# 208: Choosing Quality Materials for Your Consumer Product

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2023-12-29
- Length: 21m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product
- Listen: https://productstartup.com/

## Summary

Kelley Thornton, CEO of Tiege Hanley, explains how the direct-to-consumer skincare brand prioritized high-quality, efficacious ingredients like hexyl peptideate and retinol to differentiate itself in the market. She details the strategic decision to control material specifications down to the specific chemical vendor to ensure consistency and supply chain control, rather than relying on manufacturers to define product quality. Thornton emphasizes the importance of clear intellectual property agreements when manufacturers suggest formulation changes and discusses how high margins are necessary to sustain the cost of premium materials. The episode highlights the value of early-stage material selection in building brand equity and customer trust through visible results.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product#t=0) Introduction: Kelley Thornton and Tiege Hanley
- [2:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product#t=126) Thornton's background in packaging and retail strategy
- [4:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product#t=244) Strategic decision to prioritize efficacy and ingredient control
- [5:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product#t=326) Managing manufacturer relationships and tech transfer
- [10:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product#t=602) Intellectual property ownership and formulation changes
- [11:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product#t=673) Marketing efficacy and global compliance standards
- [14:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product#t=871) Value engineering and maintaining margins over time

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Tiege Hanley (company)
- Mako Design (company)
- hexyl peptideate (other)
- retinol (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Advice Line with Serial Entrepreneur Mark Cuban](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-29-advice-line-with-serial-entrepreneur-mark-cuban) (How I Built This)
- [Advice Line with Michael Preysman of Everlane](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-10-24-advice-line-with-michael-preysman-of-everlane) (How I Built This)
- [Tallow, Trust, and Testing: Inside My Neighbor's Rapid Growth](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-09-11-tallow-trust-and-testing-inside-my-neighbors-rapid-growth) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Jilleo Recio of RĒJINS](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-10-18-founder-feature-jilleo-recio-of-rejins) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Advice Line with Peter Rahal of RXBAR](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-04-10-advice-line-with-peter-rahal-of-rxbar) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-12-29-208-choosing-quality-materials-for-your-consumer-product. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Product Startup.