EP247. How to build a heritage beauty brand - Evelyn Akande from Kanda Natural

Imagine creating a skincare brand that not.

Only brings out the best in natural botanical ingredients, but also embodies a sense of cultural pride and heritage. If you've ever felt inspired to build something meaningful, to make a difference in the world of beauty, or to share a part of your own story through your own beauty brand, then this episode is for you. Here at Formula Botanica, we love to celebrate our graduates who've taken their dreams and crafted them into successful, impactful beauty brands. And today we're exploring the journey of Kanda Natural, a skincare brand rooted in Nigeria's rich botanical heritage. Founder Eve Lynn started with a vision to honor her local ingredients and local traditions. And through passion and lots of dedication, she's turned that vision into a brand that not only serves her community, but also educates and uplifts people. So if you're looking for a dose of inspiration or wondering how you can make your own mark in the beauty industry, stay with me for today's episode.

Because you'll learn all about the challenges.

The breakthroughs and the journey of someone who began with a passion and transformed that passion into a beautiful business.

Welcome to Green Beauty Conversations in which.

I challenge the beauty industry to become sustainable, champion, independent and green beauty and encourage you to join me in changing beauty for better. I'm your host, Lorraine Darnayan.

I'm a chartered environmentalist, biologist and the.

CEO of award winning online organic cosmetic formulation school Formula Botanica. We have tens of thousands of students in over 190 countries around the world who study with us to become organic beauty formulators and entrepreneurs.

Visit our website@formulabotanica.com to try our free online formulation course. And if you want to be the.

First person to know what's happening in green beauty, make sure you subscribe to this podcast in your favorite podcast app.

So in today's episode I'm joined by.

Evelyn Akande, the Creative Director and formulator at Kanda Natural Nigerian based beauty brand committed to showcasing the wealth of West African ingredients ingredients in natural skincare. Launched in 2022, Kanda offers a range of premium products including balms and oils which are handcrafted in small batches to be gentle and effective for all skin types. Since its inception, Kanda has built a reputation for creating trusted, high quality body care products while cultivating a vibrant community of natural skincare enthusiasts. Evelyn believes that achieving healthy skin doesn't require an abundance of products, which is why she is so passionate about harnessing the power of African botanical. Evelyn advocates for the responsible use of West Africa's natural resources celebrated for their exceptional skincare benefits.

Hi Evelyn, how are you doing today?

Hi Loren, nice to see you. I'm fine, thank you. And you?

I am good. I'm really looking forward to this interview with you and I can't wait to hear all about your story.

So could you please introduce yourself and.

Tell us about the brand that you've created.

Aha.

Okay.

I'm Evelyn from Nigeria, West Africa. The brand is called Kanda. Kanda. It's actually pronounced. It's Kanda. It is. It means hedge or protection from bachama language that is spoken in Adamawa state where I am from in Nigeria. And we pride ourselves in being junk free and you know, a natural body care brand that just intensifies the beauty of natural ingredients. Especially because our ingredients are sourced locally from Nigeria and West Africa. So we really are big on educating people on what these rich ingredients have. We have a product range of about eight products. We have body balms, we have body oils, we have facial oils, we have lip balms, we have cold pressed soaps and things like that really. So we are your, you can call it your foundational skincare because we found out that a lot of our people were using all sorts of harmful things on their bodies and Nigeria has this rich ingredients and we felt it was very good to educate people on all of these things so they're able to use them and that's why not just educating them but also showing them how it can be used and what this product can be turned into and just all of that beauty and bringing it together. So that's what we do as a brand and that's what we stand for, really letting people know what we have in Nigeria and how it works for us on our skin.

I love this. I love this so much. We're going to dive into all of those different aspects throughout the interview. But before we do that, can you.

Tell me what inspired you to start your business?

