At A Glance

Gianna de la Torre is the co-founder of Wildling, a natural skincare company specializing in vegan and cruelty-free products. With a range of products created with natural ingredients, Wildling seeks to aid users not just in solving their skincare needs, but also healing them skin, body, and mind. The company, launched during a time when E-Commerce was just coming into its own, shines a light on the way that social media can create a new path forward for businesses that want to succeed outside of big box retailers. 

Who is Gianna?

Meet Gianna de la Torre the co-founder of Wildling. 

About Wildling

Wildling started with gua sha tools that were gaining in popularity around the world, but they hadn’t yet made the leap to the United States yet. As the co-founders began making their debut, however, they knew they needed more products to aid in customer retention. The skincare line was born. Where gua sha products are typically ‘one and done’ purchases, the skincare line allowed Wildling to build connections with customers and keep them coming back. 

Gianna’s entrepreneurial journey

Gianna, and her co-founders launched Wildling in 2018. Her background in acupuncture and intuitive healing, especially through Chinese medicine, was a perfect match for a company that prides itself on the use of natural ingredients and healing for the whole self. Paired with co-founders who likewise have a background in holistic and natural health, the company had a strong foundation to build upon. Gianna says, “we launched Wildling to be a holistic solution or alternative to injectables and more drastic Big Pharma treatments by bringing in the modality of Chinese medicine and facial gua sha,” and it’s done exactly that. “We often reflect on how we couldn’t have launched this brand without something like Instagram. … E-Commerce really became something you could take to social media and share,” and that truly made a difference in Wildling’s founding. But it’s only proved to be only the beginning. 

The CX factor

Gianna knows that the customer is at the heart of everything they do. Making sure that they feel heard and understood is essential to the success and continued growth of Wildling and everything it stands for. By connecting with them on a personal level and educating them not only on natural skincare products but on tips and tricks to use them more effectively and efficiently, Wildling can become their go-to place for everything skincare. 

The Team at Wildling

Wildling was founded by Gianna de la Torre and Jill Munison back in 2018 and the two always hoped to have an office together. However, that never came to fruition. Today, the two women live on opposite coasts and they’ve expanded to include a total of four core members along with contractors as needed. But all-in-all, ‘we keep it a pretty small ship.’ 

Fostering innovation and product development

There’s always the opportunity for new products when nature is your inspiration, and that’s exactly what’s happening at Wildling. When retinol and retinoid products began to gain in popularity, Wildling found a bio-retinol product that could do the same things with natural ingredients. And with the increase in neuro-technology, Wildling has begun a line of products using butterfly lavender, a natural version of the same ingredients.

Expect additional bio-activated products in the pipeline, with Wildling always seeking out new opportunities to give customers what they need in a way that’s good for their body and their mind. 

Continued growth 

Growth is key for any business and in any market, but the method of growth has certainly changed since Wildling was founded. In 2018, Wildling launched as an E-Commerce platform, utilizing social media as its marketing strategy to get it direct to consumers without the big box retailers. But the market has changed since then. Says co-founder Gianna, “When we initially launched you could put something out there and have it take flight without needing a big retailer,” but the market has now become saturated and where Instagram was crucial to their launch and TikTok has been instrumental since, businesses now have to have something unique to help them stay one step ahead of the rest. 

Wildling strives to keep their product innovation going strong, always staying in touch with what their customers are looking for, and developing new products that highlight holistic wellness and that continues to push the company forward. 

Tech Stack

Wildling launched with one platform but has since dove into a couple more, all of which allow them to showcase their products direct to consumers:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• Shopify

Advice for entrepreneurs

Gianna’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to pay attention to the market and pay attention to yourself. “I would say that the biggest piece of advice is know your market and know your strengths because the B2C market is so loud that you have to be really unique and know how to be smart with your budget and do a lot with a little.”