Botanical beauty and wellness brand Anima Mundi has opened a second location and acquired essential oil company Floracopeia.
The new apothecary and tonic bar in Los Angeles’s Venice neighborhood boasts a verdant backyard of native plants and butterflies and a second-floor Airbnb with a mini fridge stocked with the adaptogenic-packed drinks Anima Mundi has become known for. In 2017, the brand opened its first flagship tonic bar and factory in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint area. Anima Mundi also operates the tonic bar and sells products at Manhattan beauty and wellness destination The Alchemist’s Kitchen.
In Venice, Anima Mundi’s 2,500 square foot location is a few blocks from the popular shopping street Abbot Kinney on Rose Avenue. “I kind of prefer it to Abbot Kinney,” says founder Adriana Ayales. “You have great restaurants and beautiful makers, and there’s not Gap and Madewell and all the big corporations.”
Anima Mundi purchased Floracopeia from founder David Crow for an undisclosed price. Crow, a master clinical herbalist, aromatherapist and acupuncturist, is concentrating on his practice and education. Established in 2004, the brand will be brought under the Anima Mundi label. Anima Mundi expects to cull select Floracopeia products while adding single essential oil essences in the near future.
A native of Costa Rica, Ayales descends from a long line of herbalists and has spent over a decade building Anima Mundi as a go-to resource for herbal remedies. In Venice, the brand assumed a location previously occupied by Yanapuma, a shop with Indigenous South American art with owners who moved to Hawaii. Ayales says, “There was no true apothecary anywhere in LA, so we felt like it was a gap to fill.”
Renovating the space to transform it into Anima Mundu took about two months and cost around $150,000, including the Airbnb. While the store sells Anima Mundi’s ingestible powders and tinctures formulated with over 200 herbs such as maca, palo santo and guaraná, the bestsellers by far so far are freshly made drinks featuring the brand’s products, particularly blue lotus matcha, golden milk and mushroom coffee.
In addition, the store serves mocktails enhanced with mood-boosting herbs and sells beauty, wellness and lifestyle products from herbalist Rachelle Robinett, candles from Crescent & Craft and ceramics from Studio J. Dubois ceramics, among products from several independent makers.
Events and activities are a cornerstone of the location. There will be meditation priced on a sliding scale, cacao ceremonies and ice baths with sound healing. Ayales says, “We really want to make it an educational center, a true grassroots community place where people can come connect and have authentic experiences.”
“It’s so important for people to walk into boutiques and try things out. I don’t want that world to disappear.”
After the pandemic and Apple iOS privacy updates that made direct-to-consumer distribution challenging, independent beauty and wellness brands have increasingly viewed stores as strategic vehicles for awareness and sales. Ayales is a huge proponent of cultivating a community in person and considers the money Anima Mundi put toward completing its Venice location as a wiser investment than sinking $150,000 into influencer marketing.
However, not everyone was as on board with Anima Mundi opening a second apothecary. Ayales says a number of savvy businesspeople told her not to do it. She recounts they advised her, “It makes no sense. Do not spend your money. It’s a waste of time.” She argues they don’t fully grasp the marketing capabilities of a brick-and-mortar store.
“The percentage of risk logistically of a store is not as high, if you talk dollar to dollar, in my experience. People come and post about you, people experience your product, then tell their friends and then their friends go,” says Ayales. “That has so much power versus just seeing products online and buying something on Amazon and giving it a try. It’s so important for people to walk into boutiques and try things out. I don’t want that world to disappear.”
Ayales is a proponent of commerce, too. Anima Mundi’s website will be revamped in the coming months. Beyond its site and its own stores, the brand is available at Erewhon, Beauty Heroes and many other physical and online beauty retailers. To date, it hasn’t had outside investment, though there have been offers. “It’s still just me,” says Ayales. “I can’t believe we’ve held onto that for so long.”
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