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Building a Brand with Heart - with Serina El Mufti - The Dead Sea Co
Episode 22412th July 2024 • Bring Your Product Idea to Life • Vicki Weinberg
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This week on the podcast, I am joined by Serina El Mufti, the co-founder of The Dead Sea Co.The Dead Sea Co infuse the powerful, therapeutic minerals of the Dead Sea into their skincare products, transforming everyday routines into soul-enriching rituals.

The Dead Sea Co. specialises in skincare and wellness products with a holistic approach. They believe that overall wellness impacts skin health. By harnessing the skin-boosting minerals of the Dead Sea, they champion simple, effective, and natural skincare. They encourage transforming your skincare routine into moments of self-care, positively affecting both your wellbeing and skin health.

Serina co-founded the business with her siblings, and in today’s interview, shares how you can do this without falling out! There are lots of great tips for how to define roles and responsibilities, useful for anyone setting up a business in partnership with others. 

Serina also discusses the origins of their products, the inspiration behind their business, and why implementing a brand ambassador programme has worked so well for them.

Additionally, Serina talks about the impact of winning the Enterprise Nation Adobe UK Small Business Goes Big competition. This win included a two-day pop-up shop and advertising on Oxford Street, which provided invaluable exposure and allowed customers to experience their products firsthand.

The Bring Your Product Idea to Life Podcast  - Best Business Podcast Award, Independent Podcast Awards 2023

USEFUL RESOURCES:

The Dead Sea Co Website

The Dead Sea Co Instagram

The Dead Sea Co Facebook

Enterprise Nation

This episode is proudly sponsored by my own book - Bring Your Product Idea to Life

Have you ever had a great idea for a product? Or does creating a product to sell appeal to you? Where do you begin? How do you come up with a product idea? Or, if you have an idea, how do you know if it’s even viable?

In Bring Your Product Idea to Life, I take you through the process of creating your product, step-by-step. From developing your product idea, to finding suppliers and launching your product we cover it all.

The book includes advice on how to price your product, where to sell it and how to find out if anyone will actually buy it. Designed to help you make real progress, Bring Your Product to Life is both practical and motivational.

Every chapter includes clear action steps, so you know exactly what to do and when. This isn’t just a book for reading - this is a book for doing.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1399954180

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Mentioned in this episode:

Amazon Made Easy is now open

My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership

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Transcripts

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Welcome to the bring your product idea to Life podcast.

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This is the podcast for you if you're getting started selling products or if you'd

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like to create your own product to sell. I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product

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creation coach and Amazon expert. Every week I share friendly,

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practical advice as well as inspirational stories from small businesses.

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Let's get started.

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Hi. So today on the podcast, I'm speaking to Serina El

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Mufti. Serina is the co founder of the Dead Sea Co. The Dead

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Sea Co infused the Dead Sea skin boosting and therapeutic

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minerals with mindfulness, transforming everyday skincare into soul

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enriching rituals. Serina is a co founder of the business along with

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her siblings, which is something that we speak about in the interview today, as I

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thought that many of you, like me, would find it really interesting how to

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start and run a business working with your family. I found

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her insights into that really fascinating and useful. Sabina also,

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of course, talks to us about the origins of her product, what inspired them to

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start their business, and also a lot about their brand ambassador program,

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which I found really interesting and something that I think could be

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really useful to lots of small businesses to consider. So

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I will stop talking now and would love to introduce you to

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Serina.

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Hi, Serina. Thank you so much for being here. Hi. Thank you so much for

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having me. Can you please start by giving an introduction to yourself, your

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business, and what you sell? Yes, of course. So my name is

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Serina. I'm one of the co founders at the Dead Sea Co, and

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we specialize in Dead Sea skincare and wellness

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products. We have a holistic approach to

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skincare. So we believe that

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our overall wellness also impacts our skin

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health. Not only do we

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champion simple,

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effective, and natural Dead Sea skincare

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by harnessing the skin boosting and therapeutic Dead Sea

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minerals, we also believe that

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you can transform your skincare routine into

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kind of more self care moments, which ultimately impacts your

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overall wellbeing and then your skin health as well. And that's all kind of

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linked into, you know, what inspired

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us, which was ultimately the Dead Sea, which I can talk about more. Yeah, I'd

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love you to hear about what inspired you, but I think that's great. That's such

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a holistic view, if that's the right word. Yeah, for

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sure. And that's. Yeah, that's our philosophy

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and all it kind of stems from the Dead Sea and the

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kind of spa rituals there. I set up the business with my brother

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and my sister, and we're half Jordanians who spent a lot of time

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between Jordan and the UK and a lot of time at the Dead Sea.

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And what really kind of struck us was not only how

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amazing your skin feels after you leave the Dead Sea, it's also

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how good you feel inside as well. So, obviously, most

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people know that at the Dead Sea, there's mineral rich

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mud and the therapeutic waters, but also it's the lowest

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point on earth. There's about 8% more oxygen there. You've got the

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sunshine, you've got the most stunning scenery, you've got

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desert, mountains. And then

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with a stark contrast of the salty lake, the glistening salty lake,

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it's just the most beautiful place. And you can kind of smother yourself

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in the mineral rich mud, and then you float effortlessly

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in the sea or the lake, the salt lake, and it washes off and your

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skin is glowing and it's silky soft, but you also

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feel really good. And that's kind of why we want to bring that

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side into our products as well. Because obviously the Dead Sea

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is a wellness tourist hotspot. It's even said that the

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egyptian queen cleopatra used to bathe in the mineral rich waters.

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So the wellness side is such an important aspect,

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as well as the kind of mineral rich, modern salt.

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Thank you so much for explaining that. And you've made me really want to go

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to Georgia now, I have to be honest, it sounds amazing.

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So what inspired you to actually start a

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business with your siblings? So I understand

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the inspiration for the products, but what made you all decide, okay, this is something

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we want to do? So

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I was living in London, had a career

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and sustainability in the city, and I had my first

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baby. And after that, I had really

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terrible postpartum skin issues and kind of stress

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related rosacea. So, obviously, being from

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Jordan and loving the Dead Sea, I was like, oh, I'm going to look for

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a Dead Sea mask. And I was really surprised that I couldn't

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find anything. Well, I'm really ingredient savvy

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and also really conscious about what I put on my skin. And obviously, after having

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my first baby, I was even more conscious about that. And I was just really

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surprised at the ingredients that I found in these Dead Sea masks.

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There was quite a lot of harsh preservatives. Some were mostly water,

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lots of fillers, and we.

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I couldn't. Yeah, we're just really surprised because obviously, being, you know, being from

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Jordan and witnessing firsthand the most amazing

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skin benefits, I couldn't believe there wasn't

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someone championing that ingredient specifically and, you know,

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really focusing on that ingredient and making sure that it was filled with other skin

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nourishing and loving ingredients as well. So that's kind of how

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it started and all. So obviously the link to stress and skin

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health and being

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a working mom, it's obviously very busy

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and finding time for skincare and self care. It's not always

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easy. And I think that the last thing anybody wants sometimes is another thing to

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do on their list of things that they already have to do. And

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I think that after having I have two children

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now, I realize the importance of taking that five minutes,

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whatever that is, and just being a little bit more mindful in my own skin,

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my own skincare routine, or actually everyday routines. But bringing it

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into skincare is something that we champion. But

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we have these aromatherapy shower steamers, and the idea behind that is

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that they've got the therapeutic essential oils in them, so you can turn your

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shower into a moment of self care. And so instead of just maybe running

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through all the list of things you have to do, you could turn that into

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a mindful moment. And that can be anything. Self care is quite personal.

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So for me, it could be listening to my favorite

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music or a podcast and someone else that could be, you know, breath work or

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a guided meditation. It's really what makes you feel good and that ultimately will

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affect your overall wellness and therefore your skin health. So that's kind of how we,

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we like to look at it and what kind of inspired us. Oh, thank you

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for explaining that. That's all really nice. And I'm. I'm really

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surprised, as you were, that there wasn't a product or

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products on the market already. And I have to say, I think it's

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great how savvy you are at looking at ingredients and

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knowing what ingredients are in things, because I think a lot of us

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don't do that. I mean, I have to be really honest. It's only been in

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the last couple of years that I've got a bit more savvy on.

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Okay, what's in my shampoo, what's in my moisturizer, and actually

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looking at ingredients. But I think a lot of us, for a long time, just

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kind of look at the benefits or the

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benefits that want the packaging anyway, and go, okay, that looks fine.

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Without really going onto our skin. Yeah,

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absolutely. And it is really important what we put on our skin, I think because

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I had quite sensitive and also that I already had rosacea, I was,

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you know, obviously things could make it flare up. So I was more conscious of

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that anyway. And, you know, after having a baby

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and breastfeeding, etcetera, you just become, you know, I think you, your hormones are all

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over the place anyway, so, you know, I think it just becomes even more important.

