Founder Feature: Akua Boakye Okunseinde of Karité
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 21 February 2025
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Startup CPG, Grace Kennedy sits down with Akua Boakye Okunseinde, one of the co-founders of Karité, a skincare brand rooted in the power of shea butter. Akua shares the inspiring story of how she and her two sisters—each with distinct professional backgrounds—came together to build a brand that blends Ghanaian heritage with dermatologist-backed skincare.
Akua shares the brand’s evolution from a passion project to an established business, detailing key milestones such as securing retail partnerships, expanding to Amazon, and conducting clinical testing to validate product efficacy. She also provides insights into the challenges of scaling a beauty brand, the importance of omnichannel distribution, and the role of education in driving consumer engagement. Plus, Akua discusses Karité’s commitment to ethical sourcing through women-led cooperatives in Ghana, reinforcing the brand’s dedication to quality and impact.
If you're an entrepreneur looking for insights on brand differentiation, breaking into retail, and building a mission-driven business, this episode is packed with valuable lessons. Listen now!
Listen in as they share about:
- About Karité
- Retail vs. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Strategy
- Amazon & E-Commerce Expansion
- Marketing & Brand Awareness
- Clinical Testing & Product Differentiation
- Challenges & Lessons Learned
- Product Expansion & Future Plans
Episode Links:
Website: https://www.mykarite.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mykarite
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akua-boakye-okunseinde-345a7412/
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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You know it can be a big pain? |
| 0:02.0 | Inventory management. |
| 0:04.0 | Keeping tabs on all your ingredients, how much products you have across warehouses and comands, |
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| 0:46.1 | That's C-I-N, the number seven. |
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| 1:13.7 | So we knew that we were going to be a body care brand when we started because again, |
| 1:18.1 | Che butter is great all parts of your body. And so when we launch with the hand cream, we're like, |
| 1:23.0 | okay, that's just the beginning. But we need to also hydrate our entire body. So we wanted to keep the assortment very tight and again focused on all parts of the body, which naturally then leads |
| 1:27.9 | to like face. So I think in the future we would love to do something in the facial category |
| 1:32.2 | and consider something there because a little bit of shay butter is also amazing for hydration |
| 1:37.2 | on the skin on your face. So that's something that we're looking into. |
| 1:43.3 | Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of CPG podcast. |
| 1:47.8 | This is Grace and today I'm so excited to share my founder feature with Akua, the co-founder of |
| 1:54.4 | Carri-Tay. |
... |
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