We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katrice Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Katrice , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.
There are a few customers that come to mind when thinking about success stories. One that stands out the most has now become one of my repeat customers. She started using Unrefined Essentials and said it “changed me and my son’s skin for the better.” She went on to further explain, “I can’t even begin to tell you how many different products we’ve tried, and this cleared us both up within 3 weeks.” My favorite part of her experience is her telling me, “You have magic in a bottle.” She shared with me that she struggled with psoriasis for years and after consistently using our products, she was able to stop using two of her prescription steroid creams. This truly reminded me of the importance of me creating skincare products.
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.
My journey started with the passion of finding and creating DIY products for my natural hair. I stopped using most over-the-counter hair products because I only wanted natural ingredients to be used on my hair, simply because they were healthier. I no longer wanted to use products full of chemicals that would harm my hair more than help.
I was determined to find the perfect recipe for my hair conditioner and styling products to specifically stop breakage and moisturize my hair for optimal growth. I know I’m talking about hair, but I promise it’s about to come full circle. One day, I decided to use my shea butter hair moisturizer, made of natural butter and natural oils, on my skin as a body moisturizer. I couldn’t find any lotion that particular day, which was the best alternative. When I used it, I instantly realized how much it transformed my skin. It made my skin glow. It made me feel soft. It was effective at moisturizing my skin throughout the day.
Using lotion, I found myself having to reapply often throughout the day. This is when I decided to head over to Google University and YouTube University to find out how to formulate something specifically for my skin. In my research, I found many articles, videos, etc about body butters. What I was using on my hair was how they formulate body butter.
I began to research natural butter and natural oils to find which ones I thought would be the best fit for my skin. After crafting a whipped body butter for my personal use, family and friends would use it, fall in love, and eventually ask me to make them some. THIS is where my idea to start a business to craft and sell them to people that wanted a natural product that wasn’t full of unknown ingredients or harsh chemicals that worked to address their skin’s needs came about. Lotions in the stores are mostly water.
The other ingredients are either toxic chemicals/ingredients that could potentially be harmful to our bodies. Not to mention the excessive use of synthetic fragrances. They also proved to NOT be the best option for combating the ash (lol) and didn’t focus on healing the skin. In October 2020, after months of late nights due to planning, I launched Sleeque Body. I started out selling only body butter. Over the years, I continued to research because I pride myself on always providing THE BEST products for customers. I always want to be sure to give my customers the best ingredients. Our skin is the largest organ in our bodies, so we need to take care of it.
My formula has evolved over the years to always elevate the final product. I am a “self-taught chemist,” so to speak, and the more I learn about skincare and ingredients and how they do or do not benefit the skin, I like to incorporate that into my formulas. I then started to venture into formulating body scrubs and body oils, and I added those to my product lineup. In addition to wanting the best products for my hair and body, I started to gain an interest in researching and formulating facial care. After all, the skin on your face is the most delicate and sensitive skin on your body.
It was then that I crafted a formula for a foaming facial cleanser and added that to my product line as well. Fast forward to 2023, and talks of rebranding started. Being in business for almost three years, I felt that I had evolved from where I once was in my business and wanted that to show outwardly. I wanted to change the name, the look, the way I did marketing, the customers that I reached, everything. After much thought and planning, in May 2023, Unrefined Essentials was born. The name speaks to the type of products that I produce. They are essential, natural, and now, VEGAN! The products provide “pure ingredients for pure skin.”
Once I launched the rebrand, I became a lot more invested in entrepreneurship. I also started to entertain the great idea of crafting facial care products. I was very intentional with my research to formulate facial products that addressed the needs of customers, which are backed by science and produced in nature. From this, several facial cleansers, facial moisturizers, facial toners, and facial serums were produced. Once I incorporated facial products, the business expanded a lot more. My facial care products are now my top sellers. I’ve grown my business by having an online store that ships anywhere in the country, and I participate as a vendor at A LOT of farmer’s markets and pop-up events.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
In the beginning, many of my followers came from my personal social media accounts and by word of mouth. Friends would share my page to their followers as well. When customers began to place orders, they would follow and share and organically, it just began to grow. Posting consistently and running ads were two strategies that worked well, in the beginning. Currently, I get most of my followers from markets and people who may find me through my posts on social media. The biggest thing to remember is consistency and dedication. I also had to tell myself to just post the content. At one point, I felt everything had to look a certain way or had to be perfect. The crazy thing is, I would get more interaction on posts that took 15 minutes vs 1 hour to create. Go figure lol. I record almost everything, making products, packing orders, in-person events, etc. Then, I just post. It will reach who it is supposed to reach.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
For the most part, I stay in touch with my customers through my Instagram platform, in-person events and email marketing. Through IG, I post polls or ask for opinions on current or upcoming products. I follow up to ensure that the products are working and to see if there are any questions or feedback that they can and want to provide. Through email, I alert my customers when I am having sales, when I’m dropping new products or what events I will be vending at, so they can come out. As far as in-person events, in the Summer, I am apart of Farmers’ Markets, so I see some of the same customers throughout the season. Outside of farmer’s market season, I apply to vend at as many events as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.unrefinedessentials.com
- Instagram: @UnrefinedEssentials
- Twitter: @UnrefinedEssentials