So it started from a personal story because I have a son, one of my sons has really quite sensitive skin and the boy loves to just be a boy, you know, play all around and have all sorts of things come up on him, his skin. And because I was somewhat into the natural sphere, I just knew, oh, there was shea butter, there was coconut oil and those things were good. And it was things like that I would use on, you know, his skin and that of his siblings. And it will work here and there, but of course it wouldn't do all the work and all of that. So I started to read up more about this natural ingredients, their benefits, what they could do, what you couldn't do, and all that.

You.

And then I also enrolled in a couple of other skincare courses and eventually I did Formula Botanica too. And of course, the knowledge I learned from that helped me. I started to make products. I would give friends, I would give families, and the feedback was good. And then looking at the market and looking at, oh, we have more synthetic chemical products than the natural product. So why are we not using our natural resources? I mean, we have a lot of them, we have tons of them that can be used here in this region. Why aren't we using that? So it was all of that that made me delve into skincare and trying to figure out, what can it be, Wonka? What can be done? You know, it doesn't just stop in soaps. We have creams, we have balms, we have for the lip, we have for the face and all of that. So that was really what birthed the brand and this passion and this interest, you can say.

Amazing. Well, let's talk a little bit about the ingredients. I mean, you've obviously chosen to work with ingredients that are local to you in Nigeria and West Africa. Tell me, first of all, why that's so important to you and to Canada.

So I think, first of all, the fact that they've been placed here where we are stationed means it should be good for us, it should be something that will be beneficial for us, you know, so, because we are the people here, we are the people with the skin tones. And this is what our forefathers have used for a while, you know, so it is now for us to figure out, okay, what did they do well, what didn't they do well? So I felt there must be something in there and, and then researching all of these things to find out, I mean, all the world uses shea butter now, and we grow it, we have it here, you know, so it's it the cocoa butters, is it the coconut oil, the palm canal oil. All of these things are things that now the world has come to accept. And they, they are things that we have here. So for me, it was important to start with what we have, especially because also because of import and export issues, I don't want to have to start a business. And I'm now trying to figure out where to get my source, my raw materials, and I can see how it's grown. I can see the sourcing, I can see the farmers. I have direct access to them. I can see what they're doing. I can also help them, you know, make this, their process better, make it a long term thing. So it was all of these things that made me stick to ingredients that I could find close to me that I could work with. Of course, the nutrients. You know, like when you read so much, when you read up much and you see the research that has been done for years, you get to see the beauty and, you know, what all of these ingredients have to offer. It just makes me happy to be able to delve into all of that.

I love these ingredients so much as well. And I mean, it's funny really, because of course, when people start with Formula Botanica, when they haven't ever formulated before, we're often using those exact ingredients as well because they are so beautiful. Now you've mentioned a few, you've mentioned shea butter, you've mentioned coconut oil. Tell me what other types of ingredients you use that you can see sauce like.

So there are tons of them there. There's something we call moringa. We have moringa. We have things like moringa. So we use the, leave, we use the, you know, when it's made into, use the liquid to get oil from it. There's that. We have our own type of olives that we kind of, we have locally here. That's something we've also delved into to see. Okay. This is something that is, you know, good for us and the properties that it has. And it's similar, you know, some of the properties are quite similar to what we usually would have imported. We do a lot of coconut oil here too, which is, you know, very good for the skin, for the hair and things like that. We do palm carnel, we do palm kernel from the kernels of the palms. We also have, we have hibiscus. We have hibiscus, you know, so those are also things that, you know, can be used in natural skincare and has tons of benefits. Neem, it's another big one. We have neem, yes, neem oil. Antibacterial, antifungal. Really just beautiful, beautiful, you know, stuff. Yeah. So the oil, the leaves, we use, the powder, we dry them. And some of them are actually things that we know, we eat, you know, it's made, we make cuisine and all of that. So it goes way beyond. And there are things that have been used for years. We also have baobab. Baobab, very good for mature skin and all of that. So, yeah, so we have those kind of ingredients and those are the kind of ingredients that we use in our products that we find I love it.

