EP23. Starting an Ethical Skincare Business

Hello and welcome to the Formula Botanica Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you want to find out more about our award winning online natural and organic cosmetic science courses, then head over to formulabotanica.com and try out our free sample class. This week I'm interviewing Anjo RuPaul from Abarti Swiss about starting a brand with integrity and meaning and being purpose driven in business. Enjoy. Hello and welcome to the podcast, Andrew.

Thank you, Gemma, and thank you for having me again.

It's an absolute pleasure. So I know that Lorraine had recorded an interview with you that's on our YouTube channel, but that was quite a while ago and you got in touch with us and said, hey, let's have another catch up because so much has been happening for you. So I thought for the benefit of our listeners, if you could introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background and your brand.

Okay. So my name is Anju Rupal and the brand is Abati Swiss. Abati Swiss is a mission driven beauty brand that marries ayurvedic healing botanics with Swiss technology to guarantee its efficacy. The beauty of Abati is not only the work that we do with the tribal farmers from whom we source our botanics from, but every pop bottle, every product sends a girl to school.

And yeah, you've got loads of projects that you're working on and you should go and have a look at the Abarti Swiss website because it's got so much information about what they're doing.

Yeah, we're trying to. It's very difficult to tell the story of the various layers and this isn't a brand that's just popped out recently, as I mentioned, or as you mentioned Isa earlier on your YouTube channel. So we started, we crowdfunded in December 2013, launched our first product in 2014 and then it took us three years to launch the hair and body line. It was like five SKUs. So it's been a whole process behind it. But I basically knew that from my background what I was going to do was going to be impact driven and really be something that was more than just around self care with beauty products, but holistically sort of looking after each other as well. And that's what I feel the brand mission is and that's what we're trying to do.

Yeah, there's like I said, there's so much going on. So you really should go and have a look at what they're doing and we'll talk a little bit about it a bit later in the podcast. But what of the things I wanted to talk about was the Sephora Accelerator program. So you were selected to participate in that, right?

Yeah, that's correct. I found out about it when I think the deadline had finished. So it was a couple of days after the deadline. But I submitted just a small blurb about myself and the brand and apparently they looked at and they thought oh this is just too good, they're just much further. So we would have actually been thrown out as a brand. But then they delved into it and saw we were very sort of much in the early stage. It's been amazing. It's been a journey where we've been chosen. We were one of the first European companies brands to be chosen for the Sephora Accelerator group and they have. Their goal is to have a substantial amount of female brands businesses because they feel that the beauty space is just underrepresented by female business owners correctly. So as well to explain what it. And I said that in an interview. It's like an accelerated MBA basically because you have access to the marketing team from Sephora. You have access to dynamic people work in sales and retail branding. You're allocated a mentor who follows you through the whole year and supports you. I'm going through capital raising right now as well where there was all pitch in the US which I was invited to and you have to then pitch in front of investors that are invited to the event to the day. So you really taken at a very accelerated rate through the whole basically how to run a business, how to grow, how to scale, how to. And they really, really do give all the resources out there and everything that's possible for you to achieve.

My gosh, it sounded amazing. So do you get to network with other people who are also going through this program or the group?

There were 10, 13 women and you get to. It's like a boot camp. You get to spend a week with each other. You can. I mean we're obviously still in conferen contact and you can share your ups and downs because it's lonely as well. It's a very lonely space. It looks all really glamorous, but it's not. I mean you end up working like seven days. You know what it's like. It's just like building a business on a very sort of lean and frugal way. But it's a very supportive mechanism as well. And just everyone just really wants to support each other and make sure that everyone does real, really well. And it's just, it's just a gem that's out there and I would really, really say to everyone who listens to this podcast, because there's a new one coming out now for 2019 and I'll share the links and everything with you. Sign up. Even if you just have an idea for a brand. There was even one woman in our group who had no product, nothing. She had just an idea. And that idea has been now crystallized into a product. So wherever you're at, and you've already always wanted to be in this space, be it technology, if you want to build, because it's not only beauty brands, it's also technology brands around beauty that they're interested in. It's sustainable packaging, sustainable material, because there was an engineer who was in our group as well. So it's everything around beauty or packaging. It's also around the formulations as well. So there's one who's addressing formulations which are safe and, and that's something that doesn't come across. And that's what I just wanted to share with everyone. So just sign up and send whatever you have and go through the process, the Sephora process.

I mean, it sounds like an absolutely incredible experience. And I bet that one of the things that probably they were attracted to you and your story is how kind of purpose driven you are at Abarti and how interested you yourself are in the kind of impact part. So I wanted to very much talk about your kind of work that you do or the impact part of Abarti. And I know that you said sometimes it's, it's difficult to explain all the different levels, but you founded the business so you could have an impact. And I wanted you to expand on that and explain how you built that part of the business.

