Joanna White
Founder
Mallow + White
Joanna White
Founder of MallowandWhite.co.uk
Having met at a Christmas event in December 2018, I’ve come to see Joanna as a friend and inspiring fellow entrepreneur with products that win awards for good reason! Her lemon and caffeine soap is a firm favorite!
Can you share a little about your path to owning your own skincare business?
I’ve loved gorgeous smells since I was a little girl and spent hours making rose petal potions in the garden. As an adult, I spent 22 happy years working in BBC news, and could easily have stayed longer.
However, the spanner in the works came when I started making soap with simple, all natural ingredients that you can find in your kitchen cupboard like olive oil and coconut oil. The results were magically soothing for my irritated skin, and just like that, I was hooked.
Several beauty courses and hundreds of craft markets later, I took the plunge and left the BBC to start Mallow + White, a natural skincare company. Best decision ever.
What a great journey! And you’ve achieved so much witch your beautiful brand! I know the path isn’t always plain sailing . Can you share a little about any challenges along the way?
From a practical point of view, the biggest challenge is space! At first, I made everything in small batches from scratch at the kitchen table. All available cupboards were crammed to overflowing with oils, clays, botanicals, boxes and ribbons.
I have since converted our garage into a kitchen workshop, but as the business grows, so do the quantities of ingredients, and I am now on the lookout for new premises to make the products from.
I guess that’s a good complaint to have!!
No doubt all the hard work is worth it as you’ve grown and won several awards over the years!
It truly makes my heart sing when I get messages from customers telling me how Mallow + White skincare has transformed their skin for the better.
This is just one quote from a customer this week “I can’t believe how soft my face is, all the dryness around the eyes has just disappeared, and the irritation has gone”. The wonderful customer feedback makes it all worth while.
Who or what inspires you?
Those who have fallen down, got up, dusted themselves off and gone on to create successful businesses from scratch. I really love the energy and courage of Richard Branson. His life lessons shared are “have goals, have fun, be loyal, make a difference, and live life to the full” really challenge me and spur me on.
It’s been a pretty touch 18 months for business, can you share how Covid has affected you or how you’ve adapted?
From a personal point of view, I’ve found the whole situation quite hard emotionally, and have spent a lot of time helping out my elderly shielding father. Thankfully, he has stayed well. I’ve used some of the time at home to work through a Diploma in Aromatherapy, which has been really interesting.
From a business point of view, I have developed a non-gloopy, nice smelling hand sanitiser. This has gone through all the tests, passed cosmetic certifiers approval and gone on to win “Best Hand Sanitiser” at the 2020 Beauty Shortlist Awards. (It’s also currently available to buy in Threads of Harpenden)
I’m not one bit surprised! I’ve tried the sanitiser and it is indeed really lovely so deserving of this award!
Finally, Joanna, could you sum up your business in three words?
Botanical. Minimal. Ethical.
Where can people go to find out more about your lovely business?
Et To find out more about Mallow + White and their award winning products, you can check out their website or social media links below!
website – www.mallowandwhite.co.uk
Insta – https://www.instagram.com/mallowandwhite
Twitter – https://twitter.com/MallowWhite
