Creating ethical, sustainable products – with Maame Sapong – Purscent

Welcome to the Bring Your Product Idea to Life podcast.

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This is the podcast for you if

you're getting started selling

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products, or if you'd like to

create your own product to sell.

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I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product

creation coach and Amazon expert.

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Every week I share friendly, practical

advice, as well as inspirational

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stories from small businesses.

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Let's get started.

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Today I'm speaking with

Maame Sapong from Purscent.

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Maame creates luxury home fragrances

like candles, re diffusers and

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other aromatherapy scented products.

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Her commitment goes merely beyond

creating delightful scents.

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She's also dedicated to establishing

a sustainable brand that strives

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to make a meaningful and possible

impact within the candle industry.

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So we had a really great conversation

about all things candles.

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Um, I learned a lot about

candles from this discussion.

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Um, and all the things that Maame

is doing and is committed to.

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Continuing to do to make sure her business

is as ethical and sustainable as possible.

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She also has a really innovative product,

which I am not going to tell you about

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here because you'll have to listen, that

I've never seen the likes of anywhere

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else and I think is absolutely amazing.

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And I can't wait for you to

hear her tell us all about that.

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So I would love now to

introduce you to Maame.

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So hi, Maame thank you

so much for being here.

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Maame Sapong: Thank you for having me.

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Vicki Weinberg: Oh, you're welcome.

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Can we start by you give an

introduction to yourself, your

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business and what you sell?

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Maame Sapong: Okay.

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So, uh, my name is Maame Sapong.

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Um, I'm the founder of Purscent

and Purscent is all about creating

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luxury candles, home diffusers, and

other aromatherapy centre products.

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think with a real sustainable edge.

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To the brand and that's what we hope to be

a very sustainable home fragrance brand.

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Vicki Weinberg: Thank you.

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And what inspired you

to start your business?

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Maame Sapong: So during the pandemic,

um, I think everybody was stuck at home.

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I work in finance, both my

husband and I work in finance.

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And I never see myself as a creative

person, but what I started doing, well,

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I started teaching myself how to paint.

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So I watched videos on YouTube, just

to break up the monotony of just

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being stuck indoors all the time.

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Um, so I even tried growing vegetables,

I haven't got green fingers at all.

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So I actually killed the

tomatoes I tried to plant.

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But then what I also started doing a lot

was, um, um, initially when I started, I

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used to just buy any good brands I knew,

but they were giving my husband headaches.

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So um, I had to stop and that's when

I started looking into actually all

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the different kind of ingredients

that go into candle making.

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Um, and I started teaching

myself on YouTube.

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So when things started lifting, um,

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Um, and we were sat at the garden

cafe and I could just smell all

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these fresh plants, lavender.

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It was a really nice garden.

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Um, we were sat in there and I thought

actually I could bring these scents home.

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So then I started looking

into aromatherapy, um, as an

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option to help keep me relaxed,

help, um, improve my moods.

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Um, and so I thought actually

I could make candles.

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So then I started looking at

alternatives to paraffin wax and

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everybody gave me such good feedback.

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So I thought, why not?

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I could actually make this for a living.

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Um, and that's when it started.

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So I think it was just because the

store bought candles gave my husband

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a headache, it got me looking into

alternatives and yeah, and here we are.

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Vicki Weinberg: Oh, wow.

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Thank you for sharing that.

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And I'm assuming that the store bought

candles, did they give your husband a

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headache because of the ingredients?

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Because until I met you and we

spoke about candles, I don't, didn't

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know much about it, if I'm honest.

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Maame Sapong: Yes, I think it was because,

for example, paraffin, um, it releases

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quite a lot of toxins in the air and

some of the synthetic fragrances as

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well, um, they do release toxins into

the air and different people react to

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scents and all of those differently.

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I didn't react to them,

but my husband did.

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It gave him headaches.

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So that's when I started

looking at alternatives.

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So I think it's because

of what goes into candles.

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We actually underestimate how

much is our indoor air is polluted

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when we burn a lot of candles.