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Or it did for me anyway. And, yeah, and that's kind of how our journey

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began as the Dead Sea Co. And do you find

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that knowing a little bit about ingredients, did that help you when

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it came to formulating the products and working out what went in them?

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I mean, yes, I had a really strong idea, but obviously that isn't my area

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of expertise. So we have an

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amazing female formulator in Jordan who specializes in Dead

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Sea skincare, and then we also have a manufacturer

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that specializes in Dead Sea skincare. So whilst

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obviously it was based on my ideal

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for, you know, quite a simple ingredient list, I

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wanted it, you know, I wanted all the ingredients to be really effective, work

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really well together, and really have an impact on the skin. And the hero ingredient

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to be Dead Sea mud, we obviously then needed that kind of real expertise

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to make sure that, you know, it was as effective as

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possible and, you know, was skin nourishing and loving as we wanted it

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to be. That makes total sense because I think even if you knew

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the exact ingredients, you wanted to include how you would turn them into a

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moisturizer or any other product. That's something

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different, isn't it? Yeah,

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you need to study it. It's a chemical engineer that does all of

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that kind of stuff. So, yeah, as I said, we had the vision

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and what we really wanted, and then

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they kind of brought that to life for us. That's amazing because it sounds like

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you were able to give them a really clear brief because you knew exactly what

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you wanted. You had such a vision. And it's great you're able to find someone

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to formulate your products in Jordan as well because I assume that she's really familiar

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with the mud and the benefits and how best to use it.

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That's, that's the thing. You want. You want ingredients that complement each other and work

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well together, and that's what they could really help us with. And,

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yeah, it's that our hero ingredient for our mask specifically is our

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mud. And then they've put in, you know, we agreed on nourishing

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oils and then some antioxidants to really give it like a being

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an all round product where it really purifies, hydrates and

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brightens your skin all at once. Well, thank you for explaining that. And I'm going

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to ask what might. Be a really stupid question. I really hope you don't mind

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me. Asking, but are these ingredients easy or difficult to source. Say,

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for example, Dead Sea mud. Is that something that's widely available to source

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or did it help that you had, you know, that you're from Jordan

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and you could perhaps meet people there? Yes,

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exactly. So obviously the sourcing in Jordan is, you know, the

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Dead Sea is on our doorstep there, so. And

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it's Dead Sea. Sorry. Jordan is known for having really,

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really great quality Dead Sea mud. So using it from

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Jordan made a lot of sense. And then we try as

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much as possible to source as many ingredients locally in Jordan as

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possible. So, for example, we have some pomegranate seed oil

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in our mask and that's sourced from women's groups in the north

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of Jordan who actually harvest those, you know, harvest the seeds themselves.

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So we try our best to you, you know, and one of

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our briefs is obviously really

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nourishing ingredients, so all our kind

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of oils are cold pressed. And, you know, that that's really

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important to us. That was amazing. And I'm sorry if that was a stupid

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question, but it did not. You know, it might. While I'm sure there's a lot

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of it, I wasn't sure how easy it was to actually sort. I mean,

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there's not. I think there's only. There's only two companies that extract the Dead

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Sea mud. So obviously in Jordan and Israel. So being on the Jordan

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side of things, much easier for us.

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Yeah, definitely. So I guess having some local knowledge and presumably knowing people there

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was really helpful. Yes, absolutely. For sure. And I'd love

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to talk about something slightly different, if that's okay, because you mentioned at the beginning

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you set up the business with your siblings. I would love to know how you

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found working with them. And obviously going to as much detail as you like,

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because often people consider maybe starting

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up the business with a family member or friend. And so any sort

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of, you know, anything from your experience you think would be useful, I think would

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be really good to hear. Like things to consider, maybe things that work well,

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maybe even things that haven't worked well, as I said, up to you what you

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want to share, but I think it's really interesting. Yeah,

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absolutely. I mean, I'm not. I'm going to be

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honest, it's extremely hard. I think that would be with siblings

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or a friend or, you know, anyone, anyone you really co found a

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business with. It can be really

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difficult at times, especially because everyone has their own visions and their own ways of

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working and it has been difficult for us. I

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think we've definitely got to a much better place now. I think we're two and

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a half years in. I think redefining

