In recent years, the cosmetics industry has been expanding on a global scale. According to a report, the cosmetics market increased up to 5.5 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year. Traditionally, most people go for personal care products that are the one-size-fits-all kind. As recent years show a growing number of users of personal care, more Malaysians are starting to get invested in personal care that can suit them individually - oral, skin, hair, body and bath care included.
As the one-size-fits-all approach slowly dies out, recent trends show that do-it- yourself personal care products are steadily gaining popularity due to their more economical prices. The MWAW team spoke to Leong Wei Yein, the founder of Craftiviti to further understand this.
"Like bakeries that let customers experience the baking ambience, the people that walk into Craftiviti get to make their own personal care products."
All about Craftiviti
This lovely homegrown retail and online store for crafters, makers and dreamers was founded five years ago in 2015 by Yein and her husband, Eugene Tham.
Rather than an Art Attack-like store where parents can buy colour pencils or paint for their children, Craftiviti focuses more on therapeutic crafting. Yein said, “We are an adult arts and craft shop.”
Craftiviti provides all kinds of DIY personal care and therapeutic crafts materials, tools, ingredients and even workshops to make all types of DIY personal care, ranging from soaps to candles to aromatherapy products. To complete the range, the store also sells packaging materials, sculpting clays, liquid silicone and latex for mould making and casting materials such as plaster and epoxy resins.
They have only one establishment so far and it is based in 10 Boulevard, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Yein shared that she had been questioned by a number of customers on whether it is the only branch. “Every time guests or customers come in, they say, ‘is this the only branch?’ In pictures, it looks really big but it is really compact. We find it really compact. It’s got everything you need.”
She added on to say that they focus more online to get the materials, tools and ingredients out of KL to appeal to those in the East Coast who desire to make their own DIY products. Hence, the store functions as a raw provider to help people make their own personal care products; soaps, bath bombs, lip balms and slime to name a few.
Therapeutic crafting is the way to go
In the beginning, Craftiviti sold brushes, paints, materials for regular arts and craft making. As time passed, they slowly started transitioning - and they still are! - to personal care products (i.e soap, DIY bath bombs, etc) and toned down on arts and crafts.
As a retail store, Craftiviti is known in the market to sell personal care products. Yein wanted to encourage people to make their own personal care products and for several reasons. Having their own DIY personal care products helps users to recover from skin ailments and save costs from buying them. For those who want to deal with less chemicals, therapeutic crafting allows them to reduce chemical exposures. For others, they can learn a new skill and have fun through therapeutic crafting.
Armed with the best gears
Yein shared that their materials come from everywhere, locally and overseas. Their tools, like the mixing equipment of moulds, come from China as the quality is good. The raw materials are from different places in the world. Among the places where they import the raw materials are the UK for soap bases, the US for the waxes and Spain for the oils.
Yein mentioned that all of their materials come with their own documentation and from trusted suppliers. In fact, she added that her connections, reputable sellers, suppliers or directly from the distillers, usually provide raw materials that are meant for cosmetic-grade or pharma-grade not food-grade. As pharma-grade raw materials are purer in quality compared to food-grade ones, you can bet that the quality of the DIY personal care products you make is nothing to scoff at.
Craftiviti is also one of the very few retailers in the country who has a license to sell poisonous chemicals such as Sodium Hydroxide and Borax for soap formulations (which are stored safely under lock and key within the store). They also have a license from Lembaga Getah Malaysia to sell liquid latex for mould making and special effects crafting.
Best-selling therapeutic crafts? Yes, please!
Therapeutic crafting may consist of many personal care products, but the founder notices that certain items are more popular among the others. Yein admitted that the soap bases are popular. She cited that the reason for this trend is due to the growing awareness of the benefits of DIY personal care products.
She said, “In the long run it is cheaper, more economical and eco-friendlier to make your own personal care products.” Some of the possible reasons that more people are keen to make their own soap is to reduce plastic waste by reusing the previous mould instead of buying new containers off the shelves. She also shared that with one of their soap base suppliers being Stephenson, an all-natural supplier from the UK, the DIY soaps will significantly contain less chemicals than those sold in drug stores.
