Building a Brand with Heart – with Serina El Mufti – The Dead Sea Co

Welcome to the bring your product idea to Life podcast.

This is the podcast for you if you're getting started selling products or if you'd

like to create your own product to sell. I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product

creation coach and Amazon expert. Every week I share friendly,

practical advice as well as inspirational stories from small businesses.

Let's get started.

Hi. So today on the podcast, I'm speaking to Serina El

Mufti. Serina is the co founder of the Dead Sea Co. The Dead

Sea Co infused the Dead Sea skin boosting and therapeutic

minerals with mindfulness, transforming everyday skincare into soul

enriching rituals. Serina is a co founder of the business along with

her siblings, which is something that we speak about in the interview today, as I

thought that many of you, like me, would find it really interesting how to

start and run a business working with your family. I found

her insights into that really fascinating and useful. Sabina also,

of course, talks to us about the origins of her product, what inspired them to

start their business, and also a lot about their brand ambassador program,

which I found really interesting and something that I think could be

really useful to lots of small businesses to consider. So

I will stop talking now and would love to introduce you to

Serina.

Hi, Serina. Thank you so much for being here. Hi. Thank you so much for

having me. Can you please start by giving an introduction to yourself, your

business, and what you sell? Yes, of course. So my name is

Serina. I'm one of the co founders at the Dead Sea Co, and

we specialize in Dead Sea skincare and wellness

products. We have a holistic approach to

skincare. So we believe that

our overall wellness also impacts our skin

health. Not only do we

champion simple,

effective, and natural Dead Sea skincare

by harnessing the skin boosting and therapeutic Dead Sea

minerals, we also believe that

you can transform your skincare routine into

kind of more self care moments, which ultimately impacts your

overall wellbeing and then your skin health as well. And that's all kind of

linked into, you know, what inspired

us, which was ultimately the Dead Sea, which I can talk about more. Yeah, I'd

love you to hear about what inspired you, but I think that's great. That's such

a holistic view, if that's the right word. Yeah, for

sure. And that's. Yeah, that's our philosophy

and all it kind of stems from the Dead Sea and the

kind of spa rituals there. I set up the business with my brother

and my sister, and we're half Jordanians who spent a lot of time

between Jordan and the UK and a lot of time at the Dead Sea.

And what really kind of struck us was not only how

amazing your skin feels after you leave the Dead Sea, it's also

how good you feel inside as well. So, obviously, most

people know that at the Dead Sea, there's mineral rich

mud and the therapeutic waters, but also it's the lowest

point on earth. There's about 8% more oxygen there. You've got the

sunshine, you've got the most stunning scenery, you've got

desert, mountains. And then

with a stark contrast of the salty lake, the glistening salty lake,

it's just the most beautiful place. And you can kind of smother yourself

in the mineral rich mud, and then you float effortlessly

in the sea or the lake, the salt lake, and it washes off and your

skin is glowing and it's silky soft, but you also

feel really good. And that's kind of why we want to bring that

side into our products as well. Because obviously the Dead Sea

is a wellness tourist hotspot. It's even said that the

egyptian queen cleopatra used to bathe in the mineral rich waters.

So the wellness side is such an important aspect,

as well as the kind of mineral rich, modern salt.

Thank you so much for explaining that. And you've made me really want to go

to Georgia now, I have to be honest, it sounds amazing.

So what inspired you to actually start a

business with your siblings? So I understand

the inspiration for the products, but what made you all decide, okay, this is something

we want to do? So

I was living in London, had a career

and sustainability in the city, and I had my first

baby. And after that, I had really

terrible postpartum skin issues and kind of stress

related rosacea. So, obviously, being from

Jordan and loving the Dead Sea, I was like, oh, I'm going to look for

a Dead Sea mask. And I was really surprised that I couldn't

find anything. Well, I'm really ingredient savvy

and also really conscious about what I put on my skin. And obviously, after having

my first baby, I was even more conscious about that. And I was just really

surprised at the ingredients that I found in these Dead Sea masks.

There was quite a lot of harsh preservatives. Some were mostly water,

lots of fillers, and we.

