Becoming one of the top selling baby skincare brands in Boots in just under three months sounds like something that's only achievable with decades of experience. But for Casyo 'Krept' Johnson and Sasha Ellese Gilbert, their daughter Nala was the inspiration.
'When Sasha was pregnant with Nala, we wanted to create something really natural for her skin,' says Krept.
Once Nala was born in June 2020, the pair also realised that their daughter was among the one in five children in the UK who have eczema. And as many parents will know, trying to find a product that relieves the itching is tough. But for Krept and Sasha, they took matters into their own hands and began building what would become Nala’s Baby savings using their savings (Krept is a rapper and Sasha is an influencer). Earlier this month, the brand won Best Baby Skincare in the Mother & Baby Beauty Awards.
I ask Krept on the importance of being a Black-owned business and how others can follow in his footsteps. His number one piece of advice? Perseverance. 'You don’t need to be the biggest expert in the field to create a concrete idea,' he says. 'You just need a vision and you need to be genuine to yourself and others around you. The biggest thing I’ve learnt from this whole experience is to take risks. In the beginning, we were told to put the price up on products or else we wouldn’t be successful. But we wanted it to be accessible for others, or else there would be a point in doing this.'
This wasn’t the only challenge the couple faced when they started their business. When the idea for Nala's Baby first came to fruition, Krept and Sasha were in a relationship, but as time went on they decided to go their separate ways. But still the focus is on their daughter and their business. To most, this would lead to a flurry of disagreements and arguments. But for Krept and Sasha, this was the last thing on their mind. 'We made it as amicable as we could,' says Krept. 'I wouldn’t say there are challenges of us working together. We haven’t had any problems because we didn’t make that our situation. We don’t let our personal emotions get in the way of something great and raising our child, so I think they has helped us avoid those difficult scenarios that can normally take place.'
With a successful restaurant business with fellow rapper Konan under his belt, a clothing line and now a rising skincare line, what's next for the rapper-turned-entrepreneur? 'We’re looking to launch Nala's Baby in different stores next year so we can be even more accessible – places like Tesco and Sainsbury’s. People have been asking us to create bigger sizes and travel sizes and that’s also what we’re working on. Slowly but surely, we’ve got some exciting things in the works and we’ll be sure to reveal them soon.'