BTB: You create products using natural ingredients. Have you encountered any challenges in working with these ingredients, in terms of efficacy or longevity?

POORNIMA: Products with natural ingredients can last easily for up to 12 months. The challenge lies in the fragrance that starts to dissipate after about 6 months which makes people feel that the product has expired, even though that’s not the case. I feel the bigger challenge has been to explain to the customer that even without the fragrance, the product is efficient and good as new. Other than that, people have questions like will I face any side effects after using this product or can I use it for my sensitive skin or can I use it for my child? Here, we encourage customers to try the product first and then use it regularly. We are coming up with testers and travel kits with small sized products, so you can try it first and if you like it or it suits your skin, then go for a full sized product. This is relatively easy when we are doing an offline event as people can see and try these products in person.

BTB: Take us through your creative process - from conceptualization to making and cutting the soaps.

POORNIMA: For us, it always starts with nature - what part or aspect of nature inspires me to create the aesthetic of the product and what the customers would find to be soothing and peaceful.

For example, I find the full moon night to be very calming and relaxing in just how it looks, so I incorporated that into the appearance of the soap. The next step is to choose the ingredients that tie well with the theme, where we chose hemp oil which is anti-inflammatory and calming on the skin. Then we add the fragrances that complement the whole product like a lemongrass or a lavender essential oil that is anti-depressing or relaxing.

Just like a chemistry lab, once you have the whole calculation in place, the next step is to just pour it and make the product, after which we let it set for a couple of days before we actually cut it. This is the most exciting part and initially I would want to cut the soap immediately just to see what the end result looks like. But now after doing this process so many times, I have learned to be patient.

BTB: For someone who is not into self-care or is probably venturing into skincare for the first time, which products would you recommend to them and why?

POORNIMA: I would recommend the foot butter. Our feet are always working so much, they are the most ignored parts of our body and they do so much of our heavy lifting as well. The ritual of just a nightly massage to your feet is definitely going to make your skin and feet look pretty but the gesture is also going to bring a change in your relationship with yourself. We believe that a person’s relationship with themselves is extremely important, which is also something our brand is trying to promote, and the foot butter does a wonderful job of communicating the same.

BTB: What are some of the bestsellers at Coral & Sky?

POORNIMA: Interestingly the foot butter does really well for us. Then our pedicure bombs work well as it is something new for people to try and once they do, they are hooked. Our in-shower lotions also do well as it is a hassle-free product. And of course our cold processed soaps do great as well.

BTB: What does your 9-5 look like as a solopreneur? Do you find it hard to take time out for yourself?

POORNIMA: I would say being a solopreneur has its pros and cons. There are days when I want to start working at 11am and just take a few hours of the morning for myself and do nothing, I can do that. And there are obviously days when you are working till 11 or 12 in the night just because you have tasks to finish. I have always been a big fan of to-do lists and I use that to prioritise the things that I must do, then divide the remaining tasks as per their urgency. Orders and customer communication are always top priority for me, and then on the backend I work on ensuring the materials are in stock, then I work on marketing for the brand. There are of course a lot of things to do, but dividing the tasks and giving yourself daily things to focus on helps quite a lot.

BTB: What are some non-commercial victories you have achieved that have helped your business?

POORNIMA: I feel personal messages from our customers because people are trusting your brand and your products to convey a message that is so meaningful and something that builds the relationship between two people. We get messages from say a daughter to her father or from a husband to his wife, and I feel these things are not always easy to say to people who matter to you, so when customers trust us as a brand to convey these feelings, it feels really special. I always take care of making sure that everything is perfect, like I may add a few rose petals or spray the package with a nice scent so that their unboxing experience is a good one.

Apart from this, it is always amazing when customers take the time out to review the brand and the products, like they may write a long email about what issues they were facing and how our products helped them combat the same and now they are customers for a lifetime. These feelings are beyond any commercial victory and go a long way in keeping us motivated to do better.

BTB: What are some challenges you’ve encountered so far? And what are your biggest takeaways?

POORNIMA: I think one of the biggest challenges a small skincare brand or any small brand for that matter faces, is the procurement of the raw materials because everytime you go out and buy, the prices are not very competitive, especially due to the volumes being small. You have to constantly go back and forth over the prices and the haggling takes a lot of my time. I am trying to actually rationalise the price when I am buying the raw materials to ensure that I maintain the quality of the product but also keep the prices competitive. And I think my takeaway is that the only way to overcome this is to grow bigger. When you focus on the top line and are able to get more volumes, I think you can have a better say and support from the vendors as well.

BTB: Is there any other brand doing great work in this space that you would like to highlight?

POORNIMA: One of the brands whose cold process soaps I love, aesthetically as well is Mud and Moon. And there are many other brands internationally that are doing amazing soaps like Sorcery Soaps and Royalty Soaps. I follow these brands on Instagram and I love the work that they are doing.

BTB: How do you see your brand evolving over the next few years, and what steps are you taking to achieve that?

POORNIMA: We are a very young brand so I haven’t really planned whether we want to be a core D2C brand or if we want to be a white labelling company, because if we venture into that, it will be an entirely different trajectory for the brand. And if we want to focus purely on D2C, then the route we will be taking is to focus on acquiring customers, focusing on doing more research and figuring out how to expand our product offerings. I mean it’s a journey and especially in this space it is difficult to say what’s going to happen in the next few months, which is also fun in a way. But yeah, I am yet to figure out the way I want to take the brand ahead.