I couldn't. Yeah, we're just really surprised because obviously, being, you know, being from

Jordan and witnessing firsthand the most amazing

skin benefits, I couldn't believe there wasn't

someone championing that ingredient specifically and, you know,

really focusing on that ingredient and making sure that it was filled with other skin

nourishing and loving ingredients as well. So that's kind of how

it started and all. So obviously the link to stress and skin

health and being

a working mom, it's obviously very busy

and finding time for skincare and self care. It's not always

easy. And I think that the last thing anybody wants sometimes is another thing to

do on their list of things that they already have to do. And

I think that after having I have two children

now, I realize the importance of taking that five minutes,

whatever that is, and just being a little bit more mindful in my own skin,

my own skincare routine, or actually everyday routines. But bringing it

into skincare is something that we champion. But

we have these aromatherapy shower steamers, and the idea behind that is

that they've got the therapeutic essential oils in them, so you can turn your

shower into a moment of self care. And so instead of just maybe running

through all the list of things you have to do, you could turn that into

a mindful moment. And that can be anything. Self care is quite personal.

So for me, it could be listening to my favorite

music or a podcast and someone else that could be, you know, breath work or

a guided meditation. It's really what makes you feel good and that ultimately will

affect your overall wellness and therefore your skin health. So that's kind of how we,

we like to look at it and what kind of inspired us. Oh, thank you

for explaining that. That's all really nice. And I'm. I'm really

surprised, as you were, that there wasn't a product or

products on the market already. And I have to say, I think it's

great how savvy you are at looking at ingredients and

knowing what ingredients are in things, because I think a lot of us

don't do that. I mean, I have to be really honest. It's only been in

the last couple of years that I've got a bit more savvy on.

Okay, what's in my shampoo, what's in my moisturizer, and actually

looking at ingredients. But I think a lot of us, for a long time, just

kind of look at the benefits or the

benefits that want the packaging anyway, and go, okay, that looks fine.

Without really going onto our skin. Yeah,

absolutely. And it is really important what we put on our skin, I think because

I had quite sensitive and also that I already had rosacea, I was,

you know, obviously things could make it flare up. So I was more conscious of

that anyway. And, you know, after having a baby

and breastfeeding, etcetera, you just become, you know, I think you, your hormones are all

over the place anyway, so, you know, I think it just becomes even more important.

Or it did for me anyway. And, yeah, and that's kind of how our journey

began as the Dead Sea Co. And do you find

that knowing a little bit about ingredients, did that help you when

it came to formulating the products and working out what went in them?

I mean, yes, I had a really strong idea, but obviously that isn't my area

of expertise. So we have an

amazing female formulator in Jordan who specializes in Dead

Sea skincare, and then we also have a manufacturer

that specializes in Dead Sea skincare. So whilst

obviously it was based on my ideal

for, you know, quite a simple ingredient list, I

wanted it, you know, I wanted all the ingredients to be really effective, work

really well together, and really have an impact on the skin. And the hero ingredient

to be Dead Sea mud, we obviously then needed that kind of real expertise

to make sure that, you know, it was as effective as

possible and, you know, was skin nourishing and loving as we wanted it

to be. That makes total sense because I think even if you knew

the exact ingredients, you wanted to include how you would turn them into a

moisturizer or any other product. That's something

different, isn't it? Yeah,

you need to study it. It's a chemical engineer that does all of

that kind of stuff. So, yeah, as I said, we had the vision

and what we really wanted, and then

they kind of brought that to life for us. That's amazing because it sounds like

you were able to give them a really clear brief because you knew exactly what

you wanted. You had such a vision. And it's great you're able to find someone

to formulate your products in Jordan as well because I assume that she's really familiar

with the mud and the benefits and how best to use it.

That's, that's the thing. You want. You want ingredients that complement each other and work

well together, and that's what they could really help us with. And,

yeah, it's that our hero ingredient for our mask specifically is our

mud. And then they've put in, you know, we agreed on nourishing

oils and then some antioxidants to really give it like a being

an all round product where it really purifies, hydrates and

brightens your skin all at once. Well, thank you for explaining that. And I'm going

to ask what might. Be a really stupid question. I really hope you don't mind

me. Asking, but are these ingredients easy or difficult to source. Say,

for example, Dead Sea mud. Is that something that's widely available to source

or did it help that you had, you know, that you're from Jordan

and you could perhaps meet people there? Yes,

exactly. So obviously the sourcing in Jordan is, you know, the

Dead Sea is on our doorstep there, so. And

it's Dead Sea. Sorry. Jordan is known for having really,

really great quality Dead Sea mud. So using it from

Jordan made a lot of sense. And then we try as

much as possible to source as many ingredients locally in Jordan as

possible. So, for example, we have some pomegranate seed oil

in our mask and that's sourced from women's groups in the north

of Jordan who actually harvest those, you know, harvest the seeds themselves.