And so you have this immense range of different, beautiful, local, natural, botanical ingredients that you can tap into. Do you source them directly from farmers.

Or how do you.

How do you find the ingredients for your formulations?

So for some, some that we use, I would say the largest raw material we use is shea butter. Some. So we get that in because it's the base for all our soaps. So that's one of, like the largest that we use. So because of the quantity we use, we're able to sort of have direct access with the farmers. But for some of them, we go through other producers who buy to also sell. But whoever we work with, we try to ensure that they're getting it from source and that it is ethically, you know, sourced, that whoever they're getting it from is doing the right thing, the right processes are being checked. And, you know, we don't want them to have to cut down trees, we don't want them to have to cause deforestation. We don't want them to have to use any ingredients that have any issues and whatnot. And even, you know, the work environment, which is why there's a lot of education and enlightenment that we do also just to educate people on how to extract some of these oils that you don't have to lose everything, you know, so it's just all of those things that we try to ensure that whoever we're buying from has all of those things in place. So we aren't doing the quantity that we can go directly to most of the suppliers and the farmers themselves, but we have access to the people we buy from, have direct access to them. So do that indirectly. Yes, yes, yes.

So let's talk a little bit about your brand.

When did you start?

We started in August 2022. That was about two years ago. Yes. So we started officially in August 2022. Prior to that, you know, of course, it was the researching phase, the trying to figure it out with family and friends and all of that. But by the time we had some things in check, we're like, okay, we're good to go. And then we launched. Yes. So that was when we started out with it. I think we launched just with our cold press soaps. I think those were the things that we. We launched. We had started to put out some bombs and all of that. We kind of put a hold on it. After I did a couple of more courses and knew what I was doing, you know, I was able to put out some other stuff out there. Yes, so.

So you've been going for just over two. Well, you've been going for just over two years now, which must have been a bit of a roller coaster. Talk me through what the last two years have been like.

I don't know what's going on. That's what I would say. I don't know what's going on. Nobody told me it'll be like this. It's been lots of highs, lots of lows, from the very first sale to, you know, the hundred to the two hundredth to the customers. But the journey has been beautiful because, as I said, it came because of my son's skin issues. So it was already personal for me. And then when I get people come in our DMs and like, oh, I used the soaps, I used the balms, I used the cream, and it worked. And, you know, my reaction, my skin reaction is fading. It just brings joy to my heart. I'm just like, wow. And, you know, and this thing is here. Like, we had all of these things. We just had to, of course, figure out a way to present it and all of that. So it's been those days. And of course, there are days where not a single sale and you're like, wow, what do I do? How do I pay salaries? How do I. What do I say? You know, trying to figure it out. And trying to do, you know, your marketing, I mean, we are still new. We're still trying to figure it out. We're still trying to find the right customers, the right markets, trying to do things well, trying to find what works, what doesn't work. And then we're still also trying to narrow down the product range because as it is, you know, when you start with family and friends, oh, I like this. Put it out as a product. Oh, I like this. Put it out. Put it out as a product. And it doesn't do well. And you have to take it down. So there's all of that narrowing it down. Try to figure out, okay, what works, what doesn't work, what do we need to tweak a bit? And of course, we've also had to tweak some ingredients. I mean, as we learn and as we aware of other ingredients that do and have better properties than others, especially in different products that we're looking at. But we see, we try to replace. Oh, does it work? Doesn't it work? And then, so we're still in that process of, I would say, trying to figure it out. But your reception has been really, really good.

That's going into business. I mean, absolutely. I've experienced those days as well.

And it's.

The highs do outweigh the lows. It's a normal part, I think, of doing business. So it sounds to me like you've been going through the entrepreneurial rollercoaster. But paint a picture for me where you are today. Like, where is your brand stock? Do you have a team? Because you obviously started by yourself. It's only been two years. It's not very long. Where are you right now?

