In S2 Episode 8 of Raw Talent, Jo Foster founder of Kiss The Moon and boom Innovation walks us through her transition from a career in media and marketing to the entrepreneurial life of an owner of two businesses. Based in the English countryside next to ancient woodland, Kiss The Moon is driven by a passion to help us enjoy a beautiful night’s sleep inspired by Jo's realisation that she needed to get her own sleep back on track and counter the effects of a life full of deadlines and jet lag inducing travel.
Jo was born in the NE of England half her family is in London and half is in Durham. After studying Psychology & Communications at Durham University, she embarked on a career in media and marketing with J. Walter Thompson and Saatchi, where she was at the forefront of all the new stuff happening. From here she joined an innovation company working on insights and ideas for absolutely everything and anything.
Taking stock in 2008, Jo founded boom Innovation after working as an agency director in London and deciding she wanted a dog, garden and more space. Weighing up the pro’s and con’s of starting a business and going it alone, people shared that loneliness was the hardest thing to overcome and that creativity and ideas are all about bouncing off one another. boom evolved as a team of likeminded freelancers bringing together the freedom of working for yourself and benefits of working in a team, where geography becomes less important and technology connects everyone.
Travel has been a major part of Jo's life for a long time and she started to recognise that it eats into your life and for Jo was eating into her sleep. In her twenties she didn’t notice it, in her thirties it became noticeable and in forties, she really felt it and she found out that the bit of the brain that controls sleep, also controls smell, which led to the evolution of Kiss The Moon on a flight probably to Singapore or Hong Kong.
Further research pointed towards aromatherapy being the answer and lavender, which is not everyone's cup of tea. However, Jo discovered that nature gives us a whole suite of calming essential oils that soothe the nerves and create four signature blends for Kiss The Moon all using essential oils working on Sleep, Nighttime Skincare, Bath & Body and Home with fragrance sourced sustainably and made in the UK.
Kiss the Moon launched at the end of 2014. Full of doubt and questions, Jo initially tried the products out on people, who started asking where they could buy them and so with her business partner Anna, they tentatively launched the brand 6 months later thinking we’ll see how it goes. They made all the mistakes in their first year and constantly questioned if they were doing the right thing, however, the positive feedback kept them going along with an audacious entry for the British Beauty Awards, which to their amazement they won.
The major learnings in running her own brand come from how the two businesses help one another. Jo wasn’t sure how to tell her big clients like Kellogg's and Samsung, that she was running her own brand, however, they were very supportive and could see the benefits before she could.
In dividing her time between boom and Kiss The Moon, Jo relies on a team that shares a common mission who can be entrusted to get on with their roles. Her business partner Anna lives in Oxford and they all make time as a team for a Monday morning meeting with purpose as well as a bit of a chat.
Everything they make is natural which people are looking for. They combine nature, luxury and beauty. It needs to be a beautiful experience and make you feel amazing. Kiss The Moon products are an antidote to a stressful world.
Catch the podcast for the full story. https://www.fionaabrahams.com/podcast/episode/4b8fe904/raw-talent-podcast-s2-episode-8-with-kiss-the-moon-founder-jo-foster