b"CHANGING MARKETSJenn Harper, left, is the founder of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics, a successful sustainable beauty line now available in Sephora and JCPenney storesAs a small business, there's no way webusiness grow dramatically, and ourmoments? Is it going to last? Well, what could employ full-time people acrosssales in Sephora grew because we'rewe're doing is we're just continuing to the country, Harper says. in more places. We're creating brandprovide our incredible products, and awareness, Harper says. we know that these people finding us Initially, Cheekbone Beauty tried hiringin this movement will be loyal to us for throughvariousco-opmarketingWhile many companies have beena long time. programs and using social media influ- impacted negatively by the announce-encers for a couple of years to try andment of U.S. tariffs in recent months,A loyal customer base, adds Harper, is grow and promote the brand but foundCheekbone Beauty has actually experi- one of the keys to the companys success. the return on investment was not worth- enced an uptick in sales to date. We'veThe customer return rate for purchasing while. Instead, the company has goneseen higher traffic coming from Canadaproducts at Cheekbone Beauty is 65 per back to its roots, getting in front ofbecause of the Buy Canadian move- cent, compared to an industry norm thats potential customers at smaller store- ment, Harper says. Is this a trend? Isunder 30 per cent, she notes. fronts and boutiques. We've seen ourthis something that's one of those viral Still, while customers are loyal, the impact of tariffs on the supply chain for producing the products could have nega-tive repercussions. With the economy and supply chain, there is a serious Everyone Has a Role to Play in ripple effect. Short-term, we will be able COMING TOGETHER to survive this. However, long-term, I don't have the answers for that, Harper to Promote, Strengthen, and Enhance a Prosperous Indigenous Economy says. So, I'm just going to address it as short-term, looking through this lens of focusing on our Canadian customers.Since theBuy Canadian movement began, Harper says the company has been getting 1,000 new customers a week across Canada. This surge in national sales has led it to reevaluate its North American sales strategy.We've always just lumped Canada and the U.S. together. We've never really looked at everything regionally when we're trying to expand. We were trying to grow the whole thing. Maybe, for now, we just focus on our Canadian customers, and then those tariffs won't impact us as greatly, Harper says. Maybe this is going to set us up for more success in WWW.ESFOX.COM | 905-354-3700 the future when these four years are over, NIAGARA FALLS | PORT ROBINSON | HAMILTON | TORONTO | OSHAWA | KINGSTON | THUNDER BAY | SARNIA | KINCARDINE and we have a new administration in the U.S.46A CCIB PUBLICATIONSummer 2025"