Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laurie Miller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Laurie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
Nani Pua means beautiful flower in Hawaiian.
In the early 80’s I had the opportunity to work on a conservation project on the island of Kauai. My job was to plant native plants that would create nesting grounds for birds. This began my love for conservation and native plant research.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My love for everything organic began in the 70s. Natural skincare was not readily available so I would kitchen formulate make-up, haircare and skincare using anything I could find in the cupboard.
I’ve embraced an organic life for most of my life and it has been my foundation to create a skincare company that embraces organic luxury.
Believing that every detail does matter, I search for the highest quality organic ingredients, when formulating and in our recyclable packaging.
We have launched with our Nani Pua Ethnobotanical face serum. This beautiful oil serum has been formulated with nutrient rich organic botanical oils. Choosing organic skincare not only benefits your skin but also the planet. Our serum is packaged in beautiful glass bottles and post consumer hemp paper boxes.
For the last 18 years we have had the privilege to own and restore the 157 acre Crown Hill Ranch in southern California. The restoration includes removing invasive species, researching and adding native plants and creating wildlife habits. We have established the Nani Pua Farm on the Crown Hill Ranch property where we grown and research botanicals.
A portion of every sale goes back into the land, believing that we are the caretakers of the earth
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The big pivot, my skin care line was due to launch in June 202o.
I had spent three years in a lab formulating 11 products with the launch date of June 2020. In February 2020 all of my suppliers had emailed or call me and told me the botanicals are stuck in customs, the bottles are no longer available from Germany, the pump tops from Italy’s factory was closed all due to Covid.
Hand sanitizer shortage was huge and we were already in the lab so we launched with hand sanitizer! We chose to donate one bottle of sanitizer for every bottle sold and have donated over $130,000.00 worth of sanitizer to local charities in San Diego.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
I started in a small lab in San Diego that gave me the ability to be in the lab while we formulated our line.
Looking for a lab that’s a perfect fit takes research and you must interview a number of labs to see what they offer. It’s a huge learning curve so my advise is take your time, you most likely will start with a smaller lab that will do small runs for you.
I’m now in a much bigger lab in LA that still allows me to be in the lab during formulation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nanipua.com
- Instagram: @nanipuaskincare
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanipuaskincare
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-miller-03115024
Image Credits
Natalia Robert Photography https://www.nataliarobert.com Dena Meeder Portraits https://denameederportraits.com/