Totally Natural /

Meet two entrepreneurial sisters asking us to shift our mindset when it comes to deodorant

Listening to Hannah and Monica Anderson talk about their journey into

business together, it is apparent that the entrepreneurial spirit was strong

from a young age in this dynamic sister duo.

up in Hawke’s Bay, before moving to Christchurch at the ages of 12 and 14, sisters Hannah and Monica Anderson recall many childhood memories playing shop and creating mysterious concoctions from the garden. ‘Think tree sap with leaves and flower perfumes,’ laughs Hannah. ‘We would often look at something at home and think “we could do that” and create our own version.’

As they grew up, this “we can do it” attitude evolved into “what we do”, with the pair officially combining forces in 2018 with the launch of their natural skincare company, B.BOLD from Hannah’s home in Lyttelton.

‘It emerged from a natural curiosity [to make something],’ explains Monica, ‘and a desire to create luxurious natural deodorants as an effective alternative to chemical-laden antiperspirants.’

With a background in biology, physiology and biochemistry, Hannah had a natural penchant for formulas and describes how they would make batches of deodorant and then tweak it to work, constantly challenging themselves ‘to make it perfect’.

Monica describes her sister as having ‘an obsessive nature when it comes to research and formulation and a passion for the world of natural and effective skincare’. Pairing this with Monica’s expertise in film production and advertising they were onto a winning combination – even if others knew it before they did.

‘While we worked on perfection, we would make batches to give away to friends and family as gifts. The feedback was always how much they loved it,’ continues Hannah. ‘I remember a close friend saying to me, “Just put it in a jar so I can buy it.”’

From there their dream expanded into a reality, taking a ‘little hobby’ and transforming it into a business. ‘It got pretty serious, pretty quick,’ she continues. ‘We had a crash course in business and ultimately had to wear a lot of different hats to get it up and running. We literally went from making it in my spare room, to having to rent a shared space in Lyttelton to meet the demand.’

As Hannah describes the manufacturing process, you get the sense she is a little bit like Willy Wonka, creating something delicious that is guaranteed to surprise, with the different ingredients carefully measured, mixed and melted