We recently interviewed Lisa Turner who runs the natural soap company The Wrinkly Elephant with her husband, Stuart.
Recently, we interviewed Lisa Turner. She runs The Wrinkly Elephant, a natural soap company with her husband Stuart.
Our conversation covered everything, from the legal aspects of the skincare industry to Lisa’s experience with Shopify – our top-rated website builder.
The brand prides itself on producing products with natural and sustainable ingredients, promoting and encouraging self-care to its customers.
The brand is proud to produce products with natural, sustainable ingredients and promote and encourage self-care among its customers.
Despite seeing a surge in sales during the pandemic, The Wrinkly Elephant is now having to tackle a new wave of hurdles, namely the cost of living crisis.
The Wrinkly elephant is facing a new set of challenges, including the cost of living crisis, despite experiencing a sales surge during the pandemic.
We find out how The Wrinkly Elephant is facing these challenges head-on.
Find out how The Wrinkly Elephant is tackling these challenges.
Be consistent with the brand message you want to convey and what you are looking for in your product line.
The Wrinkly Elephant showcases its natural soap products on its Shopify website.
The Wrinkly Elephant’s Shopify website features its natural soap products.
Crafting a Business
How to Create a Business
“I’m Lisa and I’m the founder and co-owner of The Wrinkly Elephant Company Ltd.”
I am Lisa, the founder and coowner of The Wrinkly Elephant Company Ltd.
I now work alongside my husband Stuart, making handmade soap, bath, and body products.
I now make handmade soaps, bath and body products with my husband Stuart. We pride ourselves on making products with natural ingredients that are good for your skin and encourage that self-care that everyone needs.
We are proud to make products that are made with natural ingredients and that are good for the skin.
I started in 2017, perfecting my recipes and having them assessed and registered with the EU portal which has now been replaced by the UK portal.
I began in 2017, perfecting recipes and registering them with the EU portal, which is now replaced by the UK Portal.
I originally started from my self-contained soap room at home – a converted garage that is linked to the home.
I started in my own soap room, a converted garage connected to the house. I set my website up and started selling in 2018.
In 2018, I launched my website and began selling. To begin with, it was mostly at craft fairs, but I quickly started to build up a community on social media, mostly Instagram.
I started out selling at craft fairs. But, I quickly built a community, mainly on Instagram.
COVID hit and craft fairs stopped but, fortunately, my online presence through Instagram meant we continued to sell.
COVID was a big hit, and craft fairs ceased. Fortunately, my Instagram presence allowed us to continue selling.
We had incredible growth over COVID and Christmas 2020.
We saw incredible growth during COVID and the Christmas 2020 season.
It continued into 2021 so we moved into a unit.
It continued into 2021 so we moved into an apartment.
We were there for two years and, at the end of 2022, we won a Worcestershire Small Business Award for product development.
We were there for 2 years, and at the end 2022 we won a Worcestershire Small Business Award in product development.
However, with the cost of the rent, car park charges, and energy rising, plus a fall in sales, we decided to move the business back home where we originally started in the part of our garage that is converted into a soap studio.
We decided to move our business back home, where we started, in the part of the garage that was converted into a studio for soaps.
We still mainly sell online, but craft fairs are beginning to pick up again, so we’re doing a few of the larger ones to grow the brand again.
“We still sell mainly online, but craft shows are starting to pick back up, so we’re doing some of the bigger ones to grow our brand again.”
Setting Your Own Schedule
Set Your Own Schedule
The best part about my daily work is that I’m in control of what I want to do that day.
The best thing about my work is that I can decide what I do each day.
What I love most about it all is that I love being creative with my products and packaging and knowing that it’s something I put together myself.
I love that I can be creative with my packaging and products, and that I know that I made it myself.
It’s such a strange feeling when I get customer reviews of how they love the products or pictures of my products in their bathrooms.
It’s a strange feeling to receive customer reviews or pictures of the products in their bathrooms.
It’s a very proud moment and probably one I need to think about more often.
It’s an incredibly proud moment, and one I should probably think about more often.
On a daily basis, I try to start my day by doing something for myself.
Every day, I start my day with something that is for me.
My products are all about self-care so I need to practice it myself – I love to start the day with an exercise session.
My products are about self-care, so I have to practice it myself – I love to begin the day with a workout.
It sets me up for the day and then, of course, showering with one of our lovely products.
It gets me ready for the day, and I then shower with one of our lovely bath products.
Then it’s generally checking emails and social media first while having breakfast.
It’s usually checking email and social media while eating breakfast.
