Startup Story
Frustrated by the uninspiring, chemical-intensive, highly synthetic formulas which have pervaded the skincare market for too long, entrepreneur Chipo Aaron, founder of Cutikles, decided to do something to change the situation. Today, her cosmetic manufacturing brand is creating high quality spa products that harness the healing power of Africa’s indigenous oils.
Chipo Aaron is the founder of Cutikles, a cosmetic manufacturing brand located in Gaborone, Botswana. She is also a qualified interior designer and heads up Ca Concepts which focuses on designing bespoke residential and corporate spaces. Cutikles is focused on producing high quality spa products mixed with the raw African indigenous oils for the African and international market. The business also has a spa which is like a research and development centre that pampers their clients with the use of Cutikles products giving them first hand feedback.
LoA chatted to the enterprising Chipo Aaron to find out more.
“Being an entrepreneur has given me liberty in following and building my dreams and also providing others with better work environments. I have worked in harsh environments and I don't wish for anyone to experience such.”
What does your company do?
Cutikles is focused on crafting natural skin health tools to help encourage the development of a methodical, effortless daily skin, hand and foot care ritual to improve the health of the skin, and the evolution of the appearance. At Cutikles, we have divided our spa products in two divisions being Cutikles S.K.I.N and Cutikles Spa Home. Our S.K.I.N range stands out for its distinctive clean, fresh, contemporary authentic look. Our refreshing, modern approach and quality formulations reflect our passion for good looking quality skincare. Our S.K.I.N includes a Mani Pedi range, hand and foot creams, hand washes, scrubs and soaks as well as hydrating cuticle oil.
Our range of spa home products have been developed to help you relax and enjoy experiences that calm the mind and nourish the body. This range is our best of spa collection created to help you stop and reconnect to the natural rhythms of life. Our high performance formulations are therapeutically active. They contain powerful botanicals that work to promote rich skin, natural plant extracts that assist with increasing hydration and pure essential oils that create the optimum in health and wellbeing. These include our candles, natural infused diffusers and natural infused air mists.
As a way to always keep to the standard promised to our clients, we needed to make sure that our research is done thoroughly and effectively, Cutikles Nail Spa is our R&D centre. The spa has helped us improve our product to where they are now and will continue doing so with the first hand feedback from our clients.
What inspired you to start your company?
Cutikles was created from a frustration with the uninspired, chemical-intensive, highly synthetic formulas which have pervaded the skincare market for too long. One should not have to compromise quality, safety or experience to lead a healthy lifestyle. At Cutikles we found a way to bottle our love of leading a natural, conscious lifestyle in cosmetic product development, packaging design and marketing, into building a brand focused on delivering outstanding craftsmanship spa products which inspires and effects action and change in an underutilized necessity in our health – skin care. Our spa inspired products are made in Botswana with natural plant extracts, powerful botanicals and 100% pure essential oils.
“The freedom of being an entrepreneur is for me a winner and sometimes the wins and lessons that come with the package are also a game changer.”
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Cutikles is a future driven, organic and wholly vegan enterprise which provides reliable sustainable efficient personalized eco-friendly skin and spa home care. Our packaging is mostly green conscious packaging with use of glass or biodegradable plastic tubes. We make sure that our product and its packaging marry well to create earth friendly products all round.
Tell us a little about your team
Our team comprises of 3 women, 2 nail technicians at Cutikles nail spa and myself and our other team member at the factory. We just recently got factory space so we are moving from manufacturing at home and into a factory which will increase production. We are grateful for this new chapter and are looking to increase our team. Our team is hardworking and fun to be around and we have dreams to change each other’s lives with the growth of Cutikles.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I come from an entrepreneurial background with both my parents being entrepreneurs. I am the second child from a family of 5 girls and we have never not seen our parents build from bottom and patiently working themselves up. Our parents where very strong and resilient and very consistent and that is what I took from them. They achieved a lot in their entrepreneurial journey to building clothing retail stores which then birthed a logistics company.
They have always taught us that building a brand is not an overnight achievement and I must say I have seen that in my journey. You must be extremely patient and just continue the hard work. Cutikles was started after giving birth to my first son. I knew that my job wasn’t cutting it for me and that I needed more and wanted to try out another industry. The business was started from the pocket whilst working as an interior designer but then I needed to give it the push that it needed so I applied for a government youth grant and quit my job. I have always known that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and once I found the cosmetic world, I knew that is where I belong. I continued with interior design side jobs as I needed the funds to be pushed into Cutikles. The business continues to surprise me every day by the way we are changing lives through our products and services. Somedays are better than others but we cannot give up because the dreams that we have are valid.
“Our future plans at Cutikles are to increase our product lines footprint into spa's and also hotels. We are also grooming ourselves for international markets and looking forward to increasing capacity.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Our future plans at Cutikles are to increase our product lines footprint into spa's and also hotels. We are also grooming ourselves for international markets and looking forward to increasing capacity. We have a big project that we are now working on where we have teamed up with a cosmetic scientist. Our plan is also to bullet proof our company in order to see it listing as a franchise for others that wish to open organic nail spa's or cosmetic stores.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur has given me liberty in following and building my dreams and also providing others with better work environments. I have worked in harsh environments and I don't wish for anyone to experience such. It is liberating to see someone smile because of the way you respect them and that makes me happy. The freedom of being an entrepreneur is for me a winner and sometimes the several wins and lessons that come with the package are also a game changer.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Just do it! That idea that you have lingering in your head, follow it, Build it! That dream that you think is too small to ever become a business, do it! Women are diamonds that can just change the world. I always say, imagine the lives that you could change by just developing what you think would have never worked, the jobs you could create, and the happiness that you could create in a household! Believe in yourself and jump! Go for it.
Contact or follow Cutikles
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL cutiklesnailspa@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it….
Seeing new brands emerging that are high quality and deeply in tune with their customers is always good to see on the African continent. Chipo Aaron and her team at Cutikles are not only building a great niche cosmetic manufacturing business that is tapping into a gap in the market, but they are also creating customer experiences. This is a business and brand with a big vision and big ambition, and at Lionesses of Africa, we are looking forward to seeing it grow and thrive over the coming years. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa