A New Adventure with My Own Brand

I rented a 100-square-meter space to serve as both my office and production site. Throughout the process, many people helped me with everything from obtaining permits and sourcing raw materials to packaging production and logistics. After an endless cycle of phone calls and emails, I finally had everything I needed at my fingertips. I even had a production tank of my own design custom-made by a machine manufacturer. I imported my molds from abroad and sourced all the natural oils from the best suppliers. A section of my workshop became a sterile lab where I could carry out my work all day long.

BABY STEPS

I spent many nights pulling all-nighters at the office. During the day, I worked on product formulas; at night, I took packaging design tutorials and worked on visual layouts because the packaging needed to be designed and sent to production simultaneously. This process, which was quite enjoyable for me, pushed my Adobe Illustrator skills to the limit. Luckily, this turned out to be a great asset that would benefit me later in my "all-rounder" journey. I would eventually experience the pride of designing packaging for many other companies and brands and seeing them on the shelves. It’s such a joy to tell people, "Hey, look! Did you know I designed this packaging?" :)

Whenever I hit a snag with my formulas, I would head to the factory to run extra trials in their lab. When you’re a small producer, sourcing specific raw materials in small quantities can be very difficult or the unit costs can be extremely high. My network and personal relationships made things much easier at that point.

FIRST TESTS – FAMILY AND FRIENDS

After the lab tests, it was time for user feedback. I sent the products to everyone around me, starting with my family, and asked for their comments. Of course, people can be a bit skeptical since these products touch their skin and hair. However, all the feedback I received was beyond amazing and very genuine. Hearing about the feeling of volume, ease of combing, softness, long-lasting moisture, shine, and the fact that the dandruff problem had vanished boosted my confidence and motivation. I must admit, I originally created SHIBUMI for myself :) After reading several scientific articles, I combined Avocado, Juniper, and Laurel oils. My goal was to solve my long-standing struggle with dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis without having to rely on chemical shampoos or cortisone creams. Luckily, this formula served its purpose perfectly, and both I and many people around me got rid of this problem :)

LIMITED HANDMADE PRODUCTION – ALWAYS FRESH

I produce, mold, and pack my products by hand in a 50-liter production tank. This ensures that my products are always freshly made in small batches. This way, I can move slowly but steadily. Also, as someone who does everything personally, I can keep my standardization and formulation constant. As they say, "slow but steady wins the race" :)

'KIREI' AS A BRAND AND CONCEPT

I have a deep interest in Japanese Zen philosophy and culture. That’s why I chose the name "Kirei," which means "clean and beautiful" in Japanese. The packaging concepts of my products consist of themes that represent different virtues in Japanese, meeting symbols considered sacred or sublime (such as the Fox, Koi Fish, and Sakura tree).

I’ve saved the e-commerce and marketing side of things for another time. I’m a bit tired, but I have to keep working because my mind just won’t stop. See you in my next post... :)