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Um, I never thought about it until

my husband started reacting to it.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's really interesting.

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And I'll be honest.

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I never thought about it until I saw

you talking about it on Instagram.

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And then I went around and looked

at all my candles and saw what

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sort of wax they were made of.

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Um, so do you want to tell us about what

the ingredients are for your candles?

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Because I know that's what

makes them quite unique.

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Maame Sapong: Yes.

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So we only use rapeseed and coconut wax

in our candles and we scent them with 100

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percent essential oils and plant extracts.

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So we, uh, there are other alternative

waxes I could have used like soy

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or beeswax, but I actually sat down

during my research to think about how

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I could make my business different.

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Soy, the research that I found was that

a lot of the soy on the market comes

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from Northern America where they're

actually destroying forests because

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of the popularity of soy, um, there's

a lot of deforestation happening and

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there's some GMO in, in, in soy wax.

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So I think as personally, I

didn't feel that was right for me.

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Um, and I looked at other alternatives.

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So rapeseed grows in the UK and it grows

in Europe, but it's quite a hard wax.

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So it's mixed with coconut um, to

soften it up a bit and the coca.

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So we started looking for alternative

suppliers who would buy or

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produce these waxes sustainably.

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And so then we decided to go for the

rapeseed wax and then essential oils

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are just, yeah, natural scents from

plants and leaves and things like that.

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So yeah, that makes it all natural and

not fragrances that are synthetic or made.

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So yeah, so that's what

we use in our candles.

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Vicki Weinberg: Thank you.

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Maame Sapong: Sorry, I like

to go around in a long way.

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Vicki Weinberg: No, not at all.

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Thank you.

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No, I think it's really interesting.

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And I've, something as you, as

you know, I've used your candles

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and something I've noticed, well,

there's two things that I've noticed.

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One is that they burn

for a very long time.

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And the other is that the

scents are really strong.

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Even when the candle isn't lit, you

really get the sense from the wax.

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Um, why, why is that?

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Because I know that you will know,

because I'm sure this is something

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you've made a conscious decision about?

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Maame Sapong: Yes, I think it's because

essential oils are quite expensive.

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So lots of some people who use essential

oils in their candles use reduced

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amounts just because it is expensive

and it makes a candle quite expensive.

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And if you want to be an affordable

brand, it's really difficult to use it

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the way you have to, to make the scent

stand out or so you get uh, good scent

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through, but we are quite generous in

how much essential oils we put in our

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candles, enough to make it burn well, but

then you get the value for money from it.

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Because a lot of feedback I get from

markets is, oh, I burned the candles and

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after a few hours, the top part burns

and I don't really smell it anymore.

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And I keep telling them, try

our candles because we mix the

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whole batch with essential oils.

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Um, yeah, to make it burn

well and for you to get.

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what you bought, a candle that

actually makes a room smell nice.

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So, and they, and one, one of the,

um, characteristics of grapeseed and

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coconut wax is that it really burns

slowly and it burns clean as well.

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So it's, it's a better

alternative to the paraffin wax.

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Vicki Weinberg: Oh, thank you.

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And coming back to the scent.

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So does that mean that some candles are

only scented in like the top bit and

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they're not scented all the way down?

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Maame Sapong: Yes.

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So when you're buying a candle for say

five pounds, and even if it's been made

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with a good wax, it's very expensive to be

able to justify producing it at that low

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cost for you to sell it for five pounds.

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So some manufacturers from the

research I found do actually just

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sent the top part of their candles.

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Some people only scent the middle bit.

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So the wax would harden on the outside

and they would only send the middle.

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So you don't always get

the central you need.

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Um, but lots of independent brands who

are very proud of what they do and the

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businesses they do, they do it very well.

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But when you buy a lot of like

large scale manufactured candles,

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you often compromise on quality.

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Vicki Weinberg: Thank you.

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And actually, this is the sense I

get speaking from business owners

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who hand make their candles.

