grabbing some local beer is a must or catching a play at Moonlight Theatre. Strolling around downtown Carlsbad or downtown Vista is always fun for visitors.

For specifics, some awesome spots we would visit are:

Tacos:
Taco Stand
Armandos
Kotija Jr

Restaurants:
Campfire
Privateer
Valentina’s
Herb and Sea

Cocktails:
Pacific Coast Spirits
Misadventure Co

Breweries:
Local Roots
Belching Beaver
Helia

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This shoutout goes to my husband, Eric. He absolutely deserves credit and recognition in my story. Most importantly, we are parents to 4 boys, as I mentioned earlier. Having a thriving family is our priority where the boys can feel safe and loved, but they can also be exposed to a well-rounded life. It’s a lot of work to try to raise good humans and try to run a business; Eric is the most helpful person in my life. He’s supportive, encouraging, optimistic, discerning, loving….I could go on and on. When I work, Eric takes over everything home and family. Eric is active and present, fulfilling household and cooking duties, playing catch in the yard, driving them to practices, quizzing them on math facts, taking them surfing and just being all-around awesome.

Another goal of ours is to have a thriving business. Eric has believed in my business and formulas from the very beginning and has supported every effort along the way. He trusts me in my business decisions and offers to help out whenever I need (making financial decisions, moving 500 pound drums around the warehouse, gluing boxes or sweeping the warehouse). We operate as a team and if it weren’t for him Root and Splendor would not be where we are today. Thank you, Eric!

Website: www.rootandsplendor.com

Instagram: @rootandsplendor

Facebook: @rootandsplendor

Image Credits
Samantha Polanco Photography