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our roles and responsibilities helped. So at the beginning, we were just kind of

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working on it together, which was lovely as well. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily change

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anything, but as things progress, and

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also both my, at the time, we all had other jobs,

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so, you know, it started off at that. Now, this is my, you know, I

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work full time, but both my siblings still have other full time jobs. So

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we've had to really work around that and redefine who does what,

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how we do it. And, and I think that that is something I would advise

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people to do, is to have a real clear understanding of what each person is

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bringing to the table and how their skills, you know,

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benefit the business and, and how you can work together and even

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being a little bit more formal and having, like, a conflict resolution strategy, I think

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all of these things are really helpful because, um, you

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do need to sometimes fall back on that. You're not always going to have exactly

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the same ideas and agree

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ways forward. So I think that is really, really important. And the other thing

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I'd say for working with family and potentially friends

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is having that kind of work and personal

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balance and separation. It's really easy

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sometimes for us, and me especially, to forget that's my

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sister or that's my brother. And we have other things in common and other things

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we want to do and speak to each other about. We try

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to keep, like, family, you know, events and gatherings, maybe just, you know, personal

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and not kind of bring in the website, which is really hard as well because,

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you know, there's a lot of things that are always pressing we need to talk

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about. So it's a juggle. And I think that being mindful about it

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is really important and trying to have as much structure as possible and,

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and that's where we're kind of working towards and getting to as well.

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Well, thank you so much for sharing that. I do think that's really useful. And

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as you say, I guess having structure, I think with anything, having some

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kind of structure really helps, doesn't it? And it sounds like you've all been really

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thoughtful about how it, because you're right. I can imagine that it could

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just take over your life and your relationship and that could become your only

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topic of conversation almost. And you don't want that. You know, at the end of

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the day, I love my siblings and I want to keep that sibling

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relationship. And so it's difficult, though. I'm not going to lie. You

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know, it's always difficult to remember, but you just have to work

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at it. And is it hard, like, if you do have disagreements, is

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it hard to kind of have a disagreement over something work

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related and then still maintain your personal relationship? Absolutely. I

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think that that's the most difficult part of it. I mean, we're really, or

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I'm really lucky, both. I have great siblings and I think

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everybody's, you know, our main,

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we all think of the business first in our business relationship, and I think

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that's really helpful and everyone's really understanding

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and I think we manage. But, yes,

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definitely, if things aren't going well and then we've got some, you know, personal

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family gathering, it's not so easy sometimes to switch

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out of work mode and, and get into family

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mode. That makes sense, but it sounds like you're all doing really well.

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We're trying. So I'd love to switch topics for a moment if

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that's okay, because there are so many fantastic things you're doing and I've seen,

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I'd like to talk to you about, I'd love to talk a little bit about

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your brand ambassador program. Couldn't get my words out

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there because that's something quite unique, I think. So I'd love to know a little

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bit about what it is and how it works and perhaps also I know

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this is a big question. Anything you've learned from it as well. Absolutely.

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So I think word of mouth is

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still so incredibly important and having that kind of

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authentic, genuine champions. And so that's what

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our brand ambassador program is about. We have an application

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process where people can apply to be a brand ambassador.

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And that's really because we want people that really, really

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believe in the brand, that believe in our products and our philosophy and that want

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to champion us and that enjoy using our products because I think it's really obvious

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if someone, you know, is, is talking about it and is

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passionate about it or just trying to sell a product, I think that they're quite

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different things. And so, yes, we have an

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application process and then we are going to start some

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training for ambassadors as well to make sure that they understand, you know,

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that, you know, the benefits of Dead Sea minerals and how they

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help your skin and also our kind of more

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holistic philosophy and how you can incorporate self care into your

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daily lives as part of your skincare routine. So,

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yeah, that's kind of how it works. And then in terms

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of the benefits of it, I mean,

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we get a greater reach because obviously, you know,

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we have ambassadors that are going out and talking about us and, you

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know, and championing our brand, which is

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fantastic, and also building that rapport with the

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ambassadors and having that engagement, all of these things really help us because

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it builds that genuine connection. And people who

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really do love the brand and obviously for the ambassadors, the benefits for

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them is that they, it's like an affiliate program,

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so they get commission as well. So it's, I think it

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works really well both ways. And it's something that, you know, we

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really, we really enjoy having those ambassadors and building those connections

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and, yeah, it's great for our reach and for our brand

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awareness. That sounds like a really, sounds really great. And that's why I

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wanted to talk to you about it because I don't see that many brands that

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do it, but I think particularly for brand like

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yours, it must be really nice for potential customers to

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see the impact of your products on real people's skin. Cause I think

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for skincare brands in particular, it can be really hard to kind

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of think, will that work for me? Or is that just, that's the

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thing? Well, that, that's exactly it. And I think that, you know,

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having more user generated content and people that actually are

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enjoying our products and, you know,

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use them, I think that that's the best way to spread, you know, spread awareness

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about the brand and, you know, potentially get more customers. So I think

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it's a great way for us to, for us to do that. And

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I think that, you know, there's obviously a lot of

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influences and influencer marketing, but I do

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really think that people relate more to

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seeing real people, not real, you know, I mean, like

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people, you know, not influencers as in, like, just people that are enjoying the

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skincare and it's the word of mouth marketing as opposed

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to, you know, the influencer marketing. I think there's definitely a

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difference because I think with some influencers, you might see them. They're using one brand

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one week and another brand next week and it doesn't feel as

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genuine, whereas I can't think of a good example now. But there are definitely

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people online who I know they must love this particular brand, whether it's

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clothing or skincare, whatever, because they're talking about this brand all of the time.

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And I think you kind of that, that sticks with you

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a bit more, I think. Well, yeah, because they obviously have a genuine connection and

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it really works for them. And that's what you want. You want to find people

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who really do enjoy and love your product and use it

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and that can spread the word because that's, that you know, that will be the

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best form of marketing, rather than influencer marketing.

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Definitely. And do you also work with them? I'm just being really curious

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now. Do you also get feedback from them and things like that to kind

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of. Absolutely. I mean, I think that's. That's

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really important to us, is getting any customers feedback and

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really developing and refining our products around that

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feedback, because I think that that, you know, that's what makes

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a brand work. You know, we have to be solving problems and

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actually giving people what they really want. And it's really nice you're so

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open to that as well, and so, like, having that connection with people who are,

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I presume, coming back to you and saying, oh, this worked for me, but I

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would prefer that, or whatever it is. Exactly. Yeah, that's exactly

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it. So, yeah, it's really important to us. Yeah. I mean, it's so valuable,

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isn't it? Like you say, getting any kind of feedback is just.

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Yeah, so, I mean, that's the ultimate goal, definitely, is getting as

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much feedback as possible. And something else I would love to talk

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to you about, if that's okay, Serina, is I know that you entered the Adobe

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UK and enterprise nation. Small business goes big competition.

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So let's talk about why you entered, what was involved,

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and the outcome, if that's okay. Of course. Yeah. So

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we entered. So the prize was to

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get a two day pop up shop on Oxford street. So

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it's, you know, especially for, you know, a skincare and wellness

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brand. You know, actually, what we were just talking

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about, getting that feedback from your customers and seeing people actually

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interact with your products. I mean, it's really invaluable. So that was the, you

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know, we really wanted to be a part of that and have our kind of

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first taste of being in retail and obviously on the, you know, one of

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the busiest streets of the UK. So it was a real opportunity

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for us and something that we didn't, you know, we didn't want to pass

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by, so we applied for it. We had to create a

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webpage using Adobe software, Adobe Express, and then send

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in a presentation, a video presentation of, you know, why we thought we'd

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be successful with the pop up shop. And luckily, we, you know,

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we were successful, and we got our two days on Oxford street,

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which was just the most amazing experience. And we had,

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you know, our screens all the way down Oxford street, the bus screens that

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have, you know, adverts, they had our brand on them, and we had a really

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big billboard in Leicester Square. It was a real pinch me moment. Of, you

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know, obviously as a startup, you know, it's, it's such hard work

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to try and get your brand off the ground and then to actually be on

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Oxford street for the couple of days and see your, you know, see

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your brand everywhere, it was just fantastic.

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And, yeah, and it was a really, really insightful experience.

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Again, going back to speaking to

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customers, looking at our conversion rate actually there on the shop

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floor, seeing how people engaged with our

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products, what they thought about the packaging, what they thought about the scents, what they

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thought about the texture of the mud. There were so many things to talk about

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and to find out about. I think it's really, really informed our retail

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strategy, which we're hopefully moving ahead with.