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I do get the sense that you take a lot

of pride in the quality and there's

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a lot of thought that goes into it.

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Whereas I guess for the bigger

brands, maybe it's a lot more about

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volume and keeping costs down.

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And I know that cost is always an aspect,

an issue for smaller businesses as well.

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Um, but I think there's something really

nice about them being homemade, handmade

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and the thought that goes into it as well.

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Maame Sapong: Yes, yes.

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We make every, we hand make

all our candles, our refills,

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our diffusers, everything is

handmade in house at the moment.

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Vicki Weinberg: And I also don't want

to like gloss over everything we've

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spoken to, because what I'd really love

to know is, so you've talked about your

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inspiration for starting a business and

everything that you do, you know, it's

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quite a big undertaking to research

all of, you know, the ingredients

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and the components, but then also at

the actual making of the candles, how

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did you learn how to, how to do that.

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Maame Sapong: Well, I think my

husband would tell you I'm crazy.

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I like to keep busy because I

do actually have a full time

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job as a financial controller.

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So I am already busy, but I do.

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I've always loved candles and I,

when I wanted to start a business,

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I knew that the initial research,

this quickly highlighted how many

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other brands are in the market.

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Like everybody makes candles because

it's such a low entry product.

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Anybody can just start making a candle,

but the research, I love to research

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before, before I started making

candles, my friends would normally

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contact me if they need anything.

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Oh, mummy, I need to do this,

or I need to go on holiday.

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So I love research.

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So I, it's something that I always enjoy.

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So researching would normally

be in the evenings after work.

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I'll be sat on the sofa and just

read about it or on a day off.

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I don't watch that much TV.

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So for me, doing research is

sort of a hobby, I would say.

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And that's when, yeah, so I managed to.

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And I think what you find with research

is as you start looking into it, you might

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go in with the idea of finding something,

but then something triggers something.

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So it gets you to think

about something else.

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So, for example, when I thought,

actually, how can I create a

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sustainable candle brand initially?

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And the other question for me was, how

do I stand out in such a crowded market?

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So that I have to actually

think about the jars.

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I want to use the packaging I want to use.

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I didn't want any plastic film on it.

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So it meant I went to, I went

for the more expensive, um, um,

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laminations or because I wanted it

to be a brand that was sustainable.

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And even the jars I chose, I chose

jars that could handle a lot of heat.

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So if people have to reuse it in

future, it's available for them to use.

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It won't crack easily.

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If somebody forgets and leaves

their candle, um, for longer than

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the recommended burn time, which

is maximum four hours, because

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some people burn for all day.

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I need a jar that would

withstand that heat.

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So it was just a lot of research

after research after research.

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Um, yeah, and I do enjoy research.

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So yeah, it was a learning process.

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But, um, I think managing

your time well helps.

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So I am quite disciplined with my time.

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I know I have a full

time job and a family.

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Somehow I don't always get it right

and I don't always manage it all well,

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but yeah, managing the time I have.

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Evenings, um, are taken

up by candle making.

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And then Saturday, Saturday,

some Saturdays are taken up

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by candle making and markets.

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Uh, but I always made it a point that

I'm not going to be working on a Sunday.

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Um, so that would be the day that

I would just take a chill pill

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ready for the following week.

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So, yeah, just, yeah, that's it.

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Vicki Weinberg: Yeah, I guess you

have to, because as you say, there's

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always a lot, like whatever everyone's

situation, there's always a lot to

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fit in and manage and I think you're

right, none of us get it exactly right.

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The balance all of the time.

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Um, but it's good that you've got the

boundary of not working on Sundays, I

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have to say, because I think sometimes

it's good to just set a line in the

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sand and say, this is what I won't

do because otherwise I could well

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imagine that, or I don't know, I'd love

to know whether, you know, how time

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consuming making the candles is, but I

can imagine that it could be something

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you could just keep, just keep doing.

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And then of course, all the other

aspects of running the business.

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Um, and you're not doing this full time.

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I imagine it could eat into

every spare hour if you let it.

