Skintox, SMT, Drop Bottle....these are just a few of the brands Health Boutique Founder Gretta van Riel has founded after starting her first business from scratch in her early 20's.
A quick google search will bring up a wealth of articles on Gretta and tell you she's amazing at what she does.
And you all get to reap the benefits of her amazing products!
Considering we've featured a few of Gretta's products in our boxes before - including the incredible smelling, all-natural & very nourishing Skintox Detox Bath Salts in our Autumn Box - we thought we'd have a chat to Gretta to get some behind the scenes goss....
Tell us a bit about the people behind your company
Skintox Co is a part of the Health Boutique group. Founded by Gretta van Riel and led by our talented GM Ella Warren, we’re a group of (fairly) young, innovative, women (mostly) who are passionate about seeing our ideas come to life and problem solving through a consumer-centric approach to brand.
What inspired you to start your company and when did you start it?
We launched Skintox in 2016. One of our other brands had a detox tea range that targeted skin and health concerns from the inside out and we wanted a complementary range of products that were able to cleanse, detoxify and de-stress your skin and body from the outside, in. Enter the Skintox Co.
What would an ‘average day in the life of’ look like for you?
There is no average day. I have a few different brands and projects I’m always working across and that’s how I like it. It’s a little like how in high school you had to switch your brain from maths to English which to me always felt like a break. That way I never get overwhelmed doing the same thing, day in day out.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The people I work with and again seeing our ideas come to life and our customers interact with them. To me there’s nothing better than that feeling.
What is your favourite product in your range?
My favourite product is our Detox Bath Salts. I love what I do but it does get a little more stressful than the average day job at times so I need to make sure I take care of my myself. I lie in the bath and imagine the stress being pulled from my body into the water which is pretty much what they do on paper. For me, 2019 is all about self-care.
What is an interesting way of using your products that not many people would know about?
You can actually turn the bath salts into a body scrub. Just add a bit of water or even some coconut oil and rub it on. This is amazing for any muscle soreness as well as the magnesium in the Epsom salts is able to be absorbed through the skin directly to the affected area.
What have been the biggest trials so far in starting and running your company?
Our first brand in the group had a massive manufacturing fail. We received a very expensive shipment of tea from China that was basically compost with metal bolts in it and had to be thrown straight out. We never saw that money again but learnt a lot from this one and manufacture our tea in Australia now. When you fail you need to do so quickly (“fail fast”) and move onto positive things again or it will just keep getting worse.
What is your favourite way of winding down and taking time out?
I spoke about my detox baths but I also love walking, yoga, massages – slow paced things. Life is pretty fast paced so you need to actively make time to slow down.
Here at Retreat Yourself, we LOVE dreaming BIG - what is your vision for your company?
Health Boutique is all about helping our customers become healthier, happier, better versions of themselves.
For anyone out there wanting to start their own business, what would your biggest piece of advice be?
Focus on your audience first and work backward from there. Everything starts and ends with your customer so know who they are, where they are or better yet start building your audience, your tribe, today. Market-Product fit over Product-Market fit any day.
And lastly, what does a fulfilled life look like to you?
Simple. Fast at times and slow in others. Being present. Grateful. Experiences over things. Surrounded by love and capable of a lot of it.
You can read more about Skintox on their website: https://www.skintox.co