How to formulate a haircare range (and do it sustainably) with Laurence Quinnell, Leonora Haircare

EPISODE NOTES

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Today on the podcast I’m talking to Laurence Quinnell from Leonora Haircare. I actually have two businesses on the podcast in the next couple of weeks who sell hair products. The reason for this is they make similar products, but their stories and way they have produced their hair products are really different, and I think it is fascinating to see different ways of setting up a similar business.

I know Laurence personally, use her products myself, and I’ve been really inspired by her story over the last couple of months. Laurence is an ex-midwife who, having been made redundant from a high street job in the pandemic, has set up her own business and is making the products at home. She has been incredibly diligent about making sure that her products are all accredited and certified, and has developed her products using Ayurvedic ingredients. She has achieved so much in a short amount of time, and is incredibly knowledgeable about the importance of ensuring cosmetic products are safe to use, and how to go about this.

Listen in to hear Laurence share:

An introduction to herself and her business (01:17)
Using Ayurvedic ingredients (05:49)
Finding a formula that worked, and getting it certified (09:04)
Practical considerations when creating your product at home (12:17)
Long it takes to create a batch (14:42)
How long it took to bring her products to market (15:42)
Gaining feedback, reviews and customers from sending out samples (19:30)
Sourcing sustainable packaging (23:25)
Using fellow small business owners for printing and logo design (25:45)
Getting stocked in local shops and setting up partnerships with hair salons (28:52)
The differences between selling on Etsy and on her website, and shipping globally (34:11)
The importance of testing the product at the outset (41:33)
Working with the NEA (46:51)
Her number one piece of advice for other product creators (49:47)