#awinewith Samantha Hunter, Founder of Bloom Organics

https://bloomorganics.au/

In this episode we talked about...

* The supermarket moment that started it all: standing with her sister reading a soap box for her nephews' eczema, unable to pronounce a single ingredient, and deciding "we can do better than this".

* Researching her way from a COVID lockdown hobby to a handmade skincare and body care business in Airlie Beach - starting with a goat's milk, manuka honey and oat soap made for her family.

* Formulating for results, not trends: plant-derived ingredients, no unnecessary perfumes, and products that people with allergies and sensitive skin can actually use - because what you put on your skin ends up in your body.

* Why the weekend markets are her best business tool - letting sunburnt cruise ship visitors and curious locals try the product, no hard sell, and watching them come back an hour later saying "I'll have one of those".

* Letting customers write the product roadmap: the body butters, the Renew range for mature skin (tested by real women in their 50s and up, not models), and the men's all-in-one product - all built from conversations at her stall.

* The moment the "hobby that pays for itself" became a business - swapping the mindfulness hat for the business hat without losing the 3am creative buzz.

* Her current challenges, honestly: cracking exposure as a one-woman brand on a pocket-money budget (including her 30 Days of Bloom campaign), and streamlining small-batch manufacturing done entirely by hand.

* Her advice: if you've got something you love and believe in, just go for it - you don't need a course or $20k in the bank, and you're not struggling, you're learning.

Get more SPARK in your business…

SPARK Instagram Community | https://www.instagram.com/sparkbusiness.global/

FREE SPARK CEO Scorecard | https://sparkbusiness.global/the-spark-ceo-scorecard

$15k Quarterly Cash Grants for Women in Business | https://sparkbusiness.global/spark-women-in-business-grants

Join The SPARK CEO Hub | https://sparkbusiness.global/spark-ceo-hub

Thank you to IP Australia for supporting the SPARK podcast and women in business.