We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Owusu-Ansah a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Fashion is a big part of my DNA. The bath tool industry is very simple and has basic colors. We focus on fashion colors.

Caroline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m originally from Worcester Ma which is about 30 mins outside of Boston. I’ve always deeply loved fashion and studied Apparel Marketing at UMass Amherst. This degree prepared me for anything relating to the business of fashion. Where I grew up, there were few options for careers in my field, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I ended up going into Visual Merchandising and Brand Management. At the time, I didn’t realize that this position was preparing me to create LUV SCRUB. In this role, my responsibility was to protect the look and feel of the brands I worked for, from the windows to the back of the store. I started in one store and then quickly oversaw districts, regions, and North America.

This strong foundation helped me create my brand LUV SCRUB, a mesh body exfoliator used in West Africa

for generations. First, this was not my idea! In 2011, some new friends complimented me on my skin and told me to package and sell it. I’ve always wanted to start a business, and this was a great idea. There was nothing like it on the market, and I was surprised to see this when I started. I started blitzing the market the very next day. I got samples from my parents and sent a package to a spa in Boston; three weeks later, they ordered for their three locations, and the rest is history.

I’m proud of myself for not only listening but taking a chance.

I decided not to return to work and work on LUV SCRUB full-time, creating a business plan, beautiful packaging, marketing plan, etc., and, most importantly, finding a factory that could make a beautiful high-quality product for me. In 2011, I like to think of that period as a test. I could test the market, listen to my customers, and see how this product would perform. I took a much-needed break because I knew what I was doing, but I also didn’t know; however, I needed time to think this through. So I stopped a few months after I launched and returned to work to relaunch in 2016. In December 2016, we relaunched LUV SCRUB, and three months later, we went viral in Ghana and America. Currently, we have been in business for about seven years. We have been mentioned in over 100 publications, including Good Morning America, Vogue, and Harpers Bazaar. We received Allure’s Best of Beauty 2020 award and also have been called the “New Loofah” by People magazine.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We have a clear brand and quality products, and also the first to market on a larger scale. Branding is critical to me and a huge focus at LUV SCRUB. You can’t have a business without a brand. I feel very strongly about that. Our message is clear and consistent. Not only can you see it, but you can also feel it. About the product, we only sell high-quality products. This has always been a huge focus of mine. With all that, we have been approached by major retailers and the press. These three focuses have helped us build a strong reputation and become a leader in the category.

Spend the time on your brand, be consistent, and you will see the rewards.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

With my background in Retail Merchandising, I noticed a massive shift in the industry. Stores that I have opened were closing. Companies were going out of business left and right. Malls are becoming extinct. People were no longer heading to the mall and shopping online. This is all due to the shift in people’s shopping behaviors. I had to make a decision and decided that the uncertainty was not for me and decided to go into entrepreneurship. You can control the narrative and write your own story while working yourself. There is nothing better.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theluvscrub.com
• Instagram: LUV SCRUB
• Facebook: LUV SCRUB
• Linkedin: C. Owusu-Ansah
• Twitter: LUV SCRUB
• Youtube: N/A
• Yelp: N/A