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Emani Jeram
Emani Jeram is the face of conscious brand B&W:THECOLLECTION. Short for ‘beauty and wellness the collection’, Emani is approaching the industry with wellness and sustainability at the core. Her collection of luxury body butter helps every customer prioritise their beauty and their health. From mother to baby, there’s a product for everyone.
Emani started her journey in aesthetics, where she found a passion for skincare, particularly on the product side. Wanting to know more, she sought other experience at a clinic in her local area, assisting a dermatologist. “I learnt so much from her. She was amazing,” she states. However, the management team at the clinic proved to be unsupportive, not providing Emani with the relevant training she needed. “That’s when I decided to start my own business,” she begins. “I always wanted to start my own business, but I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do. I was always interested in beauty,” she states, having previously been a hairdresser and studied beauty at college.
B&W:THECOLLECTION began as solely a blog, where she would initially share beauty tips and advice for friends and acquaintances who would often ask her what products were best to purchase and use. “I started on Instagram, and I had a really good response and met some amazing people all around the world. It just really prompted me to do more,” she commented.
Shortly after, she made skincare products from her, her mother and a few friends. “It snowballed into me making them,” she recalls. Continuing, she regards, “I made one for a giveaway I did on Instagram. The giveaway winner was just so nice and pushed me to sell what I was making. And so I did.”
WOTC caught up with the young entrepreneur in early July. Emani had launched her business B&W:THECOLLECTION, a month prior. She was on a mission to help individuals improve their wellness. Her lux body butter collection, made using natural and organic ingredients from lavender (a personal favourite of hers) to eucalyptus, was created with the customer in mind to its entirety. The range is formulated using certified pure therapeutic grade (CPTG) essential oils, ensuring only the best quality for shoppers. “I didn’t want it just to make your skin feel nice. I didn’t want it just to make you feel pretty. I wanted it to improve aspects of wellness as well. The way I formulate them is very specific to improve wellness benefits, such as helping you get a better night’s sleep, helping to reduce stress and anxiety and helping to make you more grounded,” she explains. “It was really important for me to create something that not only works on the surface but [also] internally. I think when you’re feeling good inside, it shows on the outside as well. So I want to work from the inside out.” All B&W:THECOLLECTION comes complete with recyclable and reusable jars, allowing customers to shop sustainably.
Emani’s long-term plans include forming a training academy where she hopes to help young girls like herself, who wish to enter the business industry as an entrepreneur. “I didn’t have that when I started, and I felt that was missing. There were books, of course, that I read and online, but there was nothing really that provided that one-on-one support.”
“I’ve learnt to follow my heart and not to rush. Just enjoy the journey,” she states, commenting on what she has learnt as a business owner. “I struggled a lot the last few years, [and] not just physically, but mentally as well. I feel like this (referring to her beauty brand) has brought me so much joy and given me a purpose. It’s motivated me to become who I am. I look to become a better me, and with a better me, comes a better B:W.”
Rounding up, WOTC wanted to know what advice Emani would give to a young woman on a similar journey to starting a business. “If I could go back and talk to myself, then I would say ‘everything happens for a reason, and you’re going through this hard time so that you can become stronger and you can have the strength to do what you are meant to do,’” she admits. “I would tell someone that’s struggling right now, ‘I know it’s hard, but enjoy the struggle because it’s not going to last forever. It’s going to blow over, and everything is going to work out.’ I wish someone had told me that because it took a while for me to get out of my funk that I was in, and I just didn’t believe in myself.”
Learn more about B&W:THECOLLECTION and explore the range of wellness-driven, therapeutic skin and body care at thebwcollection.co.uk