Nandita Sharmin, is the Founder and CEO of Amlaki, leading the herbal cosmetics industry in Bangladesh. Amlaki has been taking utmost care of customers’ beauty needs with its vast line of products that are 100% natural and safe.

Q. Hi Nandita, Hope you are doing well. Can you tell us about the journey that led to the creation of Amlaki? How has your company evolved since its inception?

“I find inspiration in the old ways of our ancestors. That made me follow our roots and share my journey with everyone. I strongly feel we should not be detached from our roots. Ayurveda and herbalism runs in my blood and we have a rich tradition of alternative medicine and skincare. To make my dreams come true I pursued multiple diplomas in skincare and herbal medicine in the United Kingdom. That’s how Amlaki was established.”

Q. Can you walk us through your company’s approach to product development and innovation?

In Amlaki usually I used to do the research. I travelled around the world and worked on different skin formulations from that I extract the best product for my customer according to their skin tone, lifestyle, market and weather suitability.

Q. Would you kindly share with us some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a CEO in your company?

Working in Bangladesh, it’s quite tough to sustain because of a lot of rules and regulations that need to follow. As a CEO, I have to look after not only the product development but also the HR and marketing plans. The market of Bangladesh is very volatile because of rapid changes in trends. So, I always keep it in my mind and it’s the biggest challenge to keep up with the trends, especially in the skincare and beauty industry.

Q. How does your company differentiate itself in a competitive market? Would you kindly share with me your company’s values and corporate social responsibility initiatives?

In our country, people love whitening products, from that perspective it’s very hard to make them educated about natural derivative products which are healthy and better for the skin. But I am trying my best to do that. Many skincare companies do not maintain quality whereas we have quality products but we used to convince our customers regarding quality and we have also competed with whitening products, people follow many types of skincare methods, for example nowadays, Korean skin care products are dominating the market, I have to compete with them too. People have a tendency to prefer foreign products so we also make them sure that good and quality products are also produced in Bangladesh. You can buy the same graded product at a low cost when it is manufactured in Bangladesh. So, it’s a highly competitive market I can say. As CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), we give our sales percentage to the orphanage and woman’s organizations. Besides that, we have a charity organisation named ‘Nandita Speaks’. We do many social works by collaboration with Nandita Speaks’.

Q. Would you discuss any recent partnerships or collaborations that your company has been involved in?

We have recent partnership with UniMart. You can get our products in Unimart. We also have a partnership with Daraz and Shajgoj. We are also looking for more branding.

Q. Can you provide insight into your company’s plans for growth and expansion in the future?

Initially, Amlaki started with its own online store. Now, you can get our products on many e-commerce sites. Not only that but also you can get our products offline in many superstores and shops as well. Recently, we are expanding out of Dhaka city. We are collaborating with superstores for giving our products in major district cities. This is how we are expanding. Besides that have launched some products which are only for professionals. In Spa centres and parlours, people will use it as a facial and it’s for only professionals. And I want to expand such products in this sector with my expertise.

Q. How do you see technology shaping the future of the Health/Beauty industry?

Technology is shaping the beauty industry in a vast way. Modern technology is grooming the beauty industry. Now, by using technology people are getting beauty solutions easily and fastly, it’s good to see. We are trying to keep up with this technology with my products and want to add in my professional range.

Q. Do you want to give our audience any tips or advice who want to start their own business? It would be beneficial if you mention some of the general skills which are super essential.

To the audience who wants to start a business; actually, any business if you want to do, you have to know about it widely. You need to do market research, need to have a proper business plan and have adequate knowledge mostly important about that in business. It will better if you have professional experience and practicality on it. If not better to learn from those who have that business experience on that field. You must achieve the knowledge first before starting it and if you have an academic degree on it, it will give an extra benefit in the business. And it will give a good service to the customers.