March 8: Spotlight on Sandrine, founder of Kalia Nature

For International Women’s Rights Day, we’ve chosen to spotlight Sandrine, founder of Kalia Nature. It seemed like a natural choice to us, given that she is a woman, an entrepreneur, a mother, and an advocate for inclusion. Her natural hair care brand for textured hair is a story of heritage and passing on traditions. We invite you to discover it and share it.

1/ How did you come up with the idea to start Kalia Nature, and what is the concept behind it?

The Birth of the brand was inspired by my daughter Neela. Born extremely premature, there were no natural alternatives available to care for her skin and her curly hair. Using family recipes I learned from my grandmother, I created handmade hair care products for Neela’s hair, and later for my own as I transitioned. Kalia Nature is dedicated to sharing the art of caring for textured hair, using ingredients and expertise from the Caribbean. Through the brand, I aim to offer a hair care routine that harnesses the nourishing and moisturizing properties of Caribbean plants and flowers.

2/ What advice would you have liked to receive before starting your own business?

As Warren Buffett so aptly puts it, surround yourself with people who possess these three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. Because it takes a lot to be an entrepreneur, and above all, you need to surround yourself with the right people to stay the course over the long term.

3/ What is Kalia Nature's best-selling product, and how do you explain its popularity?

Warm regards, The Hibiscus Cream is one of our bestsellers, tied with the Coconut-Spirulina Mask. I created the Hibiscus Cream because my mother often told me about how she used hibiscus leaves and flowers in her youth as the sole ingredient to care for her long hair. I studied the properties of this raw material and wanted to create a product that would suit all porosity levels of textured hair, make detangling easier—a common reason people give up on natural textured hair in favor of chemical or thermal treatments—and that would be nourishing and moisturizing while offering multiple ways to use it. Hibiscus Cream is a 3-in-1 product that, upon its release, won the NHA Award for Best Leave-In in 2019 and, this year, was named Product of the Year 2023—just like the Coconut-Spirulina Mask.

4/ Do Black women face more challenges than others in entrepreneurship?

I think that as women, we already face more challenges than men, but as women of African descent offering hair care products for textured hair, the challenges are even greater. I started out without any help, grants, or bank loans, and I had to work three times as hard to prove that my business had a place in the market. Receiving the 2022 award for Best Artisan in Seine-Saint-Denis was one of the most meaningful recognitions I’ve ever received; it allowed me to show that we possess artisanal expertise that was virtually unrecognized.

5/ What has been your greatest achievement with Kalia Nature?

My greatest achievement is being able to continue running my business, given the difficult circumstances we’re currently facing, and to keep creating jobs.

6/ What's next for you?

Tomorrow, March 9, we will officially receive the “Élu produit de l’année” award, and if anyone reading this interview would like to join us in spreading our brand’s values even further, they can vote on the “Élu produit de l’année” website to help us win the award for best pitch. Of course, we have some exciting plans in store for this year that I can’t reveal just yet.