Right now we have a team of about five people. I still formulate, I still lead most of the formulation because, I mean, we're still growing and we're still trying to find the right fit, which has also been, you know, one of these challenges, trying to find the right fit for the. For the brand. But so far, we are about five. And we started out in the. In Lagos. In Lagos, Nigeria. And then I moved down to Abuja, so. But we had a lot of our customers in Lagos, so we have kept that base, you would say. And what we do is the model we operate right now is sort of like an online model where people. Yes, people get to the distributors and then they get their products. And then here in Abuja is where we do production and we ship our products to the rest of Lagos. So we're still in talks with some supermarkets and some spas and salons and people who would like to stock our products with. Because we know that is another side of the business that has its own challenges and has its own issues that we have to be careful about. So we want to make sure we are all aligned with the people we get in business with. And, you know, that they also understand what we do and how we do what we do. Because we don't want situation where you have your products, they're not sitting properly on shelves, or, you know, they're not packaged properly, or they're not kept properly, or you have all of those issues. So we have to figure out a way to work together with all of these people. So for now, we are largely operating from Lagos and from Abuja. So those are two. The two states we operate from.

Amazing. And obviously, you've grown the business to the point that, you know, you're. You've obviously got returning customers, but you've also got five people in your team. I mean, so very short period of time actually, to grow a team of that size. What's that been like?

Challenging. Interesting. We're still on it. So it was just. I. It was just me. I did formulation, I did social media. I did everything. Yeah, but Obviously, yeah. But obviously, as you know, we started to see the reception and all that we had to do. And because of our kind of placement of where we wanted to be, we knew we had to outsource a lot of these things. So we got someone for social media. The person handles, you know, the calls, the inquiries on WhatsApp, on Instagram, because most of our customers actually are still Instagram WhatsApp people. So. Yes, yes, yes. Tons of our customers are there. So we had to get someone to handle that. Then we had to get an assistant for production to kind of assist with production. And as I said, we started in Lagos, and so now we have someone who controls operations. The person deals with all those who stock our products. The person deals with everywhere that we have our products, be distributors and whatnot. The person layers is with all of those people to sort that. And of course, the accountant making sure things are in order. You know, you're paying your taxes, you're doing what you're supposed to do, salaries are being paid on time and all of that. Yeah, so that's. Yeah. So that's about the. The team. So it's been good. It's been good when all women team, actually. So. So we just want to encourage ourselves and push ourselves to be better, to do the best we can with what we've been given. So it's a small team, but everyone has, you know, their hands full and it's still growing. So we're hoping in the next.

Congratulations.

Yes, thank you. We're hoping in the next year to be able to expand more because some of those roles have actually stretched. So we need to get more people to fill those roles. Yes, that's right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I love it. Well, congratulations. I mean, that's a very short period of time to grow a team of that size and obviously things are going well. So tell me more about the feedback that you're getting from customers. You're obviously using these beautiful West African ingredients and some maybe from slightly further afield, from across the rest of the continent, by the sounds of things as well. How is that landing with your customers?

