A founder’s growth mindset brings scalp relief to suffering patients
After two decades working in corporate marketing — including a stint running a beauty-products brand — Sherrel Sampson wanted to use her product-innovation expertise to start her own hair-care company.
Interested in providing ultra-gentle hair-care products to people with itchy, irritated scalps, in 2015 Sherrel started conducting research at farmer’s markets, speaking with potential customers about their haircare needs. When a leading oncologist from Tampa’s Moffit Cancer Center asked Sherrel if her products could help cancer patients struggling with sensitive scalps, she realized her innovations could enhance people’s lives.
Ten years later, Sherrel runs a thriving wellness business, Canviiy, known for its organic-based hair and scalp products. With only 10 team members, the company uses a sophisticated multi-channel sales strategy to offer products in over 6,000 retailers, including Target, CVS, and Walgreens, as well as in online marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, Kroger, and Faire. To scale its reach, Canviiy leverages third-party logistics partners such as ShipStation and ShippingEasy. Canviiy promotes its products on its website but prioritizes wholesale and B2B
relationships — ensuring its treatments reach a range of customers.
To get Canviiy to hospital patients, Sherrel had to learn how to navigate the complex hospital-supplier purchasing process. Healthcare facilities typically use centralized purchasing companies known as Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) to source essential supplies and negotiate purchasing contracts — and securing those contracts is tough. “It took a year-and-a-half to get our first GPO contract,” Sherrel says. But her perseverance paid off: Today, Canviiy has four GPO contracts, giving the company access to hospital systems nationwide.
Sherrel uses today’s broad range of selling options to help thousands of people feel better, every day. “Canviiy isn’t just a product,” she says, explaining that it can transform the lives of cancer patients and individuals with chronic scalp conditions. “Before Canviiy, people thought they had to live with serious discomfort. It’s an honor to be able to provide them with real solutions.”