Well, I come from the social sector, so I worked many, many years in the social space with a focus on gender inequalities. And I was came to Switzerland to run a women's refuge here as well. And I've always been in the service industry, so that was always something that was very, very, I always enjoyed doing and I saw the purpose behind it. But I left the social part because I just got very burnt out running after funding, running after funds to keep those projects running. So by default I became an entrepreneur and I actually realized I could make money doing it. And the last business I launched was the first privatized walk in emergency clinic for children in Zurich. And there I made sure that our pediatricians did pro bono stints in developing countries like Africa and India, etc. So it was always, I realized at a very early stage that you had to run a business that had a very strong impact attached to it. And it also showed as well with the staff retention, etc. And at the same time I launched Swiss Medikits, I also launched a foundation here in Switzerland called We Forest. And it was an idea from a business friend of mine and I executed it on it. And last year we celebrated planting 18 million trees globally. And trees are the best technology to cool the earth. So we were addressing climate change with We Forest. And We Forest, to just cut a long story short, gave me access to the tribal farmers with whom I work and where we source our materials, raw materials from. And that's how Abarti started. And I knew that was going to be products that were just very high end. And I knocked at the doors at a list of people who I knew I wanted to work with, who are phenomenally successful in the beauty industry, have a brand of their own or have a lot of acknowledgments, sort of as formulators, etc. Have worked on some beautiful brands and asked them if they would support me through this and they all said yes. Even the design team, who are the in house design team? Paperlux. They work for brands like Hermes and have worked in the past for Alexander and McQueen. So it was just really all people who just heavily wanted to, who have worked many years in the luxury industry and wanted to pay it forward. And that's how a party has come about.

Wow. Okay. So that's one kind of layer of it. And let's talk about the work that you're doing to empower women and girls as well.

So what happened was that's also been a very sort of, that's been a big passion of mine, sort of the empowerment. And I'm a true firm believer that education is the only society sustainable way for girls to step out of poverty. And I've seen that as well with the work that I do. So I wanted to, or I saw with the work that we were doing with Abati Swiss that there were many girls that weren't going to school in areas like Rajasthan, for example. And that's why that was also then addressed at the end. So it's really a brand that addresses 360 degrees of provenance and transparency through the whole value chain of our products. And then the end result that we've topped it up because it just kept happening that we realized we had to address education because there were just areas in India where there was a very high gender disparity. And that's where we work with NGOs who do fabulous work in that area but are always struggling for funds to keep running. And that's where we support them with the funds that we send over.

Wow. So you essentially use the money that you make to reinvest in women and girls education.

Yeah. So all the money that's made from the products obviously goes into the raw materials and the packaging, etc. And then whatever's left over is after all the running costs etc covered are paid. It's a very, very lean business. It's a very. I mean, we don't sit in a glass house or anything. The office has been gifted to us by a company that's really loves the work in return for products, of course, in lieu for smelling nice. But it's just a very heart driven, beautiful project and it just warms everyone who's involved in this. So I'm often asked, well, if they're not earning anything, why are they doing this? And it's really like naughty elves who go into the laboratory here and mix their potions and then they leave. So we will never have a large line of products, but we will always have a very curated, very high end of very good quality products that you'll always come back to. And our hair is just like flying from the shelves. The hairline, because it really does address the fact that a lot of people are having problems with their scalp, for example, at the moment. It's very beautifully very sort of clean line that just really cleans your hair but also protects it as well. But it's also formulated in such a way that it gets rid of all the gunge and the buildup that you have so you can go. You actually literally go through a detox phase without Free Trio products that we have. So there was a lot of thought that's gone into that. And I know Larda, who did the hair formulations. She said that she always wanted to address the fact that there are a lot of people, men and women, because it's a unisex line, who just really want to go and step into the clean space and have products which are also biodegradable but have a lot of buildup. And she wanted to address that. That so that they could do that transition as well.

Wow. I mean, it's absolutely fascinating all of these different things that you've built into your business. And I know that we've had previous podcasts that talk a lot about sustainability and provenance of ingredients and transparency in the supply chain. So I wonder if you could just expand a little bit on your Experience of working with tribal farmers. I mean, was that always an objective of yours? Is that always how you wanted it to be? That you know, and how has that worked out? I mean, how do you get the things from them? How do you have meaningful kind of communication with them to then, you know, pass on the impact into your business? Good.

