Tell us more about Enbacci and what makes the brand so unique in the highly competitive skincare market?
Enbacci is an Australian made and owned, luxury skincare brand. If you ask a person off the street to list some luxury skincare brands they may know, you will no doubt get the traditional brands such as Estee Lauder, La Mer, Lancôme. All very luxurious but also all originating in foreign countries such as the US or France. Having worked in the family packaging business prior to creating something of my own, I knew of Australia’s capabilities, availability of resources and infrastructure to create something special. Mum and I wanted to encourage and support growth and development of the industry within our country
Australia is privileged to have access to the world’s leading technology. When we were developing Enbacci, new skincare technology was being developed in Switzerland, which harnessed the stem cells of fruits and plants to create extremely powerful and effective antioxidants. We knew we had to incorporate these ingredients into our products so that the benefits of these ingredients could be experienced by our clients.
What are stem cells and how do fruit and plant variants specifically influence and improve human skin?
Human stem cells are undifferentiated cells. This means they have the potential to become specialised cells in the human body (e.g. muscle cells, red blood cells, etc). This is important as stem cells replace cells that have become damaged or have died so that the body can continue to function. Fruit and plant stem cells have the same function for their respective fruit or plant. However, research has shown that fruit and plant stem cells have particularly high antioxidant properties. Therefore, fruit and plant stem cells in topical skincare products have the ability to help protect the skin from the appearance of free radical damage, such as premature ageing.
Enbacci currently incorporates three types of stem cells in our products; grape stem cells, apple stem cells and flower stem cells. Research suggests that grape stem cells have the ability to protect the skin from environmental stressors, while the variety of apple stem cells we use help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The flower stem cell we utilise is sourced from the Saponaria Pumila, a flower found in the alps that has survived the last Ice Age. Research has shown that this particular flower stem cell is effective at promoting skin density and elasticity, meaning firmer, more toned looking skin.
Enbacci has embarked on a number of campaigns promoting cultural diversity and body positivity. Why are these areas so important to you and the brand as a whole?
When exploring the foundations and ethos of our brand, we didn’t want Enbacci to be another high-end skincare brand that that sells you a solution to a problem we made you believe you have. We as a society are so built upon fear-mongering that that has become the normal selling and marketing technique. I want our clients and consumers to be able to embrace themselves for who they are. Love themselves for it and treat themselves to products that make them feel good. If Intellectual Property law wasn’t a thing, we would have been called “Embrace” (after our company name) instead of “Enbacci”, because from the very beginning, this is what we believed in.
As for the two specific campaigns, the idea for these came from personal experiences. Although they stemmed from personal experiences, we quickly realised that they were also very much shared experiences within our communities. With the growing global audience we have developed over the years, we felt that we have a social responsibility to use our platform(s) for positive social change, and we can do so through storytelling and sharing narratives. I have always believed that storytelling has the power to form deep and meaningful connections not only between individuals, but also communities. They also provide us with the opportunity to learn from other people’s experiences, and develop a sense of empathy and compassion (which is a trait my Mum always tried to foster in me).
When Covid first hit Australian shores, we saw an exponential increase of racial hate. The incident that hit me the hardest the most was when two young girls of Asian ethnicity were walking along the Melbourne streets only to be harassed, spat on, kicked and told to “go back to where you came from”. As an Australian-born Chinese, it upset me to know that such ignorant behaviour continues to exist in our home. It is our hope that through our campaigns, we are able to educate and create compassion, where there perhaps was none, in our community.
Tell us about your career/background and how your skills have transferred over to Enbacci?
My introduction into the personal care industry first started when I was working in the family packaging business over 10 years ago. It was there that I learnt the processes involved with product development. Other than that, I didn’t actually have much formal training in either business or skincare, only the knowledge I had from year 12 biology. I was in my first year of my Bachelor of Arts degree, where I majored in Linguistics and minored in Politics, German and Mandarin, when I became inspired to create skincare that was luxurious, effective, inclusive and uniquely Australian-made.
Over the years, I felt it was important to gain more knowledge in my area of work so I went on to complete and Advanced Skin Science certification as well as a double Diploma in Personal Care Formulation and Diploma in Personal Care Formulation Development and Promotion. These skills have allowed both the business and myself to be less reliant on the information given to us by third parties, and have allowed us to make more informed business decisions.
Something I think all entrepreneurs will agree is that you learn so many new skills when you start something of your own from scratch. Since founding Enbacci, I have gained technical artwork skills, accounting skills and understanding some parts of business law and IP law, just to list a few.
What are some of the challenges you face running a business?