Stu, my husband, will then package up any orders that have come in overnight or from the afternoon before and get them taken to the Royal Mail delivery office.
Stu, my hubby, will then package any orders that came in overnight or the day before and have them delivered to the Royal Mail delivery offices.
Then, depending on what stock I have I will probably spend a couple of days a week making soap.
Depending on the stock I have, I may spend a few days a week making my soap.
Sometimes this may be every week, sometimes I do a week of just soap making so I then concentrate on the other products the rest of the month.
Sometimes I make soap every week. Other times, I only make soap for a week and then focus on other products the rest the month.
It depends on how orders are coming through, and which products are popular.
It depends on the number of orders and the most popular products.
I would say I generally finish mid-afternoon, but will probably spend time on my laptop researching or updating myself on what’s happening within the industry.
I finish my work around mid-afternoon but spend some time on the laptop to research or update myself on what is happening in the industry.
Fridays are normally the day that I catch up on admin – this can be anything from planning my social media content for the following week, answering more in-depth emails, updating the website, taking new pictures of products, or experimenting with new scents or new products.
Fridays are the days I catch up with admin. This can include planning my social media content, answering more detailed emails, updating the site, taking new photos of products, or trying out new scents and products.
Once a month, Stu and I will sit down and think about what events we want to do the following month or even for the next few months.
Once a week, Stu and myself will sit down to discuss what we want to do for the month following or even the next few months.
Christmas ones have to be booked early!
Book Christmas events early!
We do have a business plan that we try to update on a yearly basis, but we try to set some quarterly targets so that we have a plan of where we want to be.
We have a business strategy that we update annually, but we also set quarterly targets to help us know where we are going.
Within this, we will set meetings that will decide on seasonal offers and products and when we’re to launch any new ones.
“We will have meetings to decide on seasonal products and offers, and when we are going to launch new ones.”
Finding Family Time
Find Family Time
“I have three boys who are all adults now so when I started this business it was really something about ‘doing something for me’.”
I have three sons who are now all adults, so when I started my business it was about “doing some thing for me”.
I was fed up with working for someone else and wanted to be able to do what I wanted when I wanted.
I was tired of working for others and wanted to do whatever I wanted, when I wanted.
I had always had good feedback that I was a hard worker, so I knew I could do things for myself.
I was always told that I was a hard-working person, so I knew I would be able to do it myself.
What I enjoy most about working for myself and maintaining that work/life balance is that I can control it.
The fact that I am in control of my work/life balance and can maintain it is what I enjoy the most about working for myself.
I work when I want and take time off to be with my family when I want.
I can work when I like and take time to be with my family whenever I want.
That’s the beauty of it now, I find it much easier to maintain that work/life balance.
It’s much easier for me to maintain a work/life balance now.
Don’t get me wrong – I do put the hours in and I have to be careful that I make sure I switch off as I can be on the computer or doing social media at 10 or 11 at night.
Don’t get my wrong – I put in the hours and I have to make sure that I switch off because I can be on social media or the computer at 10 or 11.
But, on the flip side, I can take time off in the day to go out for lunch with friends or a shopping trip with family.
On the other hand, I can also take time out during the day to go shopping or have lunch with friends.
So, it does even itself out but I can control it.
“It does balance itself out, but I have control over it.”
Natural Values
Natural Values
“There is so much waste in the packaging industry, and I didn’t want to be part of that.”
There’s so much waste in packaging, and I didn’t want to contribute to it.
I’ve tried to keep my packaging as plastic-free as possible.
I’ve made sure to use as little plastic as possible in my packaging.
My soap bars just have a cigar band around them as they legally need to have certain details on the packaging, and this was enough to get all those details on.
I have only used a cigar band to wrap my soap bars as the packaging must have certain information.
However, this sometimes plays against me as I have contacted retailers about stocking my brand and they want the soap to be covered in a box or fully wrapped.
This can be a problem when I contact retailers to stock my brand.
They want the soap in a box, or fully wrapped.
Generally using ingredients that are not tested on animals is straightforward as we have rules in place in the UK.
In the UK, we have a number of rules that make it easy to use ingredients that have not been tested on animals.
Palm oil-free is becoming an issue now because of the war in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine has made it necessary to eliminate palm oil.
We’re being told by suppliers that there’s a shortage and that if there is any, it’s being used in the food industry.
Suppliers tell us that there is a shortage of palm oil and that if any are available, they’re used in the food sector.
So, this is obviously having an impact on either not being able to source any or the price being ridiculously high.
This is clearly affecting the cost of items or not being able source any.
I am still standing by these principles, but it is having an effect on the cost of items at the moment.
