Vontelle Eyewear Inside Retail: What was the biggest challenge you faced in running your brand in 2025? What tactics did you employ to battle this? Nancey Flowers-Harris (co-founder & COO): The biggest challenge in 2025 was navigating ongoing supply-chain uncertainty and rising costs driven by tariffs and global manufacturing shifts.  As an independent brand, these pressures directly impacted pricing, margins and retail timelines. To address these pressures, we focused on diversification, exploring alternative manufacturing partners outside of China, tightening inventory planning and strengthening direct-to-consumer channels to maintain cash flow and customer access.  We also leaned into operational discipline and maintained open communication with our retail partners. IR: What was the biggest accomplishment for the brand this year? NFH: One of our biggest accomplishments in 2025 was continuing to scale our national footprint while deepening our social impact.  Building on our historic partnership with National Vision (an American optical retail company), we expanded distribution and brand awareness nationwide.  Additionally, we partnered with 80 select Sam’s Club locations, allowing for a convenient shopping experience for high-quality eyewear.   At the same time, we grew our community initiatives, including vision screenings and eyewear access for underserved children and families through school and nonprofit partnerships. Doubling down on both growth and impact reaffirmed that our business model can do both. IR: What challenges do you expect to face in 2026? How have you been prepping your business for the year ahead? NFH: Looking ahead to 2026, we anticipate continued volatility around trade policy, manufacturing costs and consumer spending.  To prepare, we’ve been investing in more resilient infrastructure, upgrading systems, refining forecasting and building multiple sourcing options to reduce risk.  We’re also prioritizing strategic partnerships, operational efficiency and thoughtful product development to ensure we can remain competitive while keeping eyewear accessible, especially as it remains a medical necessity.  At the end of the day, Vontelle’s goal is to produce beautiful, better-fitting eyewear for our consumers.  Superegg IR: What was the biggest challenge you faced in running your brand in 2025? What tactics did you employ to battle this? Erica Choi (co-founder): In 2025, our biggest challenge was navigating rapid shifts in global retail dynamics while maintaining a strong sense of brand integrity.  As a value-driven brand, we do not chase trends; we build trust. That meant staying agile in distribution and communication while staying true to what makes Superegg meaningful: thoughtful formulations, responsible choices and a serene, effective user experience. To address this, we focused on deepening community-driven retail partnerships and creating compelling content that helped us connect more intimately with both new and loyal audiences.  We also strengthened our internal operations to be more responsive, particularly in managing inventory and fulfillment across growing international markets. IR: What was the biggest accomplishment for the brand this year? EC: The most meaningful accomplishments this year included deepening our relationships in Asia, particularly in Japan and Korea, where there is a strong cultural connection to our skincare philosophy.  Entering these markets not as a fleeting trend but as a considered, intentional brand has been incredibly rewarding. In addition, we expanded into wellness and lifestyle-adjacent offerings, including the Flow Egg Sculpting Gua Sha and the Little Egg Vanity Bag, both of which were warmly received. Seeing our community grow in both depth and diversity has truly been a highlight of the year. IR: What challenges do you expect to face in 2026? How have you been prepping your business for the year ahead? EC: In 2026, we expect increased saturation in the wellness and beauty space. As more brands enter the category, the challenge will be to remain both clear and compelling. Not all growth in this area is rooted in true transparency or performance, which makes it even more important to continue educating consumers on what high-performance, vegan skincare truly means. To prepare, we are investing in more intentional storytelling and deeper ingredient education, while continuing to grow our direct-to-consumer and retail presence in a thoughtful, selective way.  We also plan to host more in-person experiences to strengthen our connection with the Superegg community. For us, success in the year ahead will come from staying grounded in balance, purpose and long-term care — for the skin, and for the world it lives in. Winx Health  IR: What was the biggest challenge you faced in running your brand in 2025? What tactics did you employ to battle this? Jamie Norwood (co-founder): In the women’s health space, an ongoing challenge for us is navigating widespread censorship on top of misinformation in women’s health.  