So we try our best to you, you know, and one of

our briefs is obviously really

nourishing ingredients, so all our kind

of oils are cold pressed. And, you know, that that's really

important to us. That was amazing. And I'm sorry if that was a stupid

question, but it did not. You know, it might. While I'm sure there's a lot

of it, I wasn't sure how easy it was to actually sort. I mean,

there's not. I think there's only. There's only two companies that extract the Dead

Sea mud. So obviously in Jordan and Israel. So being on the Jordan

side of things, much easier for us.

Yeah, definitely. So I guess having some local knowledge and presumably knowing people there

was really helpful. Yes, absolutely. For sure. And I'd love

to talk about something slightly different, if that's okay, because you mentioned at the beginning

you set up the business with your siblings. I would love to know how you

found working with them. And obviously going to as much detail as you like,

because often people consider maybe starting

up the business with a family member or friend. And so any sort

of, you know, anything from your experience you think would be useful, I think would

be really good to hear. Like things to consider, maybe things that work well,

maybe even things that haven't worked well, as I said, up to you what you

want to share, but I think it's really interesting. Yeah,

absolutely. I mean, I'm not. I'm going to be

honest, it's extremely hard. I think that would be with siblings

or a friend or, you know, anyone, anyone you really co found a

business with. It can be really

difficult at times, especially because everyone has their own visions and their own ways of

working and it has been difficult for us. I

think we've definitely got to a much better place now. I think we're two and

a half years in. I think redefining

our roles and responsibilities helped. So at the beginning, we were just kind of

working on it together, which was lovely as well. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily change

anything, but as things progress, and

also both my, at the time, we all had other jobs,

so, you know, it started off at that. Now, this is my, you know, I

work full time, but both my siblings still have other full time jobs. So

we've had to really work around that and redefine who does what,

how we do it. And, and I think that that is something I would advise

people to do, is to have a real clear understanding of what each person is

bringing to the table and how their skills, you know,

benefit the business and, and how you can work together and even

being a little bit more formal and having, like, a conflict resolution strategy, I think

all of these things are really helpful because, um, you

do need to sometimes fall back on that. You're not always going to have exactly

the same ideas and agree

ways forward. So I think that is really, really important. And the other thing

I'd say for working with family and potentially friends

is having that kind of work and personal

balance and separation. It's really easy

sometimes for us, and me especially, to forget that's my

sister or that's my brother. And we have other things in common and other things

we want to do and speak to each other about. We try

to keep, like, family, you know, events and gatherings, maybe just, you know, personal

and not kind of bring in the website, which is really hard as well because,

you know, there's a lot of things that are always pressing we need to talk

about. So it's a juggle. And I think that being mindful about it

is really important and trying to have as much structure as possible and,

and that's where we're kind of working towards and getting to as well.

Well, thank you so much for sharing that. I do think that's really useful. And

as you say, I guess having structure, I think with anything, having some

kind of structure really helps, doesn't it? And it sounds like you've all been really

thoughtful about how it, because you're right. I can imagine that it could

just take over your life and your relationship and that could become your only

topic of conversation almost. And you don't want that. You know, at the end of

the day, I love my siblings and I want to keep that sibling

relationship. And so it's difficult, though. I'm not going to lie. You

know, it's always difficult to remember, but you just have to work

at it. And is it hard, like, if you do have disagreements, is

it hard to kind of have a disagreement over something work

related and then still maintain your personal relationship? Absolutely. I

think that that's the most difficult part of it. I mean, we're really, or

I'm really lucky, both. I have great siblings and I think

everybody's, you know, our main,

we all think of the business first in our business relationship, and I think

that's really helpful and everyone's really understanding

and I think we manage. But, yes,

definitely, if things aren't going well and then we've got some, you know, personal

family gathering, it's not so easy sometimes to switch

out of work mode and, and get into family

mode. That makes sense, but it sounds like you're all doing really well.

We're trying. So I'd love to switch topics for a moment if

that's okay, because there are so many fantastic things you're doing and I've seen,

I'd like to talk to you about, I'd love to talk a little bit about

your brand ambassador program. Couldn't get my words out

there because that's something quite unique, I think. So I'd love to know a little

bit about what it is and how it works and perhaps also I know

this is a big question. Anything you've learned from it as well. Absolutely.

So I think word of mouth is

still so incredibly important and having that kind of

authentic, genuine champions. And so that's what

our brand ambassador program is about. We have an application

process where people can apply to be a brand ambassador.

