We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nina Obrecht a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a customer success story with us?

Sure! Our customer feedback is one of the biggest drivers for me to keep growing the business. I love knowing that I’m helping people. Riciniol is a patented skincare product that was first developed by a molecular biologist in 1983. It restores skin, nails and hair and can be used just about anywhere—and our customers swear by it.

Last year, at one of my small business markets, I traded a fellow vendor a bottle of our Riciniol Classic formula for a bottle of the hot sauce he was selling. He gave my product to his girlfriend. A few months later I received this message:

“I was given your Classic formula by my boyfriend. I wanted to tell you that I have a problem area on my face that is maybe eczema; a patch of raw red skin that is always flaky. It has been there for over 10 years now and would not get any better with any cortisones or other products.

After using Riciniol on the area for about three weeks, the flaking was gone and I’m in shock at how it has healed after so many years. I read all of the provided research on Castor Seed oil from your website and I thank you for providing the level of detail. I have just ordered three of your other products and wanted you to know how well it worked for me.”

And this is just one of many success stories. Customers say that our Riciniol Baby formula clears up eczema and rashes on delicate baby skin within a couple of days, sometimes even overnight.

One customer said that their father’s skin was so damaged by prescription creams that they didn’t know how to help him. The skin on his face was red, very thin and painful. Riciniol Clary Sage was the only thing that helped. This poor man suffered for years before trying our product.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve always been a creative problem solver.

I started my career as a graphic designer and eventually, I specialized in branding. I freelanced for 15 years, handling everything from logos and stationery for small businesses to doing full rebrands of global corporations.

I loved my job. But the longer I worked, the more interested I became in building my own business brand—something tangible that was bigger than me. When my daughter was born in 2012, I told myself that by the time I was 40, I wanted to switch to a product-based business. On my 40th birthday I launched the parent company for Riciniol and I haven’t looked back.

When I was a child, my parents knew a molecular biologist who had a little girl with severe skin sensitivity and allergies. The mother was determined to end her daughter’s suffering and worked to find a product that could help her daughter. She eventually discovered the ancient healing properties of castor oil. Her molecularly advanced formula quickly became a trusted local remedy that my family has relied on ever since.

Today, I not only use it for my family, but I also exclusively import and distribute this healthy skin essential across North America. From mosquito bites to eczema, it naturally fights bacteria to help with inflammation, redness and itching. Unlike other creams, it never stings. It’s natural, safe and it works.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on both my own store and Amazon. There are pros and cons to both.

Website Pros:

• Higher profit margin

• Ability to make the experience high touch

• Helps grow my email list

Website Cons:

• Shipping is expensive

• Packing orders is time consuming

Amazon Pros:

• They do everything for you

• You have a much higher customer reach in multiple countries

• I almost think of it as a passive income stream. Periodically, I send inventory and money shows up in my bank account

Amazon Cons:

• Fees are high

• Setting Amazon up can be difficult. It’s all AI-driven, which can cause issues that are not always easy to resolve

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I am, at my core, extremely high touch. I love expressing appreciation to people in my personal and business lives. I think people should practice that more. When you think of something nice to say, say it.

So, anytime someone orders from my website, I send the order with a handwritten note encouraging them to keep in touch and ask questions. We also regularly run contests on social media and engage with anyone who enters through comments.

I really enjoy in-person events, whether they are in-store demos or small business pop-up markets. It’s a nice way to get to know customers, to tell them different stories and how to use the product. Since I am obsessed with what I am selling, I think it resonates with people and builds trust, and they often buy to support me as a human being.

Nothing beats in-person interaction. Putting that little bit of effort into showing your genuine appreciation goes a long way in building customer loyalty.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://riciniol.ca/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riciniol/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riciniol
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/riciniol-niiainc