So I love the feedback because what it just tells us is people really have been looking for this, and so they found it. It's like, aha. I knew there had to be something, you know, so most times when people come back to us, they come back to us. Wow. It's so mild. It's so gentle, you know, I don't feel like my. The oils of my skin have been stripped off. I don't feel so dry. I don't feel. So you're tight as, like your skin, everything as, you know, so it's. But I feel nourished. I feel good. I feel, you know. And of course you see the changes because, because sometimes especially with neem and whatnot, you know, when you have all sorts of skin, skin irritations, infections with children. So because I also had, because of my son, I had to like carve out something for children. So it's quite mild and gentle, you know. So I have mothers who would come in and when they use the soaps and when they use the balms and they're like, wow, you know, this works. And my son is feeling fine and my son is doing well, I love it. And you know, and they go on, you know, buying. So the feedback has really, really been beautiful. And the kind of feedback we also get is the fact that it hasn't changed anything in their, in their skin. Because that's also something now people are running away from, you know, because people have noticed that, you know, there's this thing about, oh, your skin is not beautiful, it's black, it is dark or, you know, highly melanated and whatnot. So now you have people who come to you and like, I don't want anything to tamper with my skin. I just want it to glow. I just want it to be healthy. So when they see that it actually happens, they're like, yay. You know, I got just what I was looking for. I didn't want to have to be three tones lighter or three tones darker and whatnot. I just feel like my skin is really shining and healthy and things like that. So those are the kind of feedback we get. And you know how they just tell us how we have people who tell us, well, I like the fact that you don't oversell. I like the fact that you're not over promising. And I'm like, yes, because we know what we have in what we put in our products. You know, there's no points. I, I am not going to oversell anything. I am not, I am not 12 tones lighter or 12 shades lighter. You know, I'm dark skin. And the goal is for it to be healthy, that when you see it, you're like, oh, this person's skin, you know, has a glow, is healthy, but nothing, nothing out of it. I don't want to look something else, look like something else tomorrow. So all of those kind of things are the feedback that we get and also the fact that the ingredients that we use because we're Very big on our ingredients. Even on our page. We talk about our ingredients, we talk about our ingredients, we talk about our ingredients. So people are also beginning to, to really, really like that, that, oh, you know, these things are things that I've always known. They are things that I've, I grew up seeing, but I just didn't know that it could be used like this or it had these properties or it was this beneficial and all of that. So the feedback is really, really, really, really good. It's really, really good and empowering.

That's amazing.

So not only are you helping change people's lives with the products that you're making, but it sounds to me like you're also changing people's understanding of the natural ingredients that grow around them. Are you seeing that from your customers.

Time, all the time. So that is why we had to really, really carve out education as something we do as a brand. So we have to keep telling people about this ingredients because they never knew. And it's been there. I mean, some of the ingredients, like moringa, like neem, they're things that you could just find on the streets. There could just be trees that will be there on the streets. There are some trees that, you know, people don't even care about. So for them to know that out of this tree comes this beautiful thing and you know, and it's not taking anything from me. Instead it's nourishing my body, it's making me better. I know what is going in. It's like, wow. And then another thing is when they see that you are explaining everything to them, there's nothing, you're not hiding anything. So they're always amazed that, wow, you're so transparent. You're telling us this, you're saying all of these things. So they really, really like that. And I'm very happy, you know, to be found in that kind of sector where I can say, this is what I am using. And you know, this is what he would do, this is what he does, this is what it will not do. Because sometimes you have people wanting you to wish them stars and moons and all of that. And I'm like, no, that is not it. If you want healthy skin, healthy skin you will get, you know, but if you're looking for something else, you have to go somewhere else. So it's beautiful. The feedback is beautiful.

Well, let's talk about that for a minute. Are people coming to you then asking for your products to maybe make their skin lighter?

