"It is often inspiring to read the stories of how businesses came to be. Stories like this can really motivate the would-be Entrepreneur. This article further states that a mission can be spiritual and powerful as well in driving a business. The original article can be accessed here. Stay motivated to let your business dreams come true by continuously following our site.
The idea for Human Nature came when
Anna Meloto-Wilk had her second child in the US, and her sister Camille
Meloto was there to help out. Ms. Meloto also had some bridal makeup
artist gigs at the time, and one of the brides gave her a package of
natural cosmetics. "It was my first time seeing such cosmetics that are
100% natural. Prior to that, I didn't think it was possible. It got me
very interested," she said in an interview.
From left: Anna Meloto-Wilk and Camille Meloto.
Ms. Wilk and her husband Dylan had been making conscious efforts to adopt a more natural and healthy lifestyle for their kids. When her sister showed her the all-natural cosmetics, and the good results that she got from them, they checked the ingredients and were surprised to find ingredients like coconut, aloe vera, lemongrass, and other plants that could be easily grown in the Philippines.
"That sparked the idea to come up with our own line of locally made natural beauty products," Ms. Wilk said in an interview.
"We know that natural products are expensive in the Philippines, so I guess that's where the dream started," Ms. Meloto added.
When the sisters returned to the Philippines in 2008, they enrolled in seminars on essential oil extraction and collaborated with a natural formulator to come up with a product line. Human Nature, also run with Mr. Wilk, was then formally launched on Nov. 27, 2008.
Today, the company is also an oft-cited example of a successful social enterprise, as ingredients are locally and organically grown by partner NGOs and communities.
"From the start, we knew that we had to do it not solely for profit but really for equal distribution of profit, and to be able to help as many people as we can," Ms. Meloto said.
For her part, Ms. Wilk said, "We have always been united in our vision for Human Nature, which is to provide quality of life for the poor — those directly employed by us and also the farming communities that we source our raw materials from — and to become a world-class company producing the best natural products."
The business was not without its share of growing pains, however. "Problems were faced before by all of us trying to make a decision, and aligning our company decisions with our personal principles and the principles that we set for our company," Ms. Meloto said.
"There are always problems, especially at the beginning when there weren't a lot of systems in place yet and we were still building our team," Ms. Wilk added. "We were all very stressed — and we still are, especially Camille and Dylan! Our growth has been lightning fast, and everything needs to be done yesterday, so that can cause a lot of fatigue and misunderstanding."
The entrepreneurs' family relationship, however, has had positive effects on Human Nature as a company. "We have the same set of values, having been raised in one family, and we try to treat all our employees with compassion [and] fairness, while still holding them to the highest standards of excellence," Ms. Wilk said. "Actually, the last part about excellence has been mostly because of the culture that my husband Dylan has also instituted in our company. We've learned a lot from him, and we continue to do so. Having a different perspective from the West has helped us raise the bar in our day-to-day work."
As for the future, Human Nature hopes to strengthen its position in the country. "First of all, [we want to] be a household brand in the Philippines that every Filipino can be proud of, and after that get a foothold on the export market. We want to be a global company with a heart that gives back to the Philippines, especially the poor in our country," Ms. Wilk said.
Ms. Meloto also aims to extend and grow the brand while retaining the values that shape Human Nature. "We'll show the world the principles that we believe in and never shortchange people for the quality that they are getting. We will continue to spread the word of goodness that's coming from the Philippines through a brand that commits to provide only the good."
Human Nature
463 Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City
(02) 931-5787
(02) 433-1202
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