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Maame Sapong: That's correct.

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Uh, but then I also realized that

I'm strong in certain areas and not.

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So for example, now I do have a

part time social media manager and

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she handles all the social media

because I couldn't do it all alone.

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I'm good with numbers.

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I'm good with making the candles,

so I do make them, but I do also

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appreciate somebody else's talent.

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So I hire a part time freelance

social media manager who helps

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with all of that side of things.

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And she's such a lovely lady.

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So, yeah.

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Vicki Weinberg: That's really good.

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And I think that's really actually good

for people to hear, because I think

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it can be really tempting, especially,

you know, you mentioned that you

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started your business only last year,

especially in the early days, it can

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be tempting to think, okay, I need

to be the person who does everything,

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but I'm sure that, you know, you'll

see the benefits of just freelancing

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something that you're, you know, you

don't particularly like doing, enjoy

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doing, or probably have the time to do.

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Um, yeah.

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I think there's a lot

of benefits for that.

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Maame Sapong: Yes, that's correct.

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That's correct.

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Vicki Weinberg: And coming

back to making the candle.

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So, so you obviously, you know,

you did loads of research,

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but what about the practicals?

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Like, as in, I don't know what you

need to do, melt them, pour them.

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Maame Sapong: Melt the wax, knowing

what temperature to melt them at.

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Um, so I did a few courses

online, um, to learn about all

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the different types of waxes.

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So I think when I decided I was going

to make container candles, I wasn't

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going to make pillars or mold candles,

I was just going to stick with the

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jar and lots of, I did a few online

courses, then I started practicing.

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So lots and lots of practice,

finding out what the right

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temperature is to melt your wax at.

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And a lot of the candle ingredient

suppliers will give you the

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information if you ask them.

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So knowing what's the right temperature

to melt your wax, knowing how much

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ingredients to, sorry, oils to put in.

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Sorry, um, knowing how long you have

to mix it for so that all the essential

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oils actually bonds with the wax.

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Yeah, so just had to learn

it online, uh, most of it and

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lots of testing and practice.

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When you start testing and practicing

how to make it, you've come across all

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the different flaws with you making your

own candles, like when I've heated the

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wax too much, or when I've poured it

into a very cold jar, like learning all

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of those things, it comes with practice.

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Vicki Weinberg: Yeah,

that's really useful.

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Sorry.

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Maame Sapong: Yeah, sorry.

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And I was just about to say, because

I found it so therapeutic, it

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didn't feel like it was a chore.

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I actually do enjoy making the candles.

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I think for me, that's the fun part

because I have quite a serious job.

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Um, and so for me, I think the making

of the candles was the outlet for me.

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And that's, yeah, I think

that's why I enjoy making them.

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Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

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And I think that's important.

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And I guess as well, it would be

a lot harder for you to commit the

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extra time to work on the business

if you weren't enjoying, enjoying it.

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Um, and it's also just what it was

interesting reflecting, you know, you

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said how much you like research, um,

but then how did you, did you also

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enjoy that trial and error stage?

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Because the thing is you can research

as much as you like, but once you

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actually get to doing something

practical, that's when it gets harder

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maybe because you've got the backgrounds

and the knowledge, but maybe things

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don't always work as they should.

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How did you find that process?

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Maame Sapong: I think

frustrating at times.

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Um, but I think my friends would say

they enjoyed free candles, a lot of free

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candles during that time because, um, when

I made them, they were my guinea pigs.

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So I'd give them away for them to

test the scents and things like that.

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So yeah, it was, it was frustrating.

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I think at some point it just, it

was a bit costly because when you're

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buying the oils and ingredients and

you're literally just burning them away

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and not making any money from them.

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That was, yeah, that was, but

that's part of the business.

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If you want to do it well, you

have to be prepared to invest the

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time and the money to make it work.

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Yeah.

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Vicki Weinberg: Yeah.

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Thank you.

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And, and on those lines as well,

like I know you've mentioned

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that you love the candle making.

