Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Daly.
Hi Samantha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Explicit Essentials started in my Queens, New York apartment when I was looking for a gift to help a friend de-stress. I couldn’t find anything that felt right, so I decided to make something myself. What started as a creative outlet quickly turned into a business.
From the beginning, I wanted to do things differently. I didn’t want to create overly precious or serious self-care products. I wanted to make really good products that were fun, giftable, and felt like something you would actually want to give your best friend. The humor and profanity became a huge part of the brand because it felt authentic to how I talk and how so many women actually talk.
What started as a small project eventually grew into a full-fledged bath and body company. I moved from New York to Tennessee, built a team, expanded our product line and operations, and eventually moved into a much larger warehouse as the business continued to grow. Today, Explicit Essentials sells online and through wholesale and retail channels across the country.
I never really had a grand plan to build the company it has become. I found something I thought was missing, made it myself, and kept following the opportunity as it grew.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth road? Never heard of her.
In the beginning, the biggest challenge was simply figuring out how to run a business when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I learned by doing, making mistakes, fixing them, and occasionally making the same mistake twice just to really drive the lesson home. There was no roadmap, so I had to build one while I was driving.
Then the business started growing, and suddenly the problems got bigger. What worked when it was just me absolutely did not work when we had a team, a warehouse, thousands of products to make, and customers ordering from multiple sales channels. I had to learn how to hire, delegate, create systems, and most importantly, accept that I couldn’t be involved in every single decision.
There have also been the wonderfully glamorous parts of entrepreneurship that nobody puts on Instagram: supply chain disasters, technology that mysteriously stops working, advertising platforms deciding they hate you, cash flow headaches, inventory nightmares, and days when you question every life choice that led you there.
But honestly, those challenges have probably shaped the company more than the easy wins. Every time I’ve thought, “I have no idea how we’re going to figure this out,” we’ve eventually figured it out. Usually with a lot of swearing and a slightly better system on the other side.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Explicit Essentials is a bath and body brand for women who like their self-care with a little more personality. We make everything from shower steamers and bath salts to lotions and fragrance mists, but our shower steamers have really become our signature product.
What sets us apart is that we refuse to take the typical approach to self-care. Our products are intentionally irreverent, unapologetic, and a little inappropriate. The names make people laugh, but underneath the humor are genuinely good, thoughtfully made products with fragrances people actually want to use.
I’m probably most proud that we’ve managed to build a brand with a very strong personality without sacrificing quality. There are plenty of products that are funny, and there are plenty that are well made. I wanted to prove you could have both. We can make someone laugh when they open the package and still have them come back because the product is actually good.
I’m also very proud of the community we’ve built around the brand, particularly the way people buy Explicit Essentials for other friends. Our customers are constantly sending products to their best friends, sisters, daughters, coworkers, moms and girlfriends. It’s become this really fun form of friend-to-friend communication: I see you. I know you’re exhausted. You deserve five minutes to yourself.
At the end of the day, I want people to know that Explicit Essentials isn’t about telling people to be less busy or take life more seriously. It’s about giving them something that makes them smile, makes them feel good.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I think the biggest thing I’d want people to know is that you don’t have to fit the traditional picture of what a successful woman, business owner, or entrepreneur is supposed to look like.
You can build something because you genuinely love it. You can change your mind along the way. You can be ambitious and still want a life outside of work. You can swear, make mistakes, start over, and still be really damn good at what you do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.explicitessentials.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explicitessentials
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExplicitEssentials/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@explicitessentials