It took us, there's a reason why it took us three years to really develop the line. I mean, we had to really address the whole value chain, how it's set, how we work with the farmers. Also at the beginning there was a lot of lead as well in the tests that we were doing here in the lab, purely because of the fact that we had to clean the soil. There was pesticide and some of them, although we work with tribal farmers, we also source some of our ingredients like neem, etc. From the farmers that we work with. And also sandalwood, for example, has died out in India. But we have a few farmers who are working with us and have built that or growing that on our behalf. But being an environmentalist, sustainability is something that's very, very dear to me and very important. And I wanted to address the fact that habitat are actually being destroyed. I saw that with the tribal farm as a whole thing around biodiversity as well. And there's just so much happening right now. We're all running to natural, natural, natural, but we're actually not thinking about what's happening in the back end. So where. And I'm seeing that very closely as well. There's a lot of botanics and plants that because the industry is driving us there won't exist anymore because they're just being depleted or there's heavily adulterated stuff to make up for that. I'm a firm believer now and I see that working with the team of chemists as well, who are very, who are specialists in the green beauty space. There are good synthetics and I. And we spend. When we're always getting sort of emails or I hear that from other companies who are in this space, sort of the Internet has made this into a real fear mongering aspect. And there are good synthetics and there are bad synthetics and there are good natural products and there are bad natural products, but no one sort of. And also the fact that every chemical is a matter as well. And I just sit there thinking sometimes why am I wasting my time on stuff like this when there's really important stuff to address. And that's one of my concerns. I think we're just not educated or we're falsely Educated. There's a lot of fear mongering happening at the moment. So we actually, interestingly enough that you asked this question, we actually launched our brand without talking about any of the no nos. So we wanted to just talk very positive about the ingredients that we have. Beautiful, beautiful oils, sort of really well, very high end ingredients. And that was our communication. What's happening now we're realizing is we have to turn that around and really now start up because so many people are asking, do you have this? Do you have that? We have to actually go in and say and declare that now on, I don't know, in a store or something. Because that's the only way that the consumer will switch onto a new brand like Abarti Swiss and buy it. Because if they don't know you and we don't even look green. We went against everything that was out there and did the complete opposite. You have to now market in such a way that you do have to put forward forward, unfortunately what consumers want to hear. And another thing is I see that possibly because I'm more in the US space but there's no legislation there. So here, I mean formulating in Switzerland, it's so strict and I mean they banned like what, 1300 ingredients here. So you don't even ask for. You don't even think of saying things like that. And you're not actually going to be allowed to put things like that on your packaging from is legally not going to be allowed anymore. I think it's already changed. So where you get into a dilemma where when you're in a space like the USA that they're so used to the other side where you say all these ingredients aren't in there, then you have to list it all. It's just you're fighting against like the good guys who are fighting against the. It's just crazy.

It's just, I mean it's definitely a challenge. I mean, I know that when we chatted before this podcast, you know, you were saying that one of the things you liked about Formula Botanica is that we're trying to challenge myths in the natural and organic beauty sector. And you're absolutely correct. I mean we've done numerous podcasts on, you know, shades of natural and chemical free cosmetics and that sort of thing. And we really are trying to put a lot of effort into education pieces so that people understand on, try to focus on what is in your ingredient in your products. We've always said this rather than what's not in them. But I completely agree with you that there's obviously still quite a lot of education that is needed as there's still so much fear mongering about specific ingredients. And I think unfortunately that compromises sometimes the quality and integrity and efficacy of products because people are so afraid to put certain things in them that they've now lost sight of the value of certain ingredients. And some of them, like you say, maybe some synthetic.

And I see it, I mean, not many people know, but the Swiss technology is just so advanced in the chemistry area. I mean really, I really. In the green beauty space, they're doing amazing, amazing stuff. I mean, we're going to be launching a face mask that, where the face mask is made out of leaves has basically. I mean, it also addresses the wee forest relationship that we have, but it's all biodecompostable and it's just the first ever. It's like leaves, basically putting leaves on your face, the mask, and then you drench it with our potion. But it's an interesting space and I've really gone into it to be very supportive towards everyone and I don't like sort of saying anything bad about other brands. And I think there's enough, there's. It's such a huge space and everyone fits in here. I just think you just be mindful of the fact that consumers are just, just getting confused.

It's no benefit to anyone when consumers are confused.

Also the fact that I'm seeing more and more, I don't know, maybe it's just coming up more and more that 70% of these creams seep into your skin and the visuals that they put out there or they do from there, it's just like, are you kidding?

I know it's one of the myths. And I think we're probably going to do a big podcast on the Myth that you're 70% of everything into your skin.

So with that sharing, we're not growing fast because we didn't know that route. We didn't. We just focused on just being better with our products and everything around it, but not necessarily being bigger. I just think you also need time to grow a brand. You have to go through all the hiccups and the challenges that you have. But we just wanted to create a really, a brand that people love and want and it adds value not only to your life, but to others. That's it.