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How about the actual

sort of business aspect?

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You said you've got a really good

head for numbers and I think that's

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really important because I know

when I had a small business, that

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was definitely my weakness, is

that I struggled with the numbers.

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So I think that must be a huge advantage

to have, to have that other, any

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of the areas though, apart from, we

spoke about, say to social media that

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you have found trickier to pick up.

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Maame Sapong: Yes.

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Yes.

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So, um, when I started my career in

finance, I worked for a skincare brand

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that was, that had just launched.

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And because it was quite a small

business at that stage, growing business,

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it was, I learnt a lot from there.

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So yes, the numbers are a strong

point for me as I work in finance.

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However, um, working in a small

brand, you are exposed to all the

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different aspects of the business.

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So like marketing, MPDs,

operations side of things.

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So I did have quite a good overview,

um, about how to run a business,

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how to launch a brand, even though

I might not necessarily have the

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expertise to do all the copywriting.

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So I'd give that to somebody to do for me

or the web design, somebody to do for me.

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Um, but I think in terms of my experience

in industry, it has equipped me to be

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able to, um, run the business part of it.

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So making sure that, um, I'm calculating

the correct profit margins, um, in terms

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of choosing packaging, transporting

it, all the additional costs that

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come with it, but then marketing and

social media, like I said, weren't my

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strong point, but um, finances are also

another, um, any, any small business

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will tell you when you have funds

they're stretched very, very thinly.

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So there are things I've had to

compromise on and not get, um, not

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investing right now, but grow it slowly.

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Um, but then there are certain aspects

that I wanted to get right, right from

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the beginning, like the photography, um,

like the social media, like Instagram.

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And so I was willing to put the

money in there and then things

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like Google ads and things like

that, I thought I could do later.

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So it's just, yeah, balancing.

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I, I, there's been, I've made a few

mistakes where I've ordered stuff

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because I want to take advantage of the

bulk discount and realize actually I

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shouldn't have because I changed my mind

about packaging and things like that.

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So those are some of the

mistakes that I've made, but

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learning from them have helped.

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Vicki Weinberg: Yeah, I don't think

I spoke to a single person who

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hasn't made mistakes in the early

days because I think we all do.

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But as you said, it's just, if you

learn from it, then I think it's

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actually not an advantage, but maybe

actually, because I think as well as,

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you know, you learn something, but then

it also gives you a bit of resilience

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that, okay, I did something wrong,

but it wasn't the end of the world I

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think that also can be really helpful.

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And it's, yeah, that's really interesting.

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Thank you.

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And it's good to hear as well, how you're

speaking about, you know, that you can't

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necessarily do everything you want now,

and then you have a bit of a plan for

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it, because I think that that can feel

really hard in the early days can't it?

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Where it sounds like you've got a lot

of patience, Maame, where you, you know,

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you know, that, um, things will come.

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And I think that's really good

because it can be very tempting

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to either not do things or to

try and do everything at once.

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Maame Sapong: And I think that's,

that's, that's one of the mistakes that

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small businesses make, um, that because

you have very limited time, because

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often a lot of people start businesses

and they have to manage a full time

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job as well as the small business.

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You have to know what your strengths are.

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One, you have to know that

actually I can't do it all.

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Ask for help when you need the

help and yeah, just be patient.

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I think that's it.

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Just be patient.

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I think often I found myself in the early

days looking at some of the established,

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um, candle brands within the space I'm in.

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Um, I see the number of followers they

have, I see the kind of content they have.

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And I'm like, I actually can't

do all this, but okay, okay.

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I can't, that's just the

fact I can't do them.

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So what can I do to actually grow

my business and know that with

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time and the right investment,

I, yeah, I will get there because

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I'm willing to give it my all.

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Um, so yeah, why not?

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Just have to be patient.

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Vicki Weinberg: I think it's really

good to have that perspective as well

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because it can be really easy to look

at other people, other businesses and

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think, oh, why aren't I where they are?

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Um, yeah, that's a, that's a

really healthy perspective to have.