One of the constant challenges we faced prior to 2020 was new product development. Ensuring our products are both innovative and effective has always been important to us as a brand, so being able to achieve this in a highly competitive market with larger companies having greater research and marketing budgets, is something we are continuously learning to navigate. However, like many businesses, a range of new challenges were thrown at us as we navigated and continue to navigate new life around this pandemic. We were faced with store closures (and subsequent wholesale order cancels), staff shortages due to illnesses, supplier delays due to cancelled sea or airfreight routes and manufacturing delays. We are lucky that our clients have been very understanding during this time and have remained loyal to us through this difficult time. They are the reason we are still here today.
One of the biggest challenge I have had to face as a female entrepreneur is managing, building and growing a business alongside motherhood. I started my company back in 2012, when I was a 19 year old, single University student. As you can imagine, my personal identity has shifted many times throughout the last 10 years, the biggest when I had my son in 2019.
I truly believe that in the last two years with the Covid-19 pandemic, Mum entrepreneurs would have been the most overworked group of individuals. You may have seen this quote “we expect women to work like they don’t have children and raise children as if they don’t have work”. For myself, the problem wasn’t the struggle of balancing work and meeting the needs of my child. If I had to parent all day and wait till my son went to bed for the night before I pulled an all nighter in order to get the to-do list done, that is what I did. Rather, the problem I experienced was having the headspace to be creative and innovative so that my company may grow, when I was so occupied with keeping a human being, who was so dependant on you, alive. We often hear about “Mum guilt”, but I also experienced “work guilt”, the feeling of guilt for not being able to focus my attention on nurturing my business. Ultimately, in the end, we Mumpreneneurs make it work. With time, things sort themselves out and we survive.
Describe a typical work day for you?
As a working Mum in this pandemic era, I don’t really have “typical” work days any more. Each day can vary greatly depending on whether my husband and I have external child care help, and just when you think you have a routine together, “bam” someone was a close contact or someone has contracted Covid and we find two full-time working from home parents caring for an active toddler. I have learnt to become as adaptable as possible, where I now have “good work days” and “good Marco days” (Marco is my son).
With regards to specifically work, each work day can vary so much depending on the tasks I have on my to-do list. Some days I find myself at our Flagship store checking in on the staff, having meetings with them or with suppliers/clients. Other days, you could find me in my home office smashing out some accounting work or taking interviews such as this. Then there are the days (that I love) where I can just be creative, writing up new formulations and making samples to test them out.
What about your personal life – how do you relax and unwind after a busy day in the office?
As a parent, you don’t really stop until the kids are asleep, so it is often quite difficult to find the time in the evening to do something for yourself. As such, one of the most effective habits I started a few years ago was meditating before bed or meditating to sleep. This has been one of the best ways for me to completely switch off so that I can have a restful sleep.
Do you have any particular milestones as an entrepreneur that you’re proud of?
Nothing beats that feeling of standing at the end of a giant shipper container, filled to the edges with products you have so lovingly created, ready to be closed up and on its way to an international destination. However, if I have to pinpoint one particular moment, I will always remember that feeling of completing my first million dollar order (it was actually closer to 2 million dollars). I remember a moment in time when I was working for a luxury jewellery boutique and in less than half a year, I had made over a million dollar in sales. When those results were displayed in the staff room, I remember thinking to myself “if I can achieve this, then I can definitely do this for myself” and I have.
What advice would you give your younger self?
You have an amazing and beautiful brand. So many people and companies will see that potential. They will want in, but they don’t always want to work as hard as you to reap the benefits. Don’t allow them to ride on your hard work and investments and take advantage of you. Protect what is yours. Know your worth (both as an individual and as a business).
What does Enbacci have in store for 2022?
Now that Covid has become somewhat manageable, we figured that 2022 is the year to start planning a little long term again. Whilst planning for this, I came to the realisation that what makes a luxury brand a luxury brand is the expectation that the consumers’ experience is something better. For example, in a traditional luxury retail store, we expect high quality, personalised customer service, whereas consumers may not have the same expectations of customer service of their local grocers. With consumers no longer just looking to buy good products, but wanting to support good brands, I realised that Enbacci really should be reflecting and focused on how we as a business “do better”.
So in 2022, that is our goal. Ensuring we have a way of doing better for every aspect of our business. We are starting with how we do environmental sustainability better. We have already aligned ourselves with the “Clean the Seas” project, where customers can choose to donate $1 of the sale of their purchase to this project. However, we plan on expanding our initiatives with our biggest project for 2022 being opting for sustainable packaging. The hardest part about this projects has been ensuring that the new sustainable packaging we use are the most green, energy efficient and lowest carbon emitting option that fits and works not only within the Australian market, but also the other international markets we distribute to. It is a process that has required a lot of research so far and a lot more to come.
For more please visit: www.enbacci.com
