Know What You Are Putting on Your Skin: Interview with AS Bodycare

The number of people opting for cleaner, eco-friendly skincare options has increased over the years. You need to know and control what you are putting on your skin. Skin is our largest organ, and everything that touches it gets filtered through our liver. Most of the homemade soap ingredients can be understood in one breath, and you’ll know exactly how the product is made and what you are absorbing. Modern-day body care routine using commercial products is doing more harm than good. People have realized this and started to move away from commercial beauty products and a few have started making the products at home. Homemade soaps can do more than just clean, they are robust. You can incorporate additional ingredients like essential oils or herbal supplements to achieve this. Hence, making soaps at home allows you to tailor it to satisfy your personal health requirements.

Akanksha Sadekar crafts unique body care products using local and all-natural ingredients, with her brand AS Bodycare. Her brand came about through a desire to create a more natural, functional body care products. Her products are handmade with care, love, and are appreciated by Goans. Living in Pune, she faced a lot of problems because of the shift from soft water to hard water and soon noticed her skin drying. After seeing how DIY scrubs solved the issue, she felt the need to try making scrubs on her own at home. At Goan Insider, we sat down with Akanksha to get to know about her journey as an entrepreneur in body care products. The excerpts of our conversation are below.

Tell us a little about yourself

I’m Akanksha Sadekar. I’m 22 and I live in Margao. I did my schooling in Manovikas up to 10th and then went to King’s School for my Higher secondary. I’m currently pursuing the Integrated M.Com course at Dempo College, Bambolim. I’m a student under the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and have cleared my CA-CPT.

How did the idea for AS Bodycare come about? When did you “charter” the business?

I moved to Pune in 2016 after my 12th board exam results for CA coaching classes and was there for almost three years. I faced a lot of problems because of the shift from soft water to hard water and noticed my skin drying and how the usual soaps available in the market just aggravated the issue. I loved DIY hacks and products and decided to try out some DIY scrubs and see if those helped me in any way and they certainly did. I just loved them so much that I continued using them even when I moved back to Goa.

I mentioned this to a few people and they started asking me to make the scrubs for them. I being a CA student thought, “Why don’t I turn this into a part-time business.” I began thinking about what I could sell and how I could sell it in early December of 2018. I hadn’t really told anyone about it, including my parents. When I had a proper plan and list of products, I sold my first few jars of scrub on 15th March 2019.

Could you run us through the products that you make?

I started off with 100% natural, homemade Body Scrubs and expanded into Lip Balms and Body Butters within the same month. I also introduced Bath Bombs, Soaps, Solid Shampoo, and Conditioner Bars. I will soon be introducing Hair Balm and Lip Scrubs.

How do you procure the raw materials to make your body care products?

I try to buy local ingredients especially for additives like turmeric powder, vegetable powders, fresh herbs, etc. as much as I can. But when those aren’t available, I buy 100% organic ingredients from trusted sellers online who deal in this category of supplies.

How has the response been from Goans towards your products?

The initial response is usually about the pricing of the product. Many people are just starting to shift to the organic market in the body care and skincare category. After using my products, I’ve had people buy from me repeatedly.

What has been your most satisfying moment in business?

I cannot choose just one satisfying moment because every time a customer gives me feedback, it means a lot to me to know that my products work so well for them. When they give me any constructive criticism, it makes me feel good too because they cared enough to come and tell me what was wrong.

What is unique about your business?

The most unique thing about my business would be the customer service. If a customer asks me for advice or recommendation, I make sure I give detailed recommendations. I’ll make sure not to simply push my products on them just to make a sale. I genuinely care about my customers.

How do you generate new ideas? Have you received any training?

I read a lot about the market, what’s trending and what the people need. Based on these two factors, I try to create something that they could use. I talk to people about what issues they face with regular store-bought products. If I see that a lot of people have the same issue, I try to build something around that issue. It also involves months of developing, trying, and testing, noting down results, comparing and analyzing. Only if I’m 100% sure that the product will do what it’s supposed to do, then it will be made available for sale.

What is your brand’s mission?

As you know, most organic and handmade products are considered to be a luxury item and are too expensive for a middle class person to buy. Under this brand, I want to create authentic handmade organic products that are more affordable as compared to the normal market rates.

What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?

My favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur would be the joy of watching someone buy, use and give positive feedback about something that I poured my heart and soul into while creating.

How do you build a successful clientele?

I believe that when you work hard and stay true to your business and are consistent with the quality of what you sell, it reflects in the final product and the customer knows. I believe in being respectful towards the customer and genuinely wanting to help them with queries, irrespective of how many there may be. I do this not because I have to, but because I want to.

Why do you think Goa is the best place for your business venture?

Sometimes I feel that if I had started this business back when I was in Pune, maybe I’d have more success. But being home and being surrounded by all the people I love, just gives me the extra support and motivation that I need. If I’m in a happy place, I can make this work anywhere.

As the founder of a novel business, what are you paranoid about? What keeps you awake at night?

I wouldn’t really say I’m paranoid about anything, but this year, given the whole pandemic and lockdown, I had many orders that got cancelled. I was scared and concerned for my business as I was relatively new in the market. On normal days, when I make a new batch of soap, I just cannot go to sleep thinking about how I have to wait for 18-24 hours to unmold my soap and see how it looks and smells, especially if I’ve created a new one.

Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work till you hit the sack?

I wake up by 7 am. I have college, online of course from 8 am to 2 pm. Around 2:30 pm, I start reading or researching something related to the business. If I have orders, I pack those. I then create content for the next two days to upload on my social media, and this usually takes up my whole afternoon. I take a small break at 6:30 pm, where I start watching a movie or a show and at 7 pm, I start studying for my CA exams up to 9:30 pm. I then have dinner by 10 pm, and if I have to restock products, I usually make them at this time. On Sundays, I do my photoshoots and a thorough clean up and rearrange my shelves and drawers.

What piece of advice would you give to young women who want to become entrepreneurs or pursue their passion?

I am a practical person and hence would tell them to first check if they are really passionate about what they want to start. Because sometimes one may mistake a temporary interest as passion. Only if they know for sure that they want to do this, I’d say start and don’t look back, and never give up. There will be bad days for sure, but its all worth it in the end.

How can our readers stay connected with you as well as your brand?

You can follow my Instagram page, AS Bodycare, and check out the new posts for updates on products. Check the stories for goof ups and small snippets about the product ingredients, products, behind the scenes, and more.

Do you have a story to share with the world? Send us an email at contact.goaninsider@gmail.com