Podcast 186: Taking indie beauty entrepreneurship global

As the number one online beauty formula school in the world with award-winning courses, it is especially affirming to see how far and wide the teaching of Formula Botanica is spreading. Before the advent of online learning, cosmetic chemistry was only taught in a small number of universities, mainly in the UK and USA. The skills of homemaking had been lost for centuries, which meant that this information was not as widely accessible as it should have been. Formula Botanica changed that in a big way. His teaching now reaches over 19,000 students in over 190 countries.

In this opinion episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier sets out a vision for a better cosmetics industry. which sees indie brands shaped locally, for people in their communities, with products created specifically for a region, rise to the fore and challenge the dominant, Eurocentric cosmetics industry.

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In the latest episode, we heard Dewi Kauw, founder of Skin Dewi, talk about her mission and ambition to create a premium skincare brand from Indonesia that could compete with any of the big brands out there today. Lorraine and Dewi agreed that the dominant Eurocentric perception of beauty is no longer valid and needs to change.

Encouragingly, there is a movement that is enabling budding formulators, brand builders and beauty entrepreneurs to enter the world of entrepreneurship with fewer barriers than ever before. Dewi started her compounding journey with only USD 1500 – an amount that includes her online Formula Botanica courses, which she says were “money well spent”.

Online learning platforms like Formula Botanica help democratize formula and beauty entrepreneurship. With this level of access at your fingertips, you can learn, uncover information, collaborate with others, find inspiration and start your own business in real time. The added benefit of democratizing formulation means you can start in your own backyard and still have an edge over global beauty brands.

By staying local you have the ability to connect with customers, talk to them personally and build a network of loyal customers. In addition, democratization provides many advantages, including the freedom and flexibility to work and run your business as you see fit. Local businesses are also a boon to their communities. As they scale, they can help create jobs and support and partner with other local businesses.

Those who embrace these opportunities, think outside the box and challenge the standards of the big beauty players – as Dewi Kauw did – are the ones who will succeed.

Lorraine’s challenge to you this week is to remember to buy local. Take a look at your bathroom shelves and if big global brands dominate, it’s time to go shopping. If you need help on where to start, head over to the Formula Botanica website, click through our alumni gallery, find them in your area and start browsing their products. You will love what you find. Let’s help these wild indie brands change the beauty landscape.

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Formula Botanica Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please share, subscribe and review this episode at iTunes, Spotify the Youtube so that more people can enjoy the show. Don’t forget to follow and connect with us at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Lorraine Dallmeier is a biologist, certified environmentalist, and CEO of Formula Botanica, the award-winning online organic cosmetics school. Read more about Lorraine and the Formula Botanica team.