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That's amazing. And I didn't want to give away the outcome in the question,

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but it's amazing that that's such a big prize

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and I think it sounds like a really good opportunity. So have you learned things

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from that that you think when you look to go into retail, things that you

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can take away from it? Yes, absolutely. From how to set,

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you know, the, you know, how we want to look and feel to, if

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we want to give a more kind of experience of our products,

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how we can bring our products to life a bit better, you know, all of

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these things. Until you're kind of in it and see how people are engaging and

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reacting, it's quite difficult to see, decide just, you know, from, from the outside.

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So, yeah, I think it's really informed what we see

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for the future and how we want to pursue our retail strategy.

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So that's exciting. And did you get any support with

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how to set up the store and run it or anything like that or were

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you completely left to your own devices? No, they did. They provided a lot of

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support in terms of, yeah, we had, I think, a call beforehand

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with a retail specialist that went through, you know, what works

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and, you know, what we should aim for and how things should look. Not things

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should look us into the brand, but, you know, what kind of best practices are.

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So there definitely was a lot of support. It was a really fantastic competition and

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we met some really great brands as well.

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And then obviously, then we got in there, we planned it all and

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then we tweaked things as when we were there because, as I

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said, real life is different from planning and

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seeing how people move around and where they went first and

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how they interacted. It all informed our kind of how we

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set up and how we will set up in the future. That's so exciting.

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And was that the first time that you'd sold your products in that kind of

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like face to face environment. Yes, we'd done a couple of.

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That was the first pop up we'd done. We'd had a couple of makers

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markets, but this was the first pop. And yes,

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it was a different experience and as I said, really gave us an idea of

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kind of what brick and mortar retail would be like.

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Out of interest, are there any differences from how people

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buy your products online, bring your skin care and wellness in particular,

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how they buy online to what they do in person?

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I'm just being quite well, yeah, I. Mean, the issue with

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online is you can't touch, feel,

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smell. And I think that's where

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specifically for beauty, I mean, it is quite

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a. An important aspect of the bit. Customer

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journey is difficult. As you said before, you don't always know what's

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going to work well on your skin. But there's other things like do you like

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the smell of the product? Do you like the feel of the product?

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Is the packaging important to you? All of these

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things inform the customer journey and then

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whether people will purchase or not, I do think you have a lot more touch

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points, obviously, if you're physically being able to

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see and feel the product rather than just shopping

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online. Online. That's why the ambassadors and, you

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know, really have an impact as well because they

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are talking firsthand and, you know, talking about their experience with their

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particular skin type and they do talk about, you know, how it

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smells and how they apply it and, you know, that kind of stuff. So

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I think that, yeah, there is quite a big difference

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and that's why you need different. You have to try online

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and bring those kind of experiences to the customer as

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well. Yeah, that's great. Thank you. And I think that, as you

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say, that's why your brand ambassador program works so well for you, because I think

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it is such a. Skincare is really hard to buy

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online, I think. I think the only other thing for me that I find hard

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to buy online, as hard as candles, because, again, you can't. It's a

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personal preference. That's the thing. Everyone's skin is different and everyone

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has different preferences for scent and texture, etcetera. So

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that's why it is quite difficult online. And I think having,

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being. Having a presence in retail is important.

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And so is that on your plans for this year? Yes, it is, yes.

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Oh, that's really exciting. So maybe at some point you'll be able to come back

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and give us an update on how. Yeah, that'd be amazing. I'd love to.

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Yeah. Really good. Well, thank you so much for all you shared, Serina.

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My very last question, and I asked this to all my guests, is what would

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your number one piece of advice be for other product creators?

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I think I'm going to go back to this

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customer feedback, to be honest. I think that that is the single

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most important thing because I think that if you're listening to your

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customers and you are refining and

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developing your products around your customers

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needs and how you actually add value to their lives, I

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think that's how you stand out and get that loyal customer base and

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also create your niche, because obviously,

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especially with, you know, within skincare and beauty, it's such a saturated industry.

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You know, you really do have to find your community and find, you

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know, and, and find people who, who love your brand.

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And I think the way to do that is to create products that actually solve

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problems and are focused on your customer.

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Well, that's brilliant. Thank you so much, Serina, and thank you for everything you shared.

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Thank you so much, Vicky, and thanks for having me. Oh, you're welcome.

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Thank you so much for listening. Right to the end of this episode. Episode. Do

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remember that you can get the full back catalog and lots of free resources on

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my website, vickywineberg.com. Please do remember to rate em

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review this episode if you've enjoyed it and also share it with a friend

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who you think might find it useful. Thank you again and see you next week.

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