In episode 261 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Carly Stein, founder and CEO of Beekeeper's Naturals, a bee-powered natural wellness company that's obsessed with revamping the conventional medicine cabinet. Listen in as Stein discusses the inspiration behind the natural medicines company, her career background, and how she informally tested Beekeeper's Natural products with friends and family before launching the brand.

Stein speaks about what being a disruptive brand in retail means to her, the challenges she faced introducing a new company into an established market (and how she overcame them), and how she's marketing the brand and its products.

Carly Stein grew up not being able to take over-the-counter (OTC) medicines due to an autoimmune condition. While studying abroad in Italy in 2012, she came down with tonsillitis and went to the local pharmacy in search of a remedy. There she discovered bee propolis, a natural substance bees make that contain 300 compounds that support immunity. When she got back home to Canada, she realized there wasn't a brand that offered that type of product that also delivered impeccable quality and the real benefits she was looking for. Fascinated to learn more, she became a beekeeper during her senior year of college and learned about the incredible benefits of hive-derived ingredients. Her passion stuck, and a few years later she left her post-grad trading job at Goldman Sachs to launch Beekeeper's Naturals in 2017. Beekeeper's Naturals has continued to expand its product assortment, and its Propolis Throat Spray remains in the top 10 Cold & Flu products on Amazon.com.