Amongst Sisters

The successful entrepreneur Janne (founder of German earring label SchwesterSchwester) recently interviewed Mel for her blog “Unter Schwestern” (amongst sisters) about the launch of The Daily Nectar. 

DEAR MELLI, PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF:

I am 35 years old and live in the Netherlands with my husband and our 2 boys (5 and 2 years). I was born in Hamburg, but by now I would rather call myself a cosmopolitan. With three nationalities (German, South African, New Zealand) and four languages, we are a very international family.I am a business woman at heart and probably qualify as a recovering “workaholic”. However, I have found a new balance since the birth of my children. This includes a healthier lifestyle and more respect for my body. This has also been a motivation for taking the leap into entrepreneurship, where I am now working on making my dreams come true.

FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATIONS ON THE LAUNCH OF SWEET RUMOUR. PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR STARTUP:

Thank you very much. Sweet Rumour Amsterdam is a new beauty brand for intelligent, confident, feminine women. It is a very personal brand, rooted in our personal values and experiences as modern women. Like many other women, we were tired of the tricks of an old-fashioned beauty industry that contributes to unrealistic beauty ideals. For us, a beauty brand serves one goal: to make women feel beautiful. And this is exactly what we have made our mission:

FEEL BEAUTIFUL

Our first product is therefore a nutritional supplement that is specifically designed to make women feel even more beautiful in their own skin. The Daily Nectar goes beyond only skincare by combining 19 active ingredients for three goals: Urban Beauty, Urban Boost & Urban Balance.

SWEET RUMOUR WAS FOUNDED BY YOU AND YOUR Business partner NEJA, HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA TO SELL the Liquid FOOD SUPPLEMENT “THE DAILY NECTAR” AND HOW DID YOU REALIZE THAT THE IDEA HAS POTENTIAL?

“Beauty from within” currently is a big trend worldwide. More and more women (and men) are discovering that a healthy lifestyle and the right nutrients can contribute to beautiful skin, hair and nails. However, we missed a product that specifically addresses our needs as urban women. The Millenials have their blue bears (Sugarbearhair) and then there are various anti-aging drinks and pills – marketed as an eternal fountain of youth. Not only do we find this kind of advertising rather questionable, it doesn’t really appeal to us either. What about us women who actually feel good in their skin but are looking for something that supports our active lifestyle? Something that protects our skin and body from environmental influences and gives us an extra boost to enjoy our exciting (ok, sometimes stressful) life to the fullest?This is how the ambitious plan to develop a dietary supplement for us urban women was born. Together with a team of nutritionists and biomedical scientists from the USA we developed this scientifically proven all-in-one product that is easy to take and fits our lifestyle.

YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY WORKED VERY SUCCESSFULLY IN LARGE COMPANIES AS AN INTERNAL CONSULTANT. WAS THE STEP INTO SELF-EMPLOYMENT A BIG RISK FOR you?

Becoming an entrepreneur has always been a dream of mine. Until now, I have always advised other entrepreneurs. Due to my job I often had to focus on what was not going so well. Nevertheless I have always had the greatest respect for entrepreneurs. And now I know from my own experience how much courage, entrepreneurial spirit and skill it takes to build and manage a brand. Even if not everything always runs smoothly.

WHAT makes the “THE DAILY NECTAR” unique? AND HOW DO YOU DIFFER FROM OTHER PRODUCTS ON THE BEAUTY MARKET?

The biggest difference to most beauty products on the market is obvious: The Daily Nectar starts from within where creams, face masks, serums etc. just don’t reach.Compared to other nutraceuticals we have many unique selling points:

• A formula specifically designed to meet the needs of urban women
• Holistic concept: high-quality nutrients for skin/hair/nails, combined with ingredients for more energy and balance
• Beautiful ritual instead of pills (uncomplicated juice, inspiring packaging)
• High quality ingredients, without artificial preservatives, produced in Europe

WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES Up until the LAUNCH OF “THE DAILY NECTAR”?

The last two years have been insanely exciting and beautiful. But of course we have reached our limits on several occasions. Especially the search for a producer in Europe proved to be challenging. The formula was developed in America and is very innovative for the European market. Our list of our requirements was long. That’s why we were very happy when we found a producer who was enthusiastic about the product and believed in us from the very first minute.

YOU founded YOUR COMPANY IN THE NETHERLANDS, DO YOU THINK THAT THIS CIRCUMSTANCE MADE THE FOUNDING PROCESS EASIER FOR YOU?

I can’t say that for sure because I can’t compare it to Germany. But I can only say good things about the process in the Netherlands – from founding to financing and launch. The start-up network is also excellent, especially for female entrepreneurs.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST SUCCESS SO FAR AND WHERE DO YOU SEE SWEET RUMOUR IN FIVE YEARS?

Our biggest success was certainly the launch in November. The feedback from the attending press and beauty bloggers was overwhelming. After the event, Neja and I had to pinch ourselves: We just launched our own beauty brand!Another highlight was being featured in the January edition of the Glamour. We are also proud to have built an active community with more than 1,000 Instagram followers with our “Feel Beautiful Movement”.In five years, Sweet Rumour is an international beauty brand with a small product line that creates beautiful selfcare rituals for urban women. We want to be part of a beauty movement that focuses on inspiring women rather than selling unrealistic ideals. Wellness is the new Beauty.

“Wellness is the new Beauty”

YOU HAVE EXPERIENCEd so much during the last two years, IS THERE any advice YOU WOULD LIKE TO share with OTHER WOMEN AND FOUNDERS?

Be persistent! And most importantly, work with people with whom you feel a connection. This way we have met incredibly talented and inspiring people without whom Sweet Rumour Amsterdam would not exist today. As it happens, these people were in most cases entrepreneurial women themselves.Thank you, dear Melli, for the wonderful Interview!Here is the link to the wonderful statement earrings from SchwesterSchwester.copyright photos: d.raw.studio