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Maame Sapong: Yes.

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Yeah.

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And I think talking to other brands,

because, so one thing that Top Drawer

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did for me is I met a lot of lovely

brands, small businesses, and I, I

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am keeping in touch with some of them

and sometimes when you feel low, like,

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oh gosh, is this really worth it?

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You realize there's somebody on the other

end of the phone who's actually going

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through the exact same thing and we just

have to keep going and just persevere.

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This is what we want to do.

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I want to give up my, my day job.

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I would love to give my day job

at some point in the future.

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And focus on this full time,

so I can't just give up on it.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Vicki Weinberg: And actually, we haven't

mentioned, but, um, we actually met at

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Top Drawer in London earlier this year.

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Um, I wouldn't, if you don't mind, and

I hadn't planned to ask this, but if it

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comes up and please say if you don't want

to, but it'd be great to hear a little

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bit about your experience, you know,

at a trade show, because that's a huge

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show I believe, was that your first?

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Maame Sapong: It was my first, yes.

422

It was my first, I think, um,

Top Drawer was very positive.

423

I met lots of lovely people.

424

I think in terms of, from Top Drawer

and the feedback I got from the business

425

consultants, I decided to rebrand

my, um, candle refills because I was

426

struggling to work out why it really

didn't stand out, uh, on the shelf.

427

And I knew that it was because people

were struggling to work out what it was.

428

Um, people thought it was

bath salts because they'd

429

never seen anything like this.

430

So for me, Top Drawer was great

seeing lots of other brands,

431

great meeting lovely people.

432

I've got some sales from Top Drawer, um,

because I've met businesses there and the

433

feedback has helped me improve on some

of my, yeah, for example, my refills.

434

I've done a rebrand of them from

the feedback I had from Top Drawer.

435

So yeah, it was, it was great for me.

436

Vicki Weinberg: That's really interesting.

437

And I, I haven't heard anyone say about

the feedback before, but I think what,

438

you know, how good is that to get that

feedback from buyers who obviously

439

look at so many products and have got

a really good idea of the market to be

440

able to give you that feedback and for

you to then be able to address that.

441

Maame Sapong: Yes.

442

Vicki Weinberg: Because that

could be the sort of thing that

443

you could go years thinking, why

aren't people picking these up?

444

Why aren't they selling more?

445

So that's really good.

446

And, um, that actually leads us on nicely.

447

Let's talk a little bit about your refills

because people won't know what they are.

448

Maame Sapong: Exactly.

449

Okay.

450

So when we started the brand,

I did say I wanted to build

451

a sustainable candle brand.

452

And one of the things we started

doing was educating people about

453

how to reuse their jars at home.

454

But I just felt that wasn't enough.

455

And I knew I was always going to do

candle refills, I didn't know how, um,

456

but then funnily enough, the jar I chose,

I don't know if you've seen my original

457

candle jar, it's narrower on the top

and it gets wider when you go down.

458

So when I started considering

candle refills, there's no

459

way I could go for a block.

460

And the last thing people hate, and

that's one of the feedback I actually

461

had from Top Drawer, they buy candle

refills, it comes in a block, and you

462

have to actually use the company's

jar or a jar that it fits in.

463

So during my research, I thought,

actually, all I see are refills out

464

there, but they're all blocks in the UK.

465

How could I make a refill that will allow

people to use anything they have at home.

466

As long as it's heatproof, it

won't crack, it won't leak.

467

As long as it's suitable for

making a candle, how can I just

468

get people to use what they have?

469

Because, or a mug at home, without

necessarily having to buy a candle.

470

And, and then something just went off into

my head and then I started looking, but

471

then one thing I didn't want to do was

to use plastic or, um, to make it quite

472

a long process because there are lots of

candle making kits out there where you

473

melt the wax, you have to put the oils in.

474

I wanted something that was easy to use.

475

You could pick up.

476

And just, yeah, use as a refill, but I

didn't know how I was going to do that.

