Meet the Maker: Kristi Moe of Zodica Perfumery

After a decade of working in the beauty industry, with experience that ranged from product development to brand management, Kristi Moe decided she was finally ready to go out on her own with Zodica Perfumery.

Kristi has always dreaded the experience of buying perfume. She points out how the fragrance business has been heavily driven by celebrity endorsement and package design, rather than the quality and elements of fragrance. Since she launched Zodica in February 2016, Kristi has set out to change the way consumers shop for perfume—putting the personal touch of perfume above everything else.

Zodica perfumes are designed to be worn three ways – by sign, to embrace your astrological sign; by season, to reflect the current astrological season; and by attraction, to attract a specific sign or intention into your life. Each fragrance features different aromatherapy benefits and seasonal elements as well. The Taurus fragrance, for example, contains an assortment of spring-like notes such as iris, geranium, jasmine, and sandalwood.

Kristi encourages all her customers to explore the fragrance that works best for them. For some, it may be influenced by their own sign, others may enjoy a fragrance that draws in a significant other or reminds them of a certain time of year.

The average perfume brand has a handful of different fragrances, so creating 12 unique scents was a challenge, and Kristi admits her being a Cancer played a part in the trial and error as she went through more than 300 different variations before she was pleased with the final results. Eventually, she decided she needed to get the products out there and let the customer decide. “You want to get it out there to get feedback from the consumer, because if you’re going to want to change something, you don’t want to waste your time and money on something that’s not going to work for them.”

Kristi is committed to creating a high-quality product and keeping that quality consistent as Zodica grows. She took that initial feedback to heart and added a twist-and-spritz fragrance line late in 2016.

In the two years since Zodica Perfumery launched, Kristi looks back on two opportunities she’s had with immense pride. Her first pop-up market at the Dallas Farmer’s Market was an instant success. “The confirmation that I was on to something was pretty important and relieving,” she says. When Kristi appeared on Good Morning Texas around Valentine’s Day 2017, she looked at her phone and saw that over 50 orders had come in while she was on air—with even more coming in over the next few days! “It told me that people were interested in the concept, and eager to know how it smells being customized to them and their zodiac sign”.

With investment and partnership offers on the table, Kristi has remained focused on keeping the authenticity and integrity of the brand intact on her own. “There’s so much of me in this brand, it’s a piece of me.” She encourages fellow entrepreneurs to be okay with growing small and growing slow.

Kristi recently relocated from Dallas, Texas to Monroe, Wisconsin to open her first store! You can check her products out in person there, online, or at any number of events she’s attending.

Zodica Perfumery is set to release full-size perfume bottles (pictured above) very soon. Kristi also has plans to launch new product lines and a full men’s collection. Stay up to date with her and all the happenings over at Zodica Perfumery on Instagram.

All images supplied by Zodica Perfumery.