We recently connected with Afotey Odai and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Afotey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When we started our business, we wanted a brand that reflected our values and mission of building connections, spreading love, and serving the diaspora. We also wanted a name that was elegant, luxurious, and uplifting that would be unique and memorable.

As first generation Ghanaian and my wife first generation Nigeria, we also wanted our brand to be rooted in our culture. I scoured Yoruba and Ga words, trying to find that perfect name that would encapsulate our aspirations. But nothing seemed to fit just right. I even tried using a random name generator, reminiscent of Donald Glover’s approach in naming his music persona, Childish Gambino, but found no luck.

Then, one day, I started thinking about why I started this business in the first place, which was to provide a healthy and natural alternative to soothe my wife’s eczema. From there I started to play around with the letters of our name, eventually breaking down the different syllables to combine “Tey” and “Lam” to create “TÉYLAM”.

TÉYLAM is about us. It’s a reminder to be true to ourselves as we share our culture, because with every product we create, we are sharing a part of ourselves. We are also committed to our community by providing them with high-quality products and services that are both luxurious and uplifting.

We hope that TÉYLAM will inspire others to strive for excellence by being true to who they are. We believe that when we are all true to ourselves, we can make the world a better place.

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’m Afotey Odai, a creative entrepreneur with a passion for blending tradition and innovation. I was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Ghanaian parents. After attending boarding school in Ghana, I was drawn to the intersection of cultures.

I studied Management Information Systems at the University of Georgia while learning music production on the side. After graduating, I moved to Washington, DC to pursue a career in media. I worked as a recording engineer and editor at a local independent media studio, and I also began to explore my entrepreneurial side, launching a number of creative ventures including an audio production company producing podcasts and film scores.

After experimenting with using natural ingredients to soothe my wife’s eczema. I founded TÉYLAM in 2020, a natural skin care company that uses traditional Ghanaian shea butter to create products that are both effective and sustainable. TÉYLAM is my way of connecting my Ghanaian heritage with my Atlanta roots, and I’m committed to using my business to empower our people and underserved communities in Ghana.

One of the things I’m most proud of is that TÉYLAM has been able to create jobs and opportunities for people in Ghana. We work with a number of talented artisans who make the shea butter we use, and we are committed to paying them fair wages.

Our current challenge is staying consistent with marketing to get our story out there. We’re overcoming this challenge by dedicating time to creating valuable content, using AI tools, and reaching out to content creators. We’re also utilizing our network of friends with these skills sets.

In the future, we hope to build a manufacturing plant in Ghana to help create jobs and opportunities for Ghanaians. We also plan to expand the company to offer not only skincare products but household goods.

Our customers have provided nothing but amazing feedback about how our product has assisted with keeping their skin moisturized and how smooth our product feels on their skin. A lot of our customers have issues with dry skin and eczema, and they’ve found that our products have been very effective in relieving their symptoms.

We’re excited about the future of TÉYLAM and we’re committed to using our business to make a positive impact on the world.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I manufacture our products myself. I started by just using straight up raw shea butter in the beginning, but my wife wasn’t a big fan. She would purchase other body butters and tell me what she liked about them. I would reluctantly listen to her feedback and secretly start watching YouTube videos on how to make whipped body butter.

I would make improvements and have her test it. She would provide feedback and I would make changes again. I continued making improvements to how it smelled, felt, and looked until she loved it. She loved it so much she started telling our friends. Once she was satisfied and used what I made every day, I knew I had our base formula. Friends would also test it and provide their opinion.

Once I had our base formula for our whipped body butter, I took a course on formulating natural skincare products by Formula Botanica, an online course for becoming an organic formulator and indie beauty entrepreneurship to get a more in-depth understanding of product formulation.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe that my commitment to quality, customer service, learning, and innovation has helped me build my reputation within my market. I use high-quality ingredients and formulate my products with a deep understanding of natural skincare. I am dedicated to providing my customers with a positive experience, and I listen to their feedback and make changes to my products based on their recommendations. I am always looking for ways to improve my products and my business, and I take courses and workshops to learn new skills. I am passionate about natural skincare and my commitment to empowering people in Ghana are evident in everything I do. I believe that these things have helped me build a reputation as a company that is making a positive impact on the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://teylambutters.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teylambutter/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afotey-odai-1578b521/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sR5o2JI9BoInd7kOeBiqQ

Image Credits
Abiola Fakile Jasmin Church Afotey Odai