477

So I started researching and I

found a company that actually

478

did, uh, pouches, that were

suitable for using in a microwave.

479

So I asked for samples and I actually

said, actually there are lots of

480

households, because I do have friends

who choose not to have a microwave.

481

Does that mean I'm going to eliminate

them as well, uh, for the market?

482

And the pouches came and we tested

it and yeah, and these, we decided

483

actually this is going to work.

484

So we tested it for quite a long time.

485

And that's what brought about

the birth of our candle refills.

486

It is a candle that's pre scented.

487

In a 100 percent compostable

pouch, that was the other thing.

488

I didn't want a pouch that would

add to the problem of waste because

489

one of the biggest things I wanted

to do was to do my little part to

490

sort, try and tackle the waste issue

we have in the candle industry.

491

Millions of jars end up in landfill

and the wax at the bottom of our candle

492

jars, especially if it's made from

paraffin, do end up in landfill, which

493

is quite bad for our, yeah, planet Earth.

494

So I wanted something that was

compostable, so it would literally

495

disappear back into the soil.

496

Um, I wanted something that was easy

to use, something that was unique,

497

something that anybody could use,

whether you had a microwave or a pot.

498

You could put on the fire.

499

So then we created our refills,

which is our pre scented candle in

500

a 100 percent compostable pouch.

501

You just pop it in a microwave, or if

you haven't got a microwave, in a pot

502

of boiling water, you melt the wax, and

then you pour it into an existing jar.

503

And everything, the wick and the

wick holder come inside the pouch.

504

So you literally pick up the

pouch and you make a candle, as

505

long as you have a suitable jar.

506

Vicki Weinberg: Thank

you for explaining it.

507

And as you know, I picked up one

at Top Drawer and I can attest to

508

the fact that it is so easy to use.

509

I sort of expected there to be

more steps if I'm honest, but it

510

really was heat, pour, wait a while.

511

Like it really was.

512

And that really surprised me.

513

And as you know, I was absolutely

delighted because I just

514

thought that's just so, so, so

clever because you're right.

515

If you buy a, like a block candle refill,

then it just never fits in the jar.

516

Even if you buy it for the jar it's

intended, it just doesn't work.

517

Also, there's something really

satisfied about pouring it yourself.

518

Maame Sapong: Yeah.

519

I think it's the process.

520

And that's quite a lot of feedback

we've had and I wasn't expecting that's

521

just come off feedback we've had from

customers who said, I actually enjoyed

522

making it and because it was so easy

it just made it even more satisfying.

523

So yeah.

524

Vicki Weinberg: And I really like the fact

as well that you don't necessarily even

525

need to have a jar that like you say, you

can just make it in a mug or just anything

526

that is suitable that you have already.

527

And as you say, that just takes away

the thing of, you know, you want a new

528

candle, but you know, maybe you've already

got lots of jars from previous candles.

529

Um, I think that's, that's really great.

530

So I think this makes it

great for, for everyone.

531

I think, especially for candle lovers,

because if you know, you burn a lot of

532

candles and you have a lot of empty jars

sitting around, then you have, well, what?

533

What do I do with them?

534

They're really hard to reuse.

535

Maame Sapong: Yes.

536

So I did reuse some of my old jars.

537

I put spices in them at home.

538

I use some on my desk to put matches

in or pens, but then you've run out

539

of ideas and what do you do with them?

540

And I have been doing a few markets

and every single time somebody

541

picks up a pouch, they're like, that

is, actually, that is so clever.

542

I could actually reuse my jars.

543

And hearing that from a lot of people is,

yeah, it just puts a smile on my face.

544

Vicki Weinberg: Oh, it should.

545

Yeah.

546

Well, you saw I was delighted

when I found out you did that.

547

I just, I've never heard of that.

548

And I think it's amazing.

549

And, um, yeah, just such

a, a unique proposition.

550

I've said before as well, I also like

how much thought you've put into every

551

single aspect of your business, you know,

about the pouches being compostable.

