We recently connected with Zarina Aure and have shared our conversation below.

Zarina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

When I first started my business, I would hand write every single thank you note to each of my customers because I wanted them to feel connected not just to the brand and products, but to the person behind it as well.

I wanted them to feel as if I am a friend who created something special for them, packaged it with love, and sent it over like a gift.

As of recent, I was able to create new products as my company grew, so I started sending some of the new products for free as a gift to loyal customers that have stuck with the brand through the years!

I will always make sure to find ways to make my customers feel how much I appreciate them because they are the ones who help motivate me to keep pushing through this business.

Zarina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After my own battle with acne for years, I was able to learn so much and went through extensive research in hopes that I can find something to help my skin. It’s something that I became so passionate about. I took this all to amazing chemists in Korea to help me formulate and manufacture products to bring my vision to life!

I started with a sheet mask, and years later developed a moisturizer and serum for everyday use. These products focus on soothing redness, inflammation, and irritation, and can even help soothe eczema and rosacea.

You can trust that these are created with no fragrance and other harmful chemicals. Only a reliable formula for those who want simple skin care solutions that are clean and made with high quality plant-based ingredients!

This skin care journey became even more of a passion project of mine when I partnered up with a small, underfunded non-profit. I started donating 100% of Zentella’s profits (from Thanksgiving until Christmas eve) to children in Uganda for hot meals and gifts for their Christmas! This is our 3rd year doing it and I love the idea that we are growing together each year.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

One of the biggest hurdles in my journey was putting together the capital to bring my vision and ideas to life. I was 20 years old at the time and had already made some risks and failed investments from the previous year.

Fortunately, a payment plan was available allowing me to pay in installments through the manufacturing process.
I used my savings to cover as much as I can for the initial start-up costs before taking out a loan to cover the rest.

I reinvested what I got from my sales back into the business to fund the packaging, shipping, and saving the rest for the next products I had in mind.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

To market my product, I experimented with various methods of advertisements. But, in the end, I made the most sales when I shared my story genuinely, sharing what this brand means to me in an honest post. What worked was to not just sell the product; but to connect with others by telling my story.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zentella.co/
• Instagram: @zentella.co