We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Karandat Alexa Monahan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa Karandat, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

We both spent our previous careers in the Natural Health industry, Lisa on the manufacturer side and Alexa on the retailer side. In 2019 we had both come to the moment where we were ready to leave those careers behind, but felt and still feel a deep passion for natural and sustainable living. Having spent so much time in the space and being super users ourselves we knew the downfalls of what was currently on the market pretty well, and more importantly, we had a good understanding of what consumer perception was and still is around natural and/or sustainable products. Most consumers have a preconceived notion that if they are going to go natural and/or sustainable they are going to have to give up quality. And in most cases there is some truth to that. We were using shampoo bars in our routines and didn’t love them. So we decided that we wanted to make Hair, Body and Home care that we love and want to rave about AND have it be natural and sustainable.

Lisa Karandat, 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?

We are Good Juju, and We make premium plastic-free body & home essentials that are naturally derived, and free from chemicals commonly found in their traditional liquid counterparts. Beautiful products that are good for you, and good for the planet, too.

We are a female founded, BIPOC, Canadian, Indie Beauty and Clean-Living brand, who have grown rapidly in awareness, influence, and cultural importance by tackling two of the largest issues of our time: the Climate Crisis and Diversity & Inclusion.

With each transaction we remove unnecessary plastic from the waste stream and portion of each sale is donated to environmental causes, ranging from tree planting to ocean cleanup to kelp reforestation. Essentially, a portion of every dollar spent and earned at Good Juju is going towards making a real environmental impact. Moreover, we consistently champion diversity and inclusion because it’s a central component of creating a more just and sustainable world. We believe that you should not have to give up quality when you give up the plastic bottle.

Our motto is “Zero Waste with Zero Compromise” making zero-waste a diverse, beautiful, luxurious experience.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Our ability to pivot is probably our strongest trait. We launched Good Juju at the end of 2020 in the middle of the pandemic and since launching each year has brought the unexpected. A few examples of some major pivots for us have been not launching an entire product line at the last minute in favor of another that had less planning behind it, changing manufacturers, and entering new channels of distribution that were not in our strategic plan. Each of these instances have unique stories behind them, however the one constant since launching just over 3 years ago is that we cannot plan ahead further than 3 months. The industry dynamics, algorithms, borrowing rates, and buying patterns are changing so rapidly that in order to survive, we need to master the art of the pivot.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Building on the above, we have had to unlearn traditional business planning. We do have a 3-5 year vision, but that’s what it is, a vision, not a plan. It doesn’t work for a small business in these times. Being more flexible, looking for opportunities, and going where your customer and trends are in the moment are the skills we are trying to learn and master.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hellogoodjuju.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/hellogoodjuju_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellogoodjuju