We recently connected with Juanita Tomlinson and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Juanita, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I can definitely say the name of my company is unique and an attention grabber. People get confused on how to say it. Let me explain where it came from. I decided to create a business based on my own allergies to synthetic materials, so I wanted my products to be natural and geniune. I tried to come up with a name that represented that and looked up synonyms to “pure.” I wasn’t content so I looked up how to say it in other languages. “Dalisay” is “pure” in tagalog which is the filipino languange. I thought the word was classy and different.
Juanita, 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?
My name is Juanita Tomlinson and I am the creator of the dog brand Dalisay Pure. I started my brand back in 2019. Originally I wanted to start a brand of human clothing made with genuine materials due to my own struggle with clothing made of synthetic materials. However, I ended up combining that thought with my love for dogs. I still stand by my original struggle. My dog products are genuine, natural, and cruetly free. In the beginning I made matching tshirts for dogs and their pawrents. With doing that I didn’t see the legacy that I wanted to build. After taking some time from my business I went to an event hosted by the womens group The Elite Society and was enlightend. The next month I had my next moves in process. Sometime we get in our own way, but we cannot give up. I launched my brand as a luxury dog brand in October 2022, just a few months later. It has been such a great launch and I’m excited for what is to come. My brands future is so promising and the support has blew my mind in a positive way. I take pride in being a minority women in the pet industry because it is so rare. My goal is to grow and knock down walls. I want to see more black women and men striving in my industry. Most importantly I’d love to see everyone coming together.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
Let me be honest I can be quite introverted. I did my first dog event where I took my products to be seen and sold in a tent in at a park. In the beginning I was not really getting much attention. My mentor ended up telling me that I need to put my self out there and start spraying my spray on peoples dogs and reeling them in. My initial thought was “heck no”! I was terrified of speaking to these people! After some time I had to tell my self mentally all of what I needed to do to become successful. That included getting out of comfort zone big time. Before I continue let me mention that my brand is a luxury brand so prices aren’t the cheapest and I was so nervous that the price wouldn’t be affordable. Especially the buy 2 deal. I’ve always been the person to put others first. Anyways, I finally get out there spraying peoples dogs and talking! Can you believe I started making sales and even sold a couple buy 2 deals! It felt so good. That goes to show you how much we have to stop succuming to our fears.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
I have received most of my new customers from Instagram and Etsy. Having my product on a well known marketplace has been game changer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.DalisayPure.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalisaypure/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dalisaypure/
- Other: Etsy- https://www.etsy.com/shop/DalisayPure
Image Credits
KC Photography