We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Hicks. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name Olijé (pronounced O-La-Jay) pays homage to my parents, Otis and Lillie Sykes,  deceased.

The “O” is the first initial of my father’s name, The “li”is the first two letters of my mother’s name. The “jé” is the first two initials of my name, Jennifer.

My business name is a personal tribute to my parents as my father was an entrepreneur, and he instilled hard work, ethics, dedication and the entrepreneurial spirit within me, and I absolutely love making handmade products for my skincare line as this is a passion.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am Jennifer S. Hicks from Chicago, Illinois and I am the owner and creator of Olijé Body Care™, an organic, natural, cruelty-free handmade skincare line specializing in products for skin irritations such as dry skin, psoriasis and eczema.  I create handmade products for your hair, face, body, feet and hands. I have suffered from eczema and dermatitis for years, and the products that I was using was not working. Having a paralegal background, I did more research and was able to create a recipe that not only healed the eczema and dermatitis, but it kept my skin moisturized.  I am proud to announce my eczema and dermatitis has been under control since 2015.  Olijé Body Care™  has been seen on WGN Daytime Chicago and featured in Voyage Magazine as well.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I love my clients and I appreciate the fact that I have repeat clients since 2015, I enjoy keeping in contact by gathering their birthdays and offering a birthday incentive, I create skincare tips and I have a loyalty program which provides my clients with incentives and more.  I definitely keep my clients up to date with my pop-up events so I can have the opportunity to meet them personally and introduce my products to new clients.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Having a great support system has been critical to building a strong reputation for my business, as this allows me to be able to do what I am passionate about. I have also been able to work with organizations that have provided mentorship, ways to obtain capital, grants and ideas for marketing.  Word of mouth has definitely helped build my reputation along with the consistency and quality of my products. Consistency is key.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.olijebodycare.com
• Instagram: olijebodycare
• Facebook: Olijé Body Care
• Linkedin: Olije Body Care
• Youtube: Olijé Body Care