Q&A: Raw Sugar Living’s CFO on navigating growth in a changing market
In an industry that thrives on balancing sustainability, affordability, and consumer demand, Raw Sugar Living has carved out a unique space in the personal care market.
Known for its clean, eco-friendly products at affordable price points, Raw Sugar has grown rapidly over the past few years, thanks in large part to the strategic leadership of Jonathan Weiss, its CFO. Weiss joined the company at a pivotal time, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and has since played a critical role in guiding the company’s financial strategy and growth trajectory.
With a career that spans major corporations like KPMG and PwC, as well as several startups, Weiss brings a wealth of experience to his role at Raw Sugar. As he shares in this interview, his passion lies in scaling businesses, particularly in the middle-market space.
“I’ve been a middle-market growth CFO who’s worked with multiple founders at LVMH, five private equity firms,” Weiss explains, framing his extensive experience and how it aligns with Raw Sugar’s current growth path.
When Weiss joined Raw Sugar Living in May 2020, the world was grappling with the onset of the pandemic. Despite the widespread challenges that most businesses faced, Raw Sugar experienced a growth surge during this time, thanks in part to its well-established relationships with major retailers like Target and Walgreens.
For Weiss, this growth spurt was a critical moment in the company’s journey, marking the transition from a startup to a more professionalized business.
“Raw Sugar was founded by a couple who thought there was a business need for clean personal care and hair care products at a reasonable price point,” Weiss explains. He came on board when the company had just 10 or 11 employees.
Fast forward to today, and Raw Sugar’s revenue has tripled, with the company now bringing in more than $100 million annually and employing over 40 people.
This rapid expansion wasn’t a result of chance. Weiss attributes much of Raw Sugar’s success to its robust supply chain and its ability to remain adaptable during uncertain times.
“They [the products] were on the shelf and had a dependable supply chain,” he said, which allowed the business to continue scaling even as many other businesses faced significant disruptions. This reliability earned Raw Sugar recognition as Target’s 2020 Beauty Vendor of the Year, a testament to the company’s ability to deliver when it mattered most.
One of the core drivers of Raw Sugar’s growth, according to Weiss, is its emphasis on understanding the fundamentals of unit economics, particularly in an industry where many new brands struggle. He stresses the importance of grasping these numbers early on, especially for brands aiming to transition from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar.
“At the end of the day, every brand eventually with any type of success will go into the brick-and-mortar channel,” Weiss says, noting that this shift can lead to challenges if a company hasn’t properly understood its product margins and overall financial health.
For Weiss, ensuring a stable financial baseline before scaling is non-negotiable. “One of my first questions is, do you really understand your unit economics? And does this really work in a wholesale brand?” he says.
By focusing on these fundamental questions, Weiss has helped Raw Sugar create a solid foundation for sustainable growth.
While many companies were forced to downsize or delay expansion plans during COVID-19, Raw Sugar was in a position to accelerate its growth. This was not without its challenges. Weiss recalls that when he first arrived, Raw Sugar was still operating on QuickBooks, with limited financial infrastructure in place.
“We were just trying to fill orders and build a business,” he says, reflecting on those early days. His priority was to implement a more sophisticated financial system that could support the company’s rapid expansion.
Weiss’s solution was to transition the company to Oracle NetSuite, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that allowed Raw Sugar to manage its finances, supply chain, and operations more effectively. “If you don’t know who you are, what it’s costing, how can you make great decisions?” Weiss asks, underscoring the importance of having accurate and timely financial data.
The implementation of NetSuite not only streamlined Raw Sugar’s internal operations but also allowed the company to maintain a 99% fill rate during one of the most disruptive periods in recent history.
Beyond supply chain management, NetSuite has also transformed how Raw Sugar handles financial planning and budgeting. Weiss explains that the system has allowed the company to streamline its operations and make data-driven decisions. “I see us growing up all the time,” he says, reflecting on how the ERP system has helped the company mature in its approach to managing finances, inventory, and overall business operations.
For Weiss, financial management goes far beyond crunching numbers. It’s about fostering a culture that empowers teams to make better decisions. One of his core beliefs, shaped by years of experience, is that CFOs should play a proactive, supportive role in decision-making rather than acting as enforcers of financial constraints.
Reflecting on his early career, Weiss explains how his philosophy evolved: “CFOs are looked at really from a scarcity perspective, finger-waggers, holding you to a number,” he says.
However, Weiss has always aspired to be the kind of CFO who facilitates growth and opportunity, rather than just maintaining financial order. “I want to be in a role that’s more opportunity cost driven. How does my team facilitate the conversation for us to make the best decision?”
This philosophy, rooted in his mentorship from the 1990s, has influenced how Weiss leads his team at Raw Sugar Living. Rather than acting as gatekeepers, Weiss encourages his finance team to actively support other departments, particularly sales, marketing, and product development.
He explains that great founders understand that they don’t have all the answers and surround themselves with people who do. This humility, he says, is something he admires in Raw Sugar’s founders, who entrusted him with the financial strategy to drive the company’s success.
“The best founders are the ones [who] have incredible humility [and] understand that they hit a wave under their principles, but that there’s so much they don’t know,” he notes.
As Raw Sugar has worked toward increasing its sustainability efforts, such as using more recycled plastics, Weiss acknowledges the tension between driving eco-friendly initiatives and managing costs. The company has already moved from 20% to 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials in its packaging, and it’s on a journey to reach 100%. However, this journey is not without hurdles.
“We could get 100% recyclable bottle tomorrow,” Weiss says, but doing so would push the product price beyond what their target consumers can afford. “Would that reach the number of customers we want to impact? No.”
Weiss is clear that the company must balance its sustainability goals with its commitment to accessibility.
“That’s the healthy tension of how we run our business and manage it,” he explains.
Raw Sugar’s pricing strategy is carefully calibrated against competitors like Native and Mrs. Meyers, whose natural deodorants and soaps often sell at higher price points.
“We’re $9.99 at natural deodorant, and Native’s $14 at natural deodorant,” Weiss says, underscoring the importance of staying competitive while still delivering on the company’s sustainability promises.
The brand is also leveraging new tools to stay connected with consumers’ evolving preferences. Weiss points to apps like Yucca, which allow consumers to scan products and receive ratings based on their ingredients and environmental impact.
“To us, that’s the barometer that will then reach our customer,” Weiss says, adding that Raw Sugar’s goal is to be better than the alternatives, while educating consumers on the healthier choices available to them.
While Raw Sugar Living has built much of its success through strong partnerships with major brick-and-mortar retailers, Weiss acknowledges that the future of retail lies increasingly in the digital space.
“We built a company [that] had a strategy for [brick-and-mortar], but we can’t then close our eyes to the fact that Amazon’s the fastest growing retailer,” Weiss notes. He also notes the shopper the business is looking for is also making their way to TikTok Shop.
This shift towards e-commerce and social selling is not one that the company can afford to ignore.
Raw Sugar’s Amazon business is growing at an impressive 30%, with potential for even greater growth in the coming years. “It’s still growing faster than the category,” Weiss points out, acknowledging that while Amazon may not become the company’s largest channel in the near term, it remains a vital part of its strategy.