We were lucky to catch up with Rei-Launya Amsterdam recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rei-Launya , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I pondered for quite some time on a name for my personal care brand. Cycling through tons and bouncing ideas off of friends and my family. I truly felt like the ‘perfect name” or what I needed that name to encompass would never come. Eventually though, in a dream, the name “EDEN” came to me and I actually woke up and texted my friend Daniella right away.

I had something that felt just right. Later “CLAY” was added because of the nature of my business. The products I make for retail are handmade and I mold it into something amazing my customers love. I really liked the sound of that so I placed the two words together and everything fell into place.

Now EDENCLAY exists.

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

EDENCLAY is a personal care brand, launched in February 2021, aimed at enriching your self-care rituals through our handmade products. It is female-owned and it began because I took my passion for DIY skincare and desire to monetize that during the pandemic to develop formulas that are backed by science and indulgent on the skin.

EDENCLAY products are made with the best quality nutrient-dense plant oils, butters, and waxes enveloped in uplifting fragrances. My clients reimagine self-care as rituals that help them improve their overall quality of life. These rituals stem from utilizing the routines that already exist in their life e.g. their shower routine but adding products we offer such as our whipped body polish or our shower melts for a spa-like experience right at home. They will boast soft, supple, nourished skin after our products.

I have worked hard to build on the science background I possess whilst formulating these products. All products are handmade by me in small batches. When customers support EDENCLAY they are supporting my dream. Clients that have tried are returning customers and I love seeing familiar faces shop my offering.

I am quite active on my socials specifically Instagram. Persons who are interested to see what EDENCLAY is all about can fine me there. I share behind-the-scenes footage, day in the life, product information and a little about me and my life each day so that persons can become familiar with me and what I offer. I consistently do this as well since I get new followers as the months go by.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my audience the same way I build friendships, organically. I showed up as myself on my socials and interacted, commented, and spoke to potential and existing customers on my socials. I had spent some time understanding the pain points of my ideal client and I always ensured that my content resonated with that always. This authenticity fostered connections and I believe contributed to me building my EDENCLAY tribe.

Consistency is another huge factor in growing on socials. We hear it often but it truly works. Customers – potential specifically – need to see and interact with your offer as much as they can so that they can convert into paying customers. Don’t be discouraged by vanity matrices. Few likes and comments on your posts should not discourage you from posting and doing this as often as you can.

Lastly, develop a strategy for engagement based on your goal for the month. This will allow you to map out how to post, what to post and to which platform. In my experience, it also takes some of the pressure off and you can simply enjoy the journey.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

December 2021 was my first exposure to the Christmas season high as a business owner. I surpassed my target for revenue and I was over the moon. I knew I wanted to expand my business in 2022 so I went ahead to place a bulk order for my supplies, equipment and other things to allow for efficiency in production. However, this took a turn I couldn’t have anticipated.

The warehouse I used to ship my supplies tragically went up in flames in the first week in January of the new year and I was devasted. I lost all of my investment due to the fire and they were not sure how or when insurance would settle the claims. I felt defeated and it became difficult to see a way forward after my business suffered such a financial loss but I knew I needed to find a way.

During 2022, I launched various collections, retained some new clients and I expanded my reach to another store in a different region in my country. All of this was possible because I kept looking at the end I had in mind. I believed that it would all work out in my favor and it did. I made sure to focus on the things I could control such as my marketing, building customer relationships, launching new collections based on feedback and attending more farmers markets and pop-ups to interact with my client base more.

Finally, as I ended 2022, the warehouse contacted me and my cheque for the claim was ready. This news was the best way I could end the year. Detours are never easy but your mindset surrounding those events truly will allow you to either flourish or perish.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edenclay.gy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edenclay.gy

Image Credits
Rei-Launya Amsterdam