Every day? Every day, Every day. So that's also Something that has been. Which is also behind what we've been doing, because we noticed that, first of all, this brightening and lightening agents are all over the place. They're cheaper, they are more accessible because they're everywhere. They're everywhere. In fact, sometimes people don't even know what they're using. And, you know, they just like it. Yes, they just like it, and you just use it. So many times people come to us, they come to our DMs, they come and tell you, oh, I want a soap that will make me light. I want a cream that will make me lighter. And they will send you a picture of their face. And you're like, you're beautiful. What's the problem? And you're like, I want to be two shades lighter. It's always lighter, lighter, lighter. It's never darker. It's all of those things that we find. And then you have to have a conversation with them. So we are also very big on. You don't just come into our DMs and we tell you, okay, buy this, buy this. No, no, no. We try to find out, why do you want to buy this? What are you buying it for? What are you trying to achieve? What are your goals and things like that. So we have a conversation with people, and most times when people, these lightning people come, you just realize that they've just been told a lie. You know, they've been painted all sorts of things, and they've not understood the beauty of their own skin and their textures and their tones and that everybody cannot be the same. The fact that one person's shade is lighter than yours doesn't make it better, doesn't make yours less inferior or more inferior or better than. You know, it doesn't work that way. So we have to go through that process and just tell them, you know what? When you use the products, just see what it does for you, see what it does on your skin, see how you would appreciate it better because it's just your skin being glowy, being natural, you know, coming out in its true form and in its true shape, what it actually should be, you know, but not that we're making you three tones lighter and all of those things. So they actually accept it sometimes. And sometimes it's like, nope, you're not giving me what I want to give. I'm out of here. So we try, we try, but sometimes you can win them over, and other times it's not that easy.

Do you view this as part of your big brand mission, then?

Sure, sure. Another Beautiful thing about our brand and also just being largely female is because most of the times it starts with the young girls and I mentioned earlier we being sort of like a foundational brand. So you're just starting your skincare, you know, I don't think you should start, start with the serums and the actives and you know, all of those things. Especially, you know, as a young lady, as a young woman just coming up, trying to figure out, okay, how do I take care of this? You still want to look good. So we are that kind of brand that kind of sets you on that foundation and says, come use natural ingredients, use good ingredients, ingredients that will nourish your skin, ingredients that will nourish your body when you start to age, when you start to grow, when you start to face certain challenges that might arise with your skin, then you can start to add up all of those things. So because we already have that in the back of our mind, we do outreaches, we try to reach out to secondary school girls, you know, speak to them. We try to reach out, yes, we try to do that in our own little communities. You know, every time we have an opportunity to speak to people, we speak to people that, you know, your skincare does not have to be complicated. Why does a 15 year old girl need 20 products? Why she does not need eat them? So that is it, less is more. You know, you can have all the compactness of your ingredients, you know, the, the nutrients that, you know, those, the quality there can help you and it can launch you into adulthood. So that is the message we're trying to preach. And hopefully as we grow and as we expand, as we have a bigger platform to be able to speak to people, that's what we'll keep on speaking and trying to get people to speak can see that you really don't need all that complication, really don't need tons of all those products. What you need is a few that actually work, a few that are potent, a few that are what they say they are. And that's all you need, you know, to start you on your skincare journey. So we will really, really keep on doing that because especially where we found ourselves here in Nigeria, skin bleaching has been an issue for years, for years, for years. So it's, I'm glad that we're gradually getting a hang of it and people are becoming conscious of the beauty of their dark skin. But then again, there's still work to be done because we still have a lot of those bleaching creams all littered all over the place. So those things need to go. Yeah.

Wow. I love with. I love how much passion you talk with when you're describing it, all the work that you're doing. It sounds like it's become a real passion project for you. What would you say Kanda Naturals has taught you about yourself over the last two years?

Oh, wow. I think it's a strength I didn't think I have. I had. It's just pushed me because, you know, talking about this now, I just remembered, I mean, I had someone who came to work for me. I just gave her. Because we had just finished production. And, you know, because when I work with people, I like them to actually believe what they're doing. I don't want you to just be working for me. And you don't believe in maybe natural skincare and things like that. So I always have, you know, these phases where I train them, I take them through. Okay, this is what we're doing. This is what we're doing. So we're having that conversation. You know, I just gave her some of the soap. We had made previous batches, and I'm like, okay, you go try them out. And then she started to tell me her own journey to skin care. I couldn't believe it, because she was using all sorts of things that she couldn't explain. So she would go somewhere and the person would mix all sorts of things, and they will give her in a bottle, and that's what she would use. So the next time, I think it was a couple of days later, she came back and was talking about how it was like there was some pain, there was some tingling sensation when she had used the soap. And I'm like, you know, what has happened to you? Your skin has been so sensitized that because you've been using all sorts of things that the barrier is already broken, it's damaged. It's. You know, it's weak because you haven't used things that were nourishing your skin. So for me to have that in house, for me to have that, like, right under my nose, as they say, you know, it. It was just a beautiful teaching opportunity to say, you know, look. And I could only imagine, you know, thousands of other people and millions of young girls who do not even have people to speak to them and start to bring them out of that journey. And thankfully, we've been able to have that conversation. And gradually, you know, she's been able to see that, look, I don't need all of these things. You know, this is what I need. And her skin has adjusted because right now it's now getting the actual nourishment that it needs. It wasn't taking things that were, you know, taking it out, stripping off the natural oils and all of that. So now the skin is adjusting and is coming back to itself and what it should actually be. So having that first hand for me also just made it. Wow. You know, there's so much we can achieve. Imagine going out there all the time to speak to young girls, to speak to mothers. Because we have had cases of mothers, you know, who think, you know, they want their children to be lighter. So you already start having children take all sorts of things, creams with, you know, this, melanin inhibitors and whatnot. And you wonder why would you do that to a child? But you have all of those cases. So these are the things that has made me see that, oh, you know, there's really that strength to just carry on and to do it, especially because of the results that come outside. Because people are more. People are better, you know, when they find out that they believe in a lie and they haven't been doing the right thing, you know, they are better. And you just make the society better. So, you know, it's those little things, one step at a time that we are making and just makes me, you know, just keeps pushing.

I love that.

And now you're obviously talking about you're making other people's lives better. But tell me how having Kanda Naturals has changed your life.

I think I am conscious. I am more conscious about just because, I mean, yeah, it's skincare, but it has transcended into every other everything I do from the food that I eat, because I believe it has to come from inside. You know, it comes from within to outside. So it affects everything. Because it doesn't make sense that I'm so conscious about what I put on my skin and I'm not conscious about what I eat. So even for my children, for my friends, for people around me, they see the healthy lifestyle because I want it to be, you know, it's a lifestyle is what I'm doing. So there's the dedication, there's just the intentionality. You know, it's no longer just do it for doing sake. I'm more intentional. I'm more intentional now because I know that I have a message to tell people. I have something that people need to hear. I have something that's important, something that is changing life. So it has also helped me to look at myself and to be able to Take things seriously, to be able to really figure things out, to be able to research. I don't just wake up and I go with the flow. Oh, this looks nice. And we go with it. No, I have to find out, does it work, what is it, who has said something about it, when was it said, why was it said, and things like that. So there's the intentionality, there's the love for just researching and trying to figure out what something is before I go with it. So all of those things are things that I have been learning, even in my journey as a person. Now with Kanda, which course did you.

Take at Formula Botanica? And what would you say you really took from that?

