Mom and daughter build natural bodycare business

Vanessa Ralston and Kara-Leigh Baker

With a brand name referencing the family's adopted French bulldog Ian and the founders' penchant for fresh ingredients, French Lemon is dedicated to producing natural, chemical-free products that are kind to the earth and gentle on the body.

French Lemon's creative array of soaps, scrubs and salts are all handcrafted in small batches using premium luxury essential oils and butters, and are vegan-friendly and hypoallergenic so they're safe for all skin types.

With a background in finance and construction respectively, Ralston and Baker started small in 2017, selling French Lemon craft soap and body products at local markets in 2017. Now, the pair is eyeing growth, with sights set on the competitive retail market.

Here, Ralston shares more on the business of building a local and conscious bodycare brand.

What led you to start your own business, and focus on bath and bodycare specifically?

The motivation for starting our own business was inspired by a retrenchment and impending wedding in 2017 for Kara-Leigh. There were very few opportunities for employment at that time. I decided to come out of retirement and join forces with Kara-Leigh to pursue our passion for natural and organic products.

How do you select and source the ingredients that go into The French Lemon products?

We specially source high-quality ingredients that are palm oil-free, cruelty-free and SLS-free. With various recipes that we formulate, not only have we have developed great relationships with our suppliers, but we have ensured that all ingredients are high quality and trusted!

How would you describe the typical French Lemon customer?

Someone who is product loyal, product conscious, vegan or looking for a cruelty-free, natural and vegan-friendly product either for themselves or as a gift. We have a few corporate clients that want to treat their clients/customers to a good quality product.

How has your business grown since you started selling at markets in 2017?

Our business has grown considerably since we started in March 2017. We started off in a tiny room in our house selling to family and friends. We sold at many markets to get our products and name out there. We then grew a little bit more and moved to Morningside where our garage became our soap studio.

We have recently moved to a premises in Bryanston which has a perfect place for the French Lemon offices as well as the soap studio.

Our business, I feel, was always meant to be. I describe it as walking down a corridor and all the doors in front of you opening as you get in front of them. The amazing opportunities that have come our way and the people of all walks of life that we have met have been incredible. Someone is truly watching over us.

As a mom and daughter duo, what would you say are the benefits of being in a family business?

Being a mom and daughter duo is an amazing experience that we are fortunate enough to experience. We trust each other implicitly, know each other so well, we have the same work ethic and have the same vision and passion for the company.

What have been the biggest learning curves on your small business journey so far?

I would say not to procrastinate. Nothing like doing something immediately, if not sooner. We have learned that soap making takes time, patience and there are no shortcuts. We have learnt that it’s the little things that count like the attention to detail. We have learnt that other woman entrepreneurs are great encouragers and have a wealth of knowledge and experience that they are only too willing to share.

We have also learnt that networking is so important.

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How do you think more consumers can be encouraged to support more local brands?

I think that people follow by example. If large South African companies support local and verbalise that they support local, consumers will believe that we have amazing, good quality, cost-effective products in South Africa. Plus, it’s creating much-needed employment and creation of jobs which in turn will bring the crime rate down and uplift a lot of citizens in the country.

When Covid hit, people couldn’t order anything from other parts of the world. So, in a way, consumers were forced to have a look at what is available locally.

It was discovered that our South African products were just as good and in most cases even better than the products one could buy worldwide. Many of our products are hand made with care and not mass-produced by machines.

It would be great for social media to pump our local brands. For everyone, including each and every one of us to support local in the gifts we buy or the products we use. A friend had a great idea over Christmas: she asked all her contacts on Facebook who owned a business to put their details on the post as well as what type of business they had so friends had the opportunity and info to support local.

In 2021, it’s important that we become more conscious and intentional with our purchasing decisions.

What’s next for The French Lemon, and what is your long-term vision for the company?

Our next step is to get into the retail market. We also wish to supply hotels and game lodges with good quality products, and we are also launching a baby range and a children’s range in the near future.

We want to grow our company so that we can create jobs and build up people. We want to make our products easily available to everyone as well as affordable.

Visit French Lemon online for more info and to shop the range.