552

I just think that the care you've

taken in thinking about all the

553

sustainability issues and the

ethical issues are fantastic.

554

Maame Sapong: Yeah.

555

Because that, that's very important to me.

556

Um, uh, I am originally from Ghana and I

know one of the biggest issues we've had,

557

um, I've seen what flooding does to lives.

558

Um, and a lot of that is because

of plastic waste and deforestation.

559

Um, and when you're close to the

actual impact of what waste is doing.

560

Um, yeah, it makes you think.

561

I think that's what it is, because

I, I, I've seen firsthand what the

562

impact of us not caring about how

plastic affects us or how, um, we

563

dispose of stuff or what we dispose of.

564

Um, I've seen the first

hand what, what that does.

565

So, yeah, it was important for me to

think about all of that in the business.

566

So for me, it's not necessarily

just entirely about making profit,

567

but just making a difference.

568

However small that difference

is just to get people to think

569

twice about what they're buying

and what they're disposing off.

570

Vicki Weinberg: Yeah,

I think that's great.

571

And I, I agree with you as well that

I think even if we all make a small

572

difference that does start to add up.

573

So I think, I think that's great.

574

And I also, yeah, thank you for sharing

that as well, because it's really nice to

575

hear the, you know, the personal reasons

for, for making the decisions as well.

576

Maame Sapong: Thank you.

577

Yeah.

578

So I'm actually in Ghana now, so visiting

family and yeah, so it's, it's nice to

579

come back and yeah see everyone, but

then also see lots of good, good projects

580

that are ongoing to tackle the main

issue of plastic waste in this country.

581

So I'll be talking about a few things

on my Instagram and, and online

582

about that in the coming weeks.

583

Vicki Weinberg: Amazing.

584

And I'll make sure we link to your,

all your social media and your website

585

in the show notes for the episode.

586

And so I've got one final question

before we finish, which is what

587

would your number one piece of

advice be for other product creators?

588

Maame Sapong: If you're passionate

about your business, I will say,

589

um, you don't have to know it all.

590

Um, you can actually do what you

love, but also acknowledge that

591

there are some skill sets you're,

you won't be a hundred percent at.

592

So please, if you can outsource those,

because then you can free up your

593

time to think about the, the things

you're actually very, very good at,

594

and you won't always get it right.

595

You will make mistakes, but the

lessons we learn from those mistakes

596

is what helps you build a better brand.

597

Um, I've learned quite a few lessons

in the one year I've been trading.

598

Some very expensive mistakes

I've made, but you learn from

599

them and you move on from it.

600

So, and then you can't always

be like the big brands.

601

So how can you be unique and

how can you still stand out?

602

It's, it's very, very important.

603

I think that's the one question

I've always asked myself from the

604

beginning, because I knew I was

going into a very crowded market.

605

But the only thing that kept, kept me

going, and that's what steered a lot of

606

my decisions is how do I stand out from

the crowd that people would notice me.

607

Um, and that's very important.

608

Vicki Weinberg: That is, and I think

it's always good to have something

609

to keep coming back to as well.

610

To sort of keep you on track as it were,

especially when you get to, as we were

611

saying earlier, you can get to the stage

where you want to do all of the things

612

and, but it's just nice to know that,

okay, no, that isn't for me because

613

this is what I'm about, for example.

614

Maame Sapong: Exactly.

615

Yeah, exactly.

616

I totally agree.

617

So yeah.

618

Vicki Weinberg: Thank you so much for that

and for everything that you've shared.

619

Maame Sapong: Thank you, Vicki.

620

Thank you so much for your time and

thank you for having me on your podcast.

621

Vicki Weinberg: You're so welcome.

622

Thank you.

623

Thank you so much for listening

right to the end of this episode.

624

Do remember that you can get the

full back catalogue and lots of free

625

resources on my website, vickiweinberg.

626

com.

627

Please do remember to rate and review

this episode if you've enjoyed it

628

and also share it with a friend

who you think might find it useful.

629

Thank you again and see you next week.