NATURALS BEAUTY
TANYA DU BOIS
Start-up costs: ‘We grew the business very organically. One range would take off, and by then we’d have saved a bit of money to launch a new one. Maybe if we had taken big risks in the beginning and some loans we’d be further along, but we decided at the outset that we didn’t want to do that.’ Size: ‘We produce between 700 and 1 000 products a month.’
‘The business came about accidentally,’ says Tanya du Bois. She had a teacher’s degree in dance, and worked in the film and TV industry before her career took an unexpected turn. Her son’s autism diagnosis was one of the reasons Tanya decided to embrace natural products for her family, and she soon realised there was a gap in the market for an all-natural skincare and beauty range. In 2008, Naturals Beauty was born.
‘When my son was diagnosed, we were sitting across from the paediatric neurologist, in shock,’ says Tanya. ‘She said they don’t really know what causes autism: it could be genetic, it could be what you ate when you were pregnant, products you’ve been using on your child since birth… It could be a variety of things.
‘That’s when I realised I hadn’t really been conscious of any of the things she’d mentioned. I’m in no way saying that non-natural products caused his autism, but
it got us thinking about what we were using and eating at home. It was a mind shift for us as a family; we realised nothing we were using was natural. At that stage there weren’t many natural options on the market in South Africa: you had very expensive ranges or you had very simple ones.’
Armed with a do-it-yourself skincare recipe book from the ’30s (courtesy of her grandmother), Tanya started making products in her kitchen and soon saw business potential in her newfound hobby.
‘That book is still relevant! Those products are still possible to make, because they use things that are still available like beeswax, witch hazel and essential oils.’
To create a sophisticated botanical skincare range, Tanya needed an expert, so she set out to find a cosmetic chemist, but to no avail.
‘I looked for about a year,’ she says. ‘There aren’t many cosmetic chemists who work only with organic and natural ingredients.’
She almost threw in the towel, but in 2009 Louise Botes joined the team as contract manufacturer and the passion project soon developed into the brand’s popular Essential Collection range. Today, Naturals Beauty is available from local retailers and online, and even exports on a small scale. Most importantly, it has set itself apart with ranges that cater for different ages. Inspiration for these products often springs from the requests of loyal customers. Others, like the baby range, grew from experience.
‘When my daughter got nappy rash as a baby, I realised none of the natural balms I had been using contained any ingredients for treating nappy rash – they were really just beeswax and carrier oil. So we made a soothing bum balm that
contains extracts of aloe, rooibos, calendula and chamomile.’
Naturals Beauty is also as environmentally friendly as possible. The packaging is recyclable, and the company is researching systems where customers can refill and reuse their bottles at supplier points. The business also sources only from suppliers who can prove that they don’t test on animals, and they’re working on their Beauty Without Cruelty application.
Despite the brand’s success, running a business is still stressful, says Tanya. Her biggest challenge is keeping the range affordable.
‘Everyone wants a better option for their children and for themselves. We want all South Africans to be able to afford to move to natural products.’