Entrepreneur Profile: Adeline Louison and Keisha Lamptey, founders of Nuances self-care

Staples is proud to support Canadian entrepreneurs with tools and resources to help them build their businesses and turn their dreams into reality. That’s why, together with Ownr (by RBC Ventures), Shopify and Moneris, we joined the Canada Starts initiative to support Canadian entrepreneurs by awarding grants to help them get their big idea off the ground. We caught up with Adeline Louison and Keisha Lamptey, founders of Nuances self-care, to find out how their business venture is going since being awarded a Canada Starts grant.

Tell us a bit about your business.

Nuances self-care offers high-quality skin and hair care products for Canadians. All our products are natural, vegan and packaged eco-consciously.

How did you get started?

We found that there were limited natural and affordable self-care products available for our community, and those that did exist came from the United States. So, we decided to create a local company that made natural products to address the needs of all skin and curly or kinky hair types.

How did COVID-19 shape your business idea?

We felt that it was especially necessary to serve our community during the lockdown as physical stores were closing, making beauty products more difficult to access. We wanted to ensure that people had an easy and safe way to receive their products.

Since our business was created during COVID-19, we didn’t have to adapt. Our product offerings are all online, so the pandemic didn’t really change our strategy or goal. However, the pandemic did add some challenges with supply, containers and shipping delays.

What’s your greatest struggle as a business owner right now?

Our visibility! Getting our name and our brand recognized and building credibility. As a young beauty product company starting out on the web, we have work to do to become known and recognized by our customers.

What are your expectations for 2021 as an entrepreneur?

2021 represents the beginning of our adventure as entrepreneurs. Although we opened our online boutique in December 2020, this year, we’ll be able to truly measure our success, as we will launch more products and collections. Also, we expect to grow our visibility through partnerships and events.

Where do you think entrepreneurs should invest their time and money?

For our business, we think it’s important to invest in marketing. It’s something we think can be very profitable for us in the long run.

What keeps you inspired and working every day?

The fact that we are addressing a gap and a need by representing diverse skin and hair types in cosmetics and natural beauty products. Also, it gives us an opportunity to educate and empower Canadians about chemical and toxic products and environmental harms. By taking care of ourselves and our skin, we can also take care of our planet. It’s also exciting to be contributing to the local economy and using Canadian suppliers. We’re giving Canadians a local source for their self-care needs, without having to source their products from the U.S.

What tips do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs in 2021?

Learn to adapt to your environment and be flexible, since things are constantly evolving. Put your customers first. Have a business plan. And set S.M.A.R.T. goals!

How does Staples Canada help your business?

We love browsing for office supplies at Staples Canada, and printing at Solutionshop.

Learn more about Nuances self-care at nuancesselfcare.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Nuancesselfcare

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/nuancesselfcare/

Check out Small Business & Entrepreneurship on our Working and Learning Blog to learn more about how Staples Canada is supporting Canadian entrepreneurs.