So I did the International entrepreneurial program. Yeah, so that was a couple of courses in one. So we did cosmetic stability testing, we did preservation, we did the Diploma in Organic skincare formulation and the advanced diploma and all of that. And for me, I really, really, if anyone wants to start, I'll say the person should start there. Because I sort of had an idea that I was going to start before I enrolled, so it was sort of done. But there are times where I had to just pause and face the course because I'm like, I'm learning so much and I'm knowing, you know, so much. And which is why I chose the Trust, the course I chose because I saw there were other ones I could have done. But since I wanted a brand, I was aiming to be, you know, an entrepreneur. Someone who wasn't just in it as a DIY thing, you know, it was long term, so I had to do the whole thing. So for me, learning structure, learning to actually ask the important questions first before you know. Because sometimes, you know, as creative people, you just go before you, you think and, you know, sometimes it's important to pause, take a pen, take a paper, write it down, think it through. Does it make sense? How does it look like? What does it, you know, what's the outcome? What am I hoping to achieve? So I have to go back to the calendar and draw all of those things, things again. What do I want to achieve as a brand? What do I want to focus on? What is my focus? What are, you know, the things we want to put. Do I want to just put out products for putting out product sake, or do I actually want to make a change? So I think one of the things Formula Botanica helped me out with was just the intentionality of being long term. And then when I look at a lot of the students and a lot of the people who have gone through it. And what they were doing now, it was so encouraging and empowering that, you know, these are all people that came from different backgrounds, just as I did. You know, we never had that background. We never did it. But just the ability to be able to follow your courses through, to be able to have, you know, the student guides, to be able to have the mentors, to be able to have everybody guiding you. And then when we come together on Facebook, you know, with the whole student network and everybody's just talking about, you know, the different things they're doing, it. It's beautiful to see. It's beautiful to see that, you know, sometimes we're all at different levels, but just everybody's pushing and everybody's going. And then another thing is just how wide and how vast the industry is. You never have it figured out, like, alone. No. But coming together with people, someone just says something, and before, you know, you have an idea, an idea pops in your head. You know, someone tells you, oh, I think you should package it in this. And before, you know, you know. So it's all of those things that the community was really helpful. The course itself, the content itself. I think if I didn't learn anything, it was research. If I didn't learn anything, it was research. Like, you go. Research is like, you know, it's. Everything we do has to be backed up by research. So that was really beautiful to see because. Especially because coming from a place where I had all these ingredients, I didn't know, where do I start from? How do I have to start searching for the properties? How do I know what goes in skincare? How do I know what goes in hair care? How do I know what goes in, you know, all of those things? So finding those things and seeing materials that have been worked on for years and all of. So it was really, really encouraging and beautiful to see. So it's been a beautiful experience. It's been worth it.

I'm so pleased you had such a good experience as well. Well, tell me one final question. What's next for Kanda Naturals? Where do you see the brand going in the next few years?

Growth, growth, growth. We hope to grow, we hope to expand, we hope to really leave the country. So we want to bring these beautiful products outside Africa, outside Nigeria, outside West Africa. So it could be in the uk, it could be in the US So that is our hope, that once, you know, we have our house in order, once we have everything here in the country ready to go, then we can start exporting and letting people See the beautiful things we have here in Africa from this ingredient. So that's, that's what we hope to achieve in the next couple of. Couple of years. Yes, we hope to be out there expanding, Effy.

Well, I will enjoy watching that expansion as it happens, no doubt. Evelyn, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. Where can people find out more about you and about Candana? Where can they come and buy your product?

Oh, yeah. Thank you. So our website is at www.kandanatural.com, so anybody from anywhere you can buy from there. And of course, we are on Instagram at Candanatural, on Twitter at Candanatural. On our Facebook page too. The page is Kanda. So that's where we can be found. And of course, just mention Formula Botanica. So we've got you covered because we love, we love our every family. Yes. So, yes, turn it around. We'll see what we can do.

I love that so much. Well, we'll include all of those links in the show notes. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. It's been such a pleasure talking to you.

Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Did you feel as inspired as I did listening to Evelyn talk about the way that she's connected people around her to the wealth of botanical ingredients that grow locally? Leave us a comment on our social channels as both the Formula Botanica team and I love hearing from you. And if you want to hear more about some of the topics we covered, please do delve back into the podcast archives. Go and check out episode 65. The whole way back, in which we talked about what Africa can teach the world about green beauty. I interviewed Valerie Abbasi and Nancy Ndukweo Sitalu about the beautiful ingredients that grow all across the continent of Africa, which the beauty industry now uses a bit like they invented them. Or episode 106, which is titled Should Indie Beauty Go Local? In which I ask whether indie beauty should really consider the ingredients and facilities directly around them. There's a wealth of information in our old episodes and I do encourage you to go back and listen to them. Thank you for joining Evelyn and I for this latest episode of Green Beauty Conversations. I really hope you enjoyed it.

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