“I still stand by these principles but it has an impact on the price of items right now.”
The Wrinkly Elephant’s products and packaging focus on being environmentally friendly.
The Wrinkly Elephant’s packaging and products are environmentally friendly.
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Creating Customer Experiences
Creating Customer Experiences
This is where I have tried to work hard at building up, not just a brand, but a community.
I have worked hard to build up a community, not just a company.
In the early days, I spent many hours on Instagram and showing behind-the-scenes footage of the ingredients and the products, building up relationships with customers and other accounts.
In the beginning, I spent a lot of time on Instagram, showing behind the scenes footage of the products and ingredients, and building relationships with customers.
I fiercely believe in my products so I would also send out samples for people to try as I was confident that they would love my products as much as I love making them.
I strongly believed in my products, so I sent out samples to people for them to try.
I was confident they would love them as much as I do. Of course, they did, and the recommendations started.
They did, of course, and the recommendation started.
Customer service is at the heart of the business, so I always answer DMs and emails within 24 hours where possible.
I am committed to providing excellent customer service, so I respond to all DMs and email within 24 hours whenever possible.
I encourage customers to contact me with questions and I will happily recommend products.
I encourage customers to ask me questions, and I will gladly recommend products.
I have tried to build up a trust between us.
I have tried to establish trust between us.
When packing products, although we want to be eco-friendly and use recyclable packaging, I don’t feel that the packaging has to be compromised.
I do not feel that packaging should be compromised when packing products.
We want to be environmentally friendly and use recyclable packaging but I don’t think it has to.
From when a customer places their order to actually unboxing it, I want it to be a pleasurable experience, as if it was Christmas Day every time they receive a parcel.
I want the customer to have a pleasant experience from the moment they place their order until they unbox it.
It should be as if every time a parcel is received, it’s Christmas Day.
The products are wrapped nicely, and a personalized note is handwritten, even if it just says “Thank you for your order”.
The products are nicely wrapped and a handwritten note, even if just to say “Thank you for ordering”, is included.
I want the customer to feel part of the Wrinkly family and not just an order number.
I want them to feel like a part of our Wrinkly family, not just an order.
When they message me on Instagram, I try to remember what they’re saying – like if they’ve had a bad week and then they’ve just placed an order.
I try to remember their message when they message me via Instagram.
For example, if they had a bad day and then placed an order.
I would then write something like “I hope your week has got better”.
I would then write “I hope your weekend has improved”.
I’ve had such good comments about how they receive their happy post, and they look forward to it so much – the unboxing as well as using the gorgeous products.
“I’ve received so many positive comments about the way they receive their happy mail, and how much they look forward to using the beautiful products.”
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A Note on Newsletters
A Note on Newsletters
This is an area that I need to improve.
This is an aspect that I need improve.
Generally, at the moment, they usually go out saying what our soap of the month is, or what offers we have – occasionally a little update on what we have been up to.
Generally, the current emails are announcing the soap of the month or any special offers that we have.
They also give a brief update on our activities.
I sometimes do offers exclusively for email subscribers to encourage more people to sign up.
I will sometimes make exclusive offers for my email subscribers in order to encourage them to sign up.
I need to develop this more as this is an area that I want to get better at.
This is an area that I want to improve on.
Social media is great but if I lost my account, I would lose my followers.
Social media is wonderful, but if I lose my account, I will lose my followers.
I’m trying to be more proactive in encouraging people to sign up for the newsletter so that I have more control over being able to contact my customers.
“I’m trying more to encourage people to sign up for my newsletter, so that I can have more control in being able contact my customers.”
Social Media Success
Social Media Success
“I’ve dabbled with all platforms but have found my niche more with Instagram, closely followed by Facebook.”
I’ve tried all platforms, but Instagram is my favorite. Facebook is a close second.
My products and videos are very picture and video-friendly, so this suits the sort of style on Instagram.
Instagram is a good fit for my products and videos because they are picture- and video-friendly.
It’s very hard to keep up with the algorithms and posting consistently.
It’s hard to post consistently and keep up with the algorithm.
I use Instagram to show how the products are being made, the ingredients we use, and behind-the-scenes footage.
I use Instagram to show the process of making the products, the ingredients that we use, and the behind-the scenes footage.
The customers love to get to know the face behind the brand.
Customers love to see the face behind a brand.
I publicize my offers here too once the email subscribers have been notified first.
I also publicize my offers on this site once the email subscribers are notified first.
I also try to collaborate with other businesses and influencers to try and gain more visibility for the brand.
“I also collaborate with other businesses to gain more visibility for my brand.”
Positive Moments
Positive Moments
“I’ve had many photographs from customers with before and after pictures of skin problems, such as eczema or psoriasis.”
I have received many photos from customers showing before and after pictures for skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.
After a couple of weeks of using my natural unscented soap or Natural Oats soap bar, their skin condition improved immensely.
After using my Natural Oats soap or unscented soap for a few weeks, their skin condition improved greatly.
[The business has] enabled me to give up my job working in education and bring the same salary in.
The business has enabled me to quit my job in education while bringing in the same salary.
We saw incredible growth during COVID and have over 3,000 customers.
We experienced incredible growth during COVID, and now have over 3,000 clients.
The business is profitable but like any business at the moment, sales have dropped due to the cost of living crisis – but I still have many regular customers returning.
The business is profitable, but sales have dropped because of the cost-of-living crisis.
However, I still have many returning customers.
We’re now seeing the signs of it improving once again and ready to take the business to the next level.
“We are now seeing signs of improvement and ready to take it to the next level.”
Small Business Struggles
Small Business Struggles
“Well, firstly there are a lot of legal hoops to jump through when you’re bringing a product to market that comes into contact with the skin.”
Well, firstly there are a lot of legal hoops to jump through when you’re bringing a product to market that comes into contact with the skin.
When I first started, we were part of the EU and had to follow EU rules.
When Brexit happened, the UK continued their rules but has their own system now that we have to register our products through their new site which – obviously being new – had teething problems, plus we lost some overseas customers.
The UK has continued its rules, but now we have to register products through their site.
Also, getting brand visibility is hard but I was fortunate in making some contacts on Instagram so that initially helped a great deal.
It’s also hard to get your brand noticed, but I was lucky enough to make some contacts via Instagram.
This helped me a lot at first.
The problem is now continuing to gain visibility so that we can attract new customers, so marketing is always at the top of our agenda.
It’s now about gaining visibility to attract new customers, so marketing is always on our agenda.
We didn’t face many struggles during the pandemic apart from coping with the number of orders – which was a good thing!
We didn’t have many problems during the pandemic, except for the sheer volume of orders.
This was a good thing.
We did have a couple of moments of there being a shortage of packaging boxes, but we managed to work through it and got our orders out in plenty of time.
We had a few moments where there was a shortage of boxes for packaging, but we were able to get our orders out on time.
The war in Ukraine is beginning to affect us now as prices of some ingredients have tripled or even quadrupled.
Prices of some ingredients are now tripled or quadrupled due to the war in Ukraine.
This is hard.
This is difficult.
We did have a price increase last year to try and offset this, and we have also reduced outgoing costs down to the bare minimum to try and not have to pass any further increases to our customers.
We increased our prices last year in an attempt to offset this.
We have also reduced our outgoing costs to the absolute minimum to avoid having to pass on any additional increases to customers.
This is obviously an area that we’re monitoring closely now.
This is an area we are monitoring closely.
We’re also struggling to obtain some of the palm-free ingredients.
We are also struggling to get some palm-free ingredients.
A new product was about to be launched but I’ve had to put it on hold because of this shortage.
A new product was going to be launched, but I had to put it off because of the shortage.
It’s no good launching a new product until I’m sure I’m still going to be able to get this particular ingredient at a reasonable price.
“It’s not worth launching a product until I know I can still get this ingredient at a reasonable cost.”
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Building With Shopify
Building with Shopify
I wanted to be able to control my own sales.
I wanted to have control over my own sales.
I didn’t want to be controlled by some of those selling platforms where they dictate conditions and when they pay you, as well as taking a huge percentage.
I didn’t like being controlled by those selling platforms that dictate your conditions, when you get paid and take a large percentage.
I think it’s also a necessity nowadays as most customers expect to be able to find you online and it looks more credible if you have a good website.
It’s also a requirement today, as customers expect to find you online. A good website looks more credible.
I fell upon Shopify and loved their free themes and the ease at which I could set the website up, as well as having an amazing customer helpdesk.
I was attracted to Shopify because of their free themes, the ease with which I could create my website and the amazing customer service.
There were lots of tutorials and support available to help me alongside different options for themes for the website to be built on, which all seemed fairly straightforward.
There were many tutorials and support options available to me, along with different themes for the website that I was building.
It all seemed pretty straightforward.
I had plenty of free choices in how the layout could be set up as well as paid options if I wanted something more advanced.
There were many free options for how to set up the layout, as well as some paid options if I needed something more advanced.
We chose the Basic Shopify plan as it offered everything we needed it to do.
