We were lucky to catch up with Mfon Ekpe-Dancy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mfon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

When you start a business, your first sale is everything. Usually, your first sales come from friends and family, unless you’re an excellent marketer and didn’t tell your family or friends a thing. But when a stranger buys from you, that’s when you know you are in business! and if you get ten, twenty, or fifty strangers to buy from you, it’s the most amazing feeling. What is not often publicized is that sometimes it takes months to get that sale. When I started my business, I watched YouTube videos on packaging products, and lots of Etsy videos would show up on my feed. I loved how Esty creators/artisians packaged their products. It looked like a gift for the customer and had that element of personalization that made one feel appreciated. I feel grateful for every single customer I have. In the skincare industry, especially baby skincare, it’s hard for parents to find skincare products they trust. With that in mind, I like to make sure my customers know that I am grateful for them. With each order, I usually include a gift for their child, which could be coloring pencils made from twigs or tiny teddy bears. I leave a handwritten note in their package, letting them know how much I appreciate them. On occasion, I call, email, and/or text my customers to say thank you and check in with them. I think as providers of products and services, we have to remember that we are dealing with humans who trust us to deliver, and finding creative ways to show appreciation, keeps them happy and coming back.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Brand: Ziggy’s Pudding
Founder: Mfon Ekpe-Dancy, RN, BSN, Holistic Health Coach, Skincare Formulator

About Us:

Ziggy’s Pudding® named after my children, is a vegan, cruelty-free, natural, and clean skincare company, focusing on children, and people with sensitive and irritated skin. Our approach uses organic oil-based products to restore, protect, and rejuvenate the skin. We source certified organic, and sustainably wild-harvested raw materials to create our skincare products. Our range of vegan, nourishing, simple yet potent, skin-friendly, nontoxic products is the perfect solution for those suffering from eczema, babies with diaper rash, cradle cap, dry skin, dermatitis, and sensitive and irritated skin.

How we started:
Founded in 2018, Ziggy’s Pudding was inspired by our children. All of our children experienced eczema, ranging from mild to severe to infected and weepy. Ziggy, our firstborn, had recurrent diaper rashes for the first three months of life, which led to the formulation of our signature baby body butter. Ziggy was plagued with recurrent diaper rashes, cradle cap, baby acne, and eczema.
Pudding, our secondborn, experienced eczema that was weepy, itchy, and infected. I tried several lotions, creams, and ointments on the market, but found they were ineffective and full of harsh chemicals, even those labeled as all-natural. I needed a fast, non-toxic, truly natural solution that worked without all the harsh chemicals, skin deteriorating, and clogging additives.

With lots of research, further education, and trial and error, Ziggy’s Pudding: Baby Body Butter, our signature product was born.
Our flagship product: Baby Body Butter

Ziggy’s Pudding soothing baby body butter, is the all-in-one vegan healing baby moisturizer for eczema, diaper rash, and dry skin. Cloth diaper safe. Made with organic ingredients like shea butter and calendula. 2oz glass jar.

Multi-purpose relief for baby: Our baby body butter is the all-in-one healing moisturizer for diaper rash, baby eczema, dry skin, dermatitis, and more. It is the only after-bath, daily-care body butter formulated to keep your baby’s skin healthy and irritation-free. No zinc or petroleum ingredients, making it cloth diaper safe.

Soothing and nourishing: Our vegan baby body butter is created for babies of all ages and stages to nourish their skin and keep irritation at bay. Made with organic Shea butter, Cocoa butter, Avocado oil, Rosehip seed oil, and powerful extracts like Calendula, Yarrow, and Oregon grape root to protect, restore, and relieve sensitive and irritated skin.

Mamas love it: This convenient multi-use baby ointment is great on the go for diaper changes, dry skin, and a natural spot treatment. It’s also great as a daily moisturizer and infant massage for that comforting nighttime routine for your baby.

Long-lasting moisturizer: Our baby body butter provides long-lasting protection and moisture to keep your baby’s skin smooth, soft, and moisturized.

Certified Vegan & Cruelty-free: Our products are PETA-certified vegan & cruelty-free, making them safe for you, your baby, and our planet.

Ziggy’s Pudding is here to help moms and parents whose children are experiencing the skin-damaging effects of eczema, diaper rash, and other skin irritations with vegan, plant-based, truly natural skincare that is restorative, safe, and effective.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I manufacture my own products. I got started with creating products when I stopped chemically processing my hair, which is what’s called going natural. That experience introduced me to utilizing different ingredients to create natural hair creams, conditioners, and cleansers. When my son started experiencing recurrent diaper rashes, it was easier to do the research needed to find the right combination of ingredients that would be healing to his skin. The vetting process is extremely important. Knowing where you can find quality ingredients that are potent and effective takes time and effort but it is worth it. Also, developing a good relationship with your ingredient distributors is important as well. While I can appreciate synthetic materials used in skincare, I have learned from first-hand experience that natural, well-formulated skincare, is long-lasting without all the side effects and it’s better for people with delicate skin.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

If you build it they will come. That idea doesn’t work so much in business. I think if they preached, if you build it, and tell them about it then, they will come, we would all be better off. Learning to market and break down old thought patterns has been important in running a successful business. Although you hear, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, I say put yourself out there even if you are afraid because the more you lean into courage, the more confidence you build and confidence is one of the keys needed in business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ziggyspudding.com/
• Instagram: @ziggyspudding
• Facebook: @ziggyspudding
• Youtube: @ziggyspudding