By Tony O. Lawson
Darrell Spencer priced his first product line at $26. Competitors sourcing similar products overseas brought comparable alternatives to market for about $3.
The market shifted faster than his company could adapt, and he shut it down.
King’s Crowning sold satin-lined hair products designed for men, and customers responded to the concept. The business, however, lacked the systems needed to sustain long-term growth. There was no product roadmap, limited operational infrastructure, and no plan for how the company would evolve once the initial product succeeded.
“I didn’t create a strong infrastructure,” Spencer said. “I didn’t have a one-year, two-year, three-year product roadmap. I didn’t build the company to scale from the very beginning.”
Those lessons shaped the foundation of Crowned Skin.
The idea for the company’s signature Body Butter Cologne came from Spencer’s own daily routine. He applied lotion, then sprayed cologne, and questioned why the process required two separate products. The product solved that problem. The company itself was organized around the lessons learned from King’s Crowning, with product roadmaps, organizational structure, and long-term planning established from the beginning.
According to Spencer, Crowned Skin has generated more than $50 million in sales in roughly two and a half years while expanding across direct-to-consumer, TikTok Shop, Amazon, Walmart, and Macy’s. A Shark Tank appearance increased national visibility, although the company had already established its growth trajectory six to eight months after launch.
Marketing Confidence Instead of Ingredients
Crowned Skin’s early marketing followed a familiar skincare formula by emphasizing ingredients and moisturizing benefits. Spencer said the messaging wasn’t producing the results the company expected.
“We highlighted the functionality of the products,” Spencer said. “I quickly realized that wasn’t what was selling them.”
The company revised its positioning around the customer’s experience rather than the product’s formulation. Crowned Skin adopted the message “Formulated to Attract,” emphasizing confidence, attraction, and how customers wanted to feel when using the brand.
“I think that simple shift in our marketing messaging did everything for the business,” Spencer said.
The change reflected a broader understanding of consumer behavior. Product benefits remained important, but the marketing centered on the emotional outcome customers associated with the brand.
Designing a Multi-Channel Growth Strategy
Spencer approaches distribution with the same emphasis on structure.
Each sales channel serves a defined purpose within the company’s customer acquisition strategy. TikTok Shop functions as both an awareness and acquisition channel while also influencing performance across other parts of the business.
Before Crowned Skin expands into a new channel, the team determines where it fits within the marketing funnel and develops a strategy around that role.
“It’s very intentional,” Spencer said. “We first analyze what part of the marketing funnel this channel will play.”
That planning extends across the company’s broader distribution strategy, allowing each channel to contribute differently to long-term growth instead of competing for the same customer in the same way.
Building a Fragrance Ritual
The company’s newest launch reflects the next phase of that strategy.
Crowned Skin recently introduced its first Eau de Parfum collection, extending its five signature fragrances beyond Body Butter Colognes and Body Oil Colognes into standalone fine fragrances.
Rather than treating fragrance as a separate category, Spencer sees it as another component of a broader daily routine.
“We’re going to offer an assortment of products with that same fragrance,” Spencer said. “Whether it’s body wash, deodorant, your cologne, we’re going to show customers how to layer those fragrances across multiple products.”
The objective is to build what Spencer describes as a fragrance ritual that spans a man’s entire grooming routine, from morning through evening. The Eau de Parfum collection is one step in a broader product roadmap designed to expand Crowned Skin’s presence across multiple categories while maintaining a consistent customer experience.
Building the Business to Outlast the Founder
Before launching Crowned Skin, Spencer worked at Google, Meta, and LinkedIn, experiences that exposed him to paid media, organizational design, and how large companies structure teams as they grow.
Much of the entrepreneurial learning process, however, came through self-education.
Spencer had no family background in business ownership and no experienced founder guiding him through the process of building either King’s Crowning or Crowned Skin.
“I created my resources. I called young founders. I Googled. I watched YouTube. I created the knowledge base that I didn’t have.”
Today, Spencer encourages founders to organize their businesses as though a sale could happen at any point, regardless of whether an exit is part of the plan. That includes documented processes, diversified revenue channels, organizational discipline, and teams capable of operating independently.
He believes those practices strengthen companies throughout their life cycle while also expanding opportunities for wealth creation.
“I think we have to begin to talk about how we build generational wealth,” Spencer said. “There need to be more strategic Black exits. Then your son, your daughter, your grandchildren can see it and believe it’s attainable.”
King’s Crowning taught Spencer that customer demand alone does not create a durable business. Crowned Skin incorporated the operational planning, product strategy, and organizational systems that were absent from his first venture.
More than $50 million in sales later, those lessons continue to shape how the company grows, introduces new products, and prepares for the opportunities ahead.
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