Accurate and educational content about sexual and vaginal health is routinely deprioritized or flagged across digital platforms, making it harder for people to access the information they need. We see it firsthand at Winx, with 73 per cent of women thinking that emergency contraception is the same as the abortion pill, and nearly half incorrectly believing that emergency contraception is illegal in their state.  This is our opportunity as a brand to double down on education-first strategies, such as through our expert-backed blog, newsletter and social media channels. IR: What was the biggest accomplishment for the brand this year? JN: Winx Health landed our first retail partner and launched in 6000-plus Walgreens nationwide!  This is a huge accomplishment for us as a brand and for the future of women’s health care. Nearly 50 per cent of the US lacks access to an OBGYN (obstetrics and gynaecology), though 75 per cent of Americans live within five miles of a Walgreens. Having our products on shelves at a pharmacy that’s available to so many means we’re one step closer to making affordable sexual and vaginal healthcare more accessible. IR: What challenges do you expect to face in 2026? How have you been prepping your business for the year ahead?  JN: With reproductive healthcare policy continuing to shift state by state, 2026 presents ongoing challenges around access, confusion and fear, especially for lower-income and rural communities.  Policy changes could bring uncertainty that disproportionately impacts those who already face the biggest barriers to traditional healthcare. As care becomes more fragmented, our national Walgreens footprint and expanding retail presence ensure continuity of care in communities where clinics are scarce, but pharmacies are trusted, familiar, and nearby.  For us in 2026, a growing retail presence is more than just product distribution, but a reliable outlet where our products are available to the millions who rely on them. We are making essential care accessible and affordable, and embedding it in the places people already rely on every day so it can’t be taken away.  Oomee IR: What was the biggest challenge you faced running your brand in 2025? What tactics did you employ to battle this? Alissa Miky (founder and CEO): The biggest challenge this year has been establishing an entirely new category of drinks in a saturated beverage market.  The functional drink aisle is dominated by carbonated prebiotic sodas and sugar-heavy functional drinks, but I wanted to break in and introduce a new wave of wellness, led by an ingredient no one is using: seaweed.  Making marine nutrition cool is challenging enough as it is, and though I’m entrepreneurially minded, I’m a non-traditional founder as a Japanese woman with ADHD, not a native English speaker, and without US connections or a US university degree. In the past year, I’ve navigated industry biases while educating consumers and retailers about why seaweed belongs in their daily wellness routine. My team and I dove into the challenge, leading with cultural storytelling and product education. Drawing on my background as a news commentator in Japan, we’ve worked to communicate complex marine nutrition concepts in relatable, digestible ways. On social media, Oomee takes a playful yet educational approach, making seaweed exciting rather than intimidating.  IR: What was the biggest accomplishment for the brand this year? AM: Our biggest accomplishment this year has been approaching seven figures in business, achieving distribution in nearly 1000 stores across retailers like Sprouts, Raley’s, and Bristol Farms, and expanding our presence on Amazon. Since launching in spring 2025, we’ve sold more than 100k units. For a brand creating an entirely new category with an unconventional ingredient like seaweed, this expansion validates the Seabiotics innovation we’re introducing to the $4.2 billion functional beverage industry, which consumers are excited about and enjoying. We’ve proven that American consumers are ready to embrace traditional, marine nutrition when it’s presented in a modern, delicious format that delivers real wellness benefits.  IR: What challenges do you expect to face in 2026? How have you been prepping your business for the year ahead? AM: Looking ahead to 2026, our focus will be on continuing to establish the marine plant beverage category by expanding our offerings with a new beverage that delivers seabiotics in a drink we know consumers will love. Category creation requires ongoing education, and as we grow, maintaining that consumer connection while reaching new audiences will be important. To prepare for the year ahead, we’re working to close a funding round that will support retail expansion, marketing activities and innovation. We have exciting developments in the pipeline that will show the versatility of marine nutrition and how it can fit into people’s daily routines in new ways, starting with a new drinkable format launching in January 2026. Our proprietary technology and seabiotics blend provide us with a tremendous opportunity to bring innovative products to retailers across the beverage, powder, and supplement categories. In 2026, we aim to establish Seabiotics as the foundation for a new generation of climate-positive, marine-based nutrition.