We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ofelia McCollough. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ofelia below.
Ofelia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Ofelia and Kathya we are sisters, mothers, and founders. we embarked on a shared dream to work together, to bring superior products ethically made with a Peruvian influence. Since 2018, Leena & Lu has delivered irresistibly soft, comfortable, and modern sleepwear to women and children. All are made responsibly with health and wellness in mind.
We are a sustainable brand that keeps ethical practices at the forefront of our mission.
• We use small factories in Peru that participate in Fair Trade regulations.
• We believe in partnering with our local communities to support farmers and garment workers.
• All of our products are cut, dyed, and sewn locally.
• As entrepreneurs, sisters, and mothers to daughters, we believe in supporting women whenever possible.
• That’s why we’re proud to partner with women-run factories that enable Peruvian women equitable access to the workforce.
Ofelia, 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 committed to ethical practices and social responsibility. Our mission is to create products that are healthy for people and the earth. Working alongside farmers and garment makers, we have firsthand insight into the importance of caring for our environment and the people who interact with the products we make.
Our entire production process is free of chemicals and pesticides, so the sleepwear is not only better for you but also for the farmers, garment makers, and our planet. Plus, we use eco-friendly dyes that are non-toxic to people, animals, or the environment.
Leena & Lu shipping bags are plastic-free and 100% compostable—less waste our customers have to worry at their door.
We commit to local communities. We partner with manufacturers and farmers that are local to our workshops. Working within our community ensures we are active participants in the local economy and minimizes our carbon footprint by cutting unnecessary transport.
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
Since we are sustainable brand, selling on places like Amazon does not work for us. We have found that partnership with small sustainable marketplaces, like Made Trade or Earth Hero is what works best for us. They upload our pictures in their websites, we use the same platform so they can access our inventory. They create campaigns, post on social media and we do the same. When a sale is made trough their website we received the order and ship the products. They don’t have to buy from us large quantities or wholesale. we both made a profit this way.
launching a website does not mean immediate sales. There is so much involved so partnerships with small online marketplaces help us build SEO and some revenue plus brand awareness.
How did you build your audience on social media?
this is our advice. Don’t worry about social media. We thought that all we had to do working towards having thousands of followers but that rarely turn into sales. It means nothing having 1000+ followers if you don’t have money in your bank account.
Social media changes every day. small business can keep up with all those changes. Is good to have a presence that grows organically don’t fall for the fake followers accounts. it happen to us and we end up closing ur original account because there was no engagement or interactions. We have better results with email marketing campaigns with valuable content. share a story, a recipe, a play list and your subscriber will stay with you and potentially buy from you. IG or FB can be gone one day but your email list will always be there.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leenaandlu.co
- Instagram: @leenaandlu
Image Credits
pictures: Milk and Butter Social