And that's really because we want people that really, really

believe in the brand, that believe in our products and our philosophy and that want

to champion us and that enjoy using our products because I think it's really obvious

if someone, you know, is, is talking about it and is

passionate about it or just trying to sell a product, I think that they're quite

different things. And so, yes, we have an

application process and then we are going to start some

training for ambassadors as well to make sure that they understand, you know,

that, you know, the benefits of Dead Sea minerals and how they

help your skin and also our kind of more

holistic philosophy and how you can incorporate self care into your

daily lives as part of your skincare routine. So,

yeah, that's kind of how it works. And then in terms

of the benefits of it, I mean,

we get a greater reach because obviously, you know,

we have ambassadors that are going out and talking about us and, you

know, and championing our brand, which is

fantastic, and also building that rapport with the

ambassadors and having that engagement, all of these things really help us because

it builds that genuine connection. And people who

really do love the brand and obviously for the ambassadors, the benefits for

them is that they, it's like an affiliate program,

so they get commission as well. So it's, I think it

works really well both ways. And it's something that, you know, we

really, we really enjoy having those ambassadors and building those connections

and, yeah, it's great for our reach and for our brand

awareness. That sounds like a really, sounds really great. And that's why I

wanted to talk to you about it because I don't see that many brands that

do it, but I think particularly for brand like

yours, it must be really nice for potential customers to

see the impact of your products on real people's skin. Cause I think

for skincare brands in particular, it can be really hard to kind

of think, will that work for me? Or is that just, that's the

thing? Well, that, that's exactly it. And I think that, you know,

having more user generated content and people that actually are

enjoying our products and, you know,

use them, I think that that's the best way to spread, you know, spread awareness

about the brand and, you know, potentially get more customers. So I think

it's a great way for us to, for us to do that. And

I think that, you know, there's obviously a lot of

influences and influencer marketing, but I do

really think that people relate more to

seeing real people, not real, you know, I mean, like

people, you know, not influencers as in, like, just people that are enjoying the

skincare and it's the word of mouth marketing as opposed

to, you know, the influencer marketing. I think there's definitely a

difference because I think with some influencers, you might see them. They're using one brand

one week and another brand next week and it doesn't feel as

genuine, whereas I can't think of a good example now. But there are definitely

people online who I know they must love this particular brand, whether it's

clothing or skincare, whatever, because they're talking about this brand all of the time.

And I think you kind of that, that sticks with you

a bit more, I think. Well, yeah, because they obviously have a genuine connection and

it really works for them. And that's what you want. You want to find people

who really do enjoy and love your product and use it

and that can spread the word because that's, that you know, that will be the

best form of marketing, rather than influencer marketing.

Definitely. And do you also work with them? I'm just being really curious

now. Do you also get feedback from them and things like that to kind

of. Absolutely. I mean, I think that's. That's

really important to us, is getting any customers feedback and

really developing and refining our products around that

feedback, because I think that that, you know, that's what makes

a brand work. You know, we have to be solving problems and

actually giving people what they really want. And it's really nice you're so

open to that as well, and so, like, having that connection with people who are,

I presume, coming back to you and saying, oh, this worked for me, but I

would prefer that, or whatever it is. Exactly. Yeah, that's exactly

it. So, yeah, it's really important to us. Yeah. I mean, it's so valuable,

isn't it? Like you say, getting any kind of feedback is just.

Yeah, so, I mean, that's the ultimate goal, definitely, is getting as

much feedback as possible. And something else I would love to talk

to you about, if that's okay, Serina, is I know that you entered the Adobe

UK and enterprise nation. Small business goes big competition.

So let's talk about why you entered, what was involved,

and the outcome, if that's okay. Of course. Yeah. So

we entered. So the prize was to

get a two day pop up shop on Oxford street. So

it's, you know, especially for, you know, a skincare and wellness

brand. You know, actually, what we were just talking

about, getting that feedback from your customers and seeing people actually

interact with your products. I mean, it's really invaluable. So that was the, you

know, we really wanted to be a part of that and have our kind of

first taste of being in retail and obviously on the, you know, one of

the busiest streets of the UK. So it was a real opportunity

for us and something that we didn't, you know, we didn't want to pass

by, so we applied for it. We had to create a

webpage using Adobe software, Adobe Express, and then send

in a presentation, a video presentation of, you know, why we thought we'd

be successful with the pop up shop. And luckily, we, you know,

we were successful, and we got our two days on Oxford street,

which was just the most amazing experience. And we had,

you know, our screens all the way down Oxford street, the bus screens that

have, you know, adverts, they had our brand on them, and we had a really

big billboard in Leicester Square. It was a real pinch me moment. Of, you

know, obviously as a startup, you know, it's, it's such hard work

to try and get your brand off the ground and then to actually be on

Oxford street for the couple of days and see your, you know, see

your brand everywhere, it was just fantastic.

And, yeah, and it was a really, really insightful experience.

Again, going back to speaking to

customers, looking at our conversion rate actually there on the shop

floor, seeing how people engaged with our

products, what they thought about the packaging, what they thought about the scents, what they

thought about the texture of the mud. There were so many things to talk about

and to find out about. I think it's really, really informed our retail

strategy, which we're hopefully moving ahead with.

That's amazing. And I didn't want to give away the outcome in the question,

but it's amazing that that's such a big prize

and I think it sounds like a really good opportunity. So have you learned things

from that that you think when you look to go into retail, things that you

can take away from it? Yes, absolutely. From how to set,

you know, the, you know, how we want to look and feel to, if

we want to give a more kind of experience of our products,

how we can bring our products to life a bit better, you know, all of

these things. Until you're kind of in it and see how people are engaging and

reacting, it's quite difficult to see, decide just, you know, from, from the outside.

So, yeah, I think it's really informed what we see

for the future and how we want to pursue our retail strategy.

So that's exciting. And did you get any support with

how to set up the store and run it or anything like that or were

you completely left to your own devices? No, they did. They provided a lot of

support in terms of, yeah, we had, I think, a call beforehand

with a retail specialist that went through, you know, what works

and, you know, what we should aim for and how things should look. Not things

should look us into the brand, but, you know, what kind of best practices are.

So there definitely was a lot of support. It was a really fantastic competition and

we met some really great brands as well.

And then obviously, then we got in there, we planned it all and

then we tweaked things as when we were there because, as I

said, real life is different from planning and

seeing how people move around and where they went first and

how they interacted. It all informed our kind of how we

set up and how we will set up in the future. That's so exciting.

And was that the first time that you'd sold your products in that kind of

like face to face environment. Yes, we'd done a couple of.

That was the first pop up we'd done. We'd had a couple of makers

markets, but this was the first pop. And yes,

it was a different experience and as I said, really gave us an idea of

kind of what brick and mortar retail would be like.

Out of interest, are there any differences from how people

buy your products online, bring your skin care and wellness in particular,

how they buy online to what they do in person?

I'm just being quite well, yeah, I. Mean, the issue with

online is you can't touch, feel,

smell. And I think that's where

specifically for beauty, I mean, it is quite

a. An important aspect of the bit. Customer

journey is difficult. As you said before, you don't always know what's

going to work well on your skin. But there's other things like do you like

the smell of the product? Do you like the feel of the product?

Is the packaging important to you? All of these

things inform the customer journey and then

whether people will purchase or not, I do think you have a lot more touch

points, obviously, if you're physically being able to

see and feel the product rather than just shopping

online. Online. That's why the ambassadors and, you

know, really have an impact as well because they

are talking firsthand and, you know, talking about their experience with their

particular skin type and they do talk about, you know, how it

smells and how they apply it and, you know, that kind of stuff. So

I think that, yeah, there is quite a big difference

and that's why you need different. You have to try online

and bring those kind of experiences to the customer as

well. Yeah, that's great. Thank you. And I think that, as you

say, that's why your brand ambassador program works so well for you, because I think

it is such a. Skincare is really hard to buy

online, I think. I think the only other thing for me that I find hard

to buy online, as hard as candles, because, again, you can't. It's a

personal preference. That's the thing. Everyone's skin is different and everyone

has different preferences for scent and texture, etcetera. So

that's why it is quite difficult online. And I think having,

being. Having a presence in retail is important.

And so is that on your plans for this year? Yes, it is, yes.

Oh, that's really exciting. So maybe at some point you'll be able to come back

and give us an update on how. Yeah, that'd be amazing. I'd love to.

Yeah. Really good. Well, thank you so much for all you shared, Serina.

My very last question, and I asked this to all my guests, is what would

your number one piece of advice be for other product creators?

I think I'm going to go back to this

customer feedback, to be honest. I think that that is the single

most important thing because I think that if you're listening to your

customers and you are refining and

developing your products around your customers

needs and how you actually add value to their lives, I

think that's how you stand out and get that loyal customer base and

also create your niche, because obviously,

especially with, you know, within skincare and beauty, it's such a saturated industry.

You know, you really do have to find your community and find, you

know, and, and find people who, who love your brand.

And I think the way to do that is to create products that actually solve

problems and are focused on your customer.

Well, that's brilliant. Thank you so much, Serina, and thank you for everything you shared.

Thank you so much, Vicky, and thanks for having me. Oh, you're welcome.

Thank you so much for listening. Right to the end of this episode. Episode. Do

remember that you can get the full back catalog and lots of free resources on

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