We chose the Basic Shopify Plan as it did everything we needed.
However, on occasion there are more detailed reports that I feel that I need – for example, when approaching Christmas I like to look back at the last Christmas and see what our bestsellers were.
On occasion, I do need more detailed reports.
For example, as we approach Christmas, I like to review the previous Christmas and see which products were our bestsellers.
I can upgrade my pricing plan to the next level to enable me to do this.
To do this, I can upgrade to the next pricing plan.
I do it for the month that I need it and then revert back to the Basic plan.
I upgrade my plan for the month I need it, and then I revert to the Basic Plan.
I love the flexibility of being able to do this.
I love being able do this.
The variety of apps that integrate seamlessly into the site are great.
The number of apps that seamlessly integrate into the site is great.
I have a customer review one, and a subscription service one, and have just recently launched a loyalty program.
I have a subscription service, a customer review app, and just launched a loyalty program.
These were all so easy to install and, if I have queries, these too have had great customer service helpdesks.
All of these were easy to install, and if I had any questions, they also had excellent customer service helpdesks.
There’s a huge choice – for someone like me who knows nothing about building websites, these have been great add-on features to a free theme.
“There are many options. For someone like me, who has no experience in building websites, this was a great way to add features to a free template.”
We want to scale our business and I definitely think there is potential with Shopify.
“We want our business to scale and I definitely believe there is potential with Shopify.”
Browsing Builders
Browse Builders
Do your research and look at more than one builder.
Do your research, and consider more than one builder.
Look at reviews and also what they offer.
Check out reviews and what they offer.
Does it meet your needs?
Does it meet your requirements?
Can it do what you want it to do?
Does it meet your needs?
If your business is successful, can the builder grow with you?
Can the builder grow along with your business if it is successful?
If you’re a product-based business, do you know how to add a new product?
Do you know how to add new products to your product-based business?
Can you do it yourself or are you always having to ask for help with this?
Do you know how to do it yourself, or do you need help?
The main actions need to be simple.
Simple actions are the key.
For me, adding products easily was key.
Addition of products was important to me.
I didn’t want to have to pay someone to do this every time I wanted to add a new product or new scent.
I didn’t want someone else to do it every time I wanted a new product, or a new scent.
Take advantage of the free themes and play around with them.
Play around with the free themes.
Ask lots of questions and use their helpdesks – that’s what they’re there for.
Use their helpdesk and ask lots of questions.
Speak to other small businesses about their experiences, but try to remember that every business is different.
Talk to other small business owners about their experiences.
But remember that each business is unique.
What worked for them may not work as well for you.
“What worked for them might not work for you.”
Future Plans
Future Plans
There’s always something happening – new offers and new products.
“There’s always new offers and products. We are currently just signing off our Christmas range so look out for new gift sets and some new products.”
We are just finishing our Christmas range, so keep an eye out for some new gift sets and products.
We are still committed to growing the business further and growing our customer base and want to be a brand known for its gorgeous soap and products that encourage self-care.
We are still committed to expanding the business and increasing our customer base.
We want to be known for our beautiful soaps and products that encourage personal care.
The Wrinkly Elephant has expanded its product range from natural soaps to other complementary items, like bath salts.
The Wrinkly Elephant’s product line has expanded from natural soaps, to include complementary items like bath salts.
Advice From a Skincare Business
Advice from a Skincare Business
“Go for it.”
Go for it.
I wish I’d done it sooner but don’t be afraid of hard work and asking for help.
I wish I had done it sooner, but don’t fear hard work or asking for help.
You can’t know the answer to everything and there are always people out there that know more than you do.
You can’t be an expert on everything. There are always people who know more than you.
Also, don’t be afraid to learn from your mistakes.
Don’t be afraid of learning from your mistakes.
And, research, research, research.
It’s a minefield of legal documentation that you have to ensure you follow if you’re bringing a product to market.
You have to be careful to follow all the legal documents if you are bringing a new product to market.
Be consistent with your brand message and what you want in your product line.
Be consistent with the message of your brand and what you’re looking for in your product line.
Don’t just follow fads, stay true to what you believe in.
Do not follow trends, but rather stick to your beliefs.
Join different forum groups that are knowledgeable in the area and make those connections.
Join forums that are knowledgeable about the topic and make connections.
There are some very supportive communities and groups that help each other out, even if we are all competing in the same market.
There are many supportive communities and groups who help each other, even though we all compete in the same market.
Finally, always make sure you get your products cosmetically assessed!
“Don’t forget to have your products evaluated by a cosmetician.”