Their next most popular item would be the essential oils. An avid user of essential oils herself, Yein shared that she aims to educate people about the different kinds of oils, from essential oils to fragrance oils through her personal care business. As essential oils are mixed into other items like candles and soap, they will also recommend essential oils for their clients. Ranging from the universal scents like lavender and tea tree oil to specific ones like basil or ginger oils, the freedom in choosing whatever scent they wish is what appeals to their customers thus far.
“In the long run it is cheaper, more economical and eco-friendlier to make your own personal care products.”
Wading through the storm
As with many other businesses, the five-year-old venture went through their own struggles when the pandemic struck and lockdown policies were implemented. “The two months of MCO were tough and when businesses were allowed to operate once more, we took some time to decide on the proper SOPs,” said Yein. Thankfully, Craftiviti was still open during the time as they went e-commerce and sold DIY sanitizers as well. Although their sales dropped, they consider themselves blessed as they did not have to close down.
Another challenge she tackled during the MCO was in regards to keeping the team together. The crew was still operating to process online orders, after all, but how did they manage it? The co-founders came to a decision after discussing among themselves. Yein shared, “My husband and I made the executive decision that if there were pay cuts, we would reduce our wage first so the team members will still have their jobs.”
Although it was unfortunate that they had to relieve one contract staff during the MCO, they maintained everyone else who were permanent. As employers, the two learnt that reassuring their teammates of their job security is just as important as keeping the business afloat.
Toughing it up as a business venture
Every business has its ups and downs, their craft-making business is included. However, the iron lady pedals through every hill and takes things one at a time. Yein said, “In business, if things are smooth, that’s when you need to worry.” The founder believed that a smooth-sailing business means you’re not changing with the times.
The business owner felt that they must always prepare for the next change or the next MCO. At the moment, she and her team focus on finding various ways to build sandbags around Craftiviti in the event that another emergency may come.
Change in the retail industry
Although Craftiviti relies on crafts for adults, it still falls under the retail category. Among the things she observed over the years is that the retail line needs to move beyond buying and selling. People no longer want to just walk in and out of the store, in the virtual or real world. Yein said, “Customers now want the retail experience, what makes us unique from other brands where they just walk into a store and just walk out after that.” Customer experience is the very factor they are trying to tackle.
They want customers to walk into their store and feel like they’re walking into a baking shop. She said, “Like bakeries that let customers experience the baking ambience, the people that walk in to Craftiviti get to make their own personal care products.” The feeling of exploring something new and that you can do something yourself that’s for your own good - those are the impressions she wants her customers to feel.
Future plans for the organisation
At the moment, the co-founder shared that they initially had plans to branch out. However, that plan is not a priority right now. A lot of changes happened in their business plans due to the pandemic and the MCO. Building a steadfast online presence and exploring the virtual market is the priority for them. “Going strong online is the next best thing to do,” she said.
Having a retail outlet or branching out into more stores aren’t as attractive as before, more so with the maintenance upkeep and rental costs. They may be investing more on their online store currently, but they still hope that they can attempt on retail when circumstances have improved.
Advice for young entrepreneurs
Yein believes that women by nature are very creative and resourceful, especially when cornered into a tight situation. The biggest advice she offers young entrepreneurs is to not hesitate and delve into it. She said, “Don’t think too much and just go into it. Trust your gut instincts and follow that need to
express yourself.”
She shared that many women often undermine themselves, saying their dreams may not be as big as creating a legacy or a business empire. Instead of getting daunted, she wants those women to go for their dreams, big or small. “Your dreams can be from something small like knitting or making things with your hands. Go from there. Your dreams will bring out the best in you.”
As Yein mentioned, chasing and working for your dreams will often let your best qualities shine. If any of you wish to become your own entrepreneurs in the field that you love, go ahead and steer the wheels yourself. After all, after every rain and thunderstorm, a rainbow awaits at the end of the day.
“Your dreams can be from something small like knitting or making things with your hands. Go from there. Your dreams will bring out the best in you.”
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