And very strong messages, I think. And that comes across really well in your website and your branding. And I wanted to talk a little bit about that because in the run up to this podcast, we Had a talk and we discussed the saturation of the skincare market. And what did you kind of do to try and stand out in an increasingly competitive and saturated market?

Not good stuff. I mean, we have no marketing. I mean, we just don't have the funds to do that. I think Sephora must have really helped. I mean, being part of this accelerator group and then other people hearing about us or buying the product. I mean, there's a famous makeup artist who walked into Credo or other stores where we are and fallen in love with our brand, even written to us. So we're getting support and we're getting support really from influential people. And even some amazing things are happening. And I just think it's serendipity. It's nothing that that has been chased after. It's just happened, but it's really saturated. There's some brands that are just doing an amazing, amazing job and they're doing it through their marketing and their skill of how they write about the brand. I don't have that. And a lot of it has really been done sort of ad hoc by us, but it is what it is. And I just think you can't push someone to. You can't stick it under their nose. I think if it happens, it's supposed to happen. If they've fall in love, then great. And what we're seeing is people just keep coming back and buying more. So I think that's proven as well. We should have done things. I think what I would advise others to do if they have an online site is to put testimonials and things up there. We didn't do it because we're so heavily aesthetically driven that we sort of felt that would sort of, yeah, bring away the aesthetic. So we never did that. But there are some amazing brands who really roll on that and get their sort of their loyal consumers to write and encourage them to write. And I think that just helps to do the conversion that's needed. But we're not. I mean, asking me that question, I'm the last one because I just end up. I don't even tell half the story and I just forget and I walk out of meetings and I think, oh, shit. And also in. It sounds as if we're really far through the fact that we got into Sephora, but it doesn't necessarily, necessarily mean that you're going to get into a Sephora store as well. I still face a challenge of getting into places because there's just so many out there. And if you do a great, great brand sort of thing around how the products work, what it does for you. I mean, I'm crap at things like that. I just talk about how many trees we planted and. And I talk about the girls going to school, but I never, ever talk about the fabulous ingredients we have.

Have.

And why they're pulled together. And the Abati complex, which has been. Which goes through the whole line. I think you said that last time as well. I fire up and I talk about the impact and I do get emails from the women when I trained them in stores, just saying how inspired they were through just. But how different. It was just my training, because usually they hear about how many lines they're going to lose through the cream and how many years younger they'll look. And I don't go into the. That direction. I just go into who you're going to feel about yourself and what went into the products and why they've been formulated that way. And that's it. Because I don't like the word anti aging.

Yes, no, I know we talked about that. We're both against that term.

I think it's a privilege to age. And I just think it's like women shaming. And I don't need that. No, I don't.

No. Well, I guess that's your unique selling point, because when we chatted before this podcast and I said, oh, my gosh, you're so. So you're making me feel so inspired about wanting to, you know, go out into the world and do more things to help people. And I think probably that's why people feel attached to your products and want to get involved, because I think that passion comes through and you feel like you're becoming a part of something bigger by buying the products, by using the products. And I think for me, that was, you know, such an innovative thing, because there's not that many things that make me feel that way in the world at the moment. Not to be doom and gloom, because that's not what I am, but. Or how I feel. But yeah. So I think that was something very, very unique for me and why I wanted to talk to you a bit more about that, because there's so many people that have these passions and have these projects that they want to invest in, and they're like, how can I make this part of my business? And you've done that.

But I do firmly believe, Gemma, this is the only planet we have, and we have to look after each other and we have to look after where we live. And I do know that I have the skill set sort of from many years of working in various industries. So I just wanted to, for me, it's a means of really sort of doing something that I love anyway. I mean, I've been. I'm an Indian, sort of born in London, and my grandmother and my mother were very, very heavily into the whole Ayurvedic sort of the healing. And so that has been embedded into our brand, but done in such a way that it's easy, easy and accessible. But it is very much the sort of Ayurvedic also philosophy of really looking after not only yourself, but others around you. I love beautiful products. I love aesthetics, but I just, there has to be a bigger picture for me. And that was always the case. And I do firmly believe, and I see that more and more, that we're all voting for the sort of world we want to live in with our wallet. And I just hope that continues news that way and that we really do support brands and companies who are just doing amazing stuff out there and there's so many of them.

Yeah, I absolutely agree. Thank you so much, Anju, for joining us and for taking the time out of your schedule to record this podcast. I found it really, really inspiring.

Thank you.

Jemma, thank you so much for joining us and for listening to our interview with Anju. I hope that you found it interesting and enlightening and that it can give you some sort of inspiration in starting your own skincare business. If you want to join in on the global green beauty conversation, then head over to formulabatanica.com and find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Formula Botanica. You can also join our free Facebook group, Skincare Entrepreneur Mastermind. Once again, thank you for listening.

Sam.