WashBar - Healthy Dog Soap with No “Nasty” Ingredients

The Story of a Brand

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5 • 145 Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode is brought to you by Mercury

The ultimate endpoint for WashBar is a great relationship between a dog and a pet parent, says Louise Knight, owner of the New Zealand-based brand that produces all-natural skin and coat care products for pets.

That endpoint didn't come without an unusual journey, Louise says. Her career began as a consumer goods marketer before taking time off to raise her children. She and her husband planned to start this business venture together, but he got another full-time opportunity just days before they took over the brand.

"I liken it to standing on a clifftop and wondering whether you jump off ... is the parachute going to open?" says Louise. "How's it going to end? You don't know until you take the risk and you jump."

One of the ways she minimized the initial risks was by outsourcing specific tasks to experts.

"I think that's probably been my biggest learning," she says. "My first year of the business, I tried to do everything myself - (it) didn't work."

The product itself has "no nasties," as Louise calls them. That means no fragrances, no sulfates, no parabens. Instead, WashBar uses some unique ingredients native to New Zealand to help ease itchiness.

"The very best part of my day is talking to people who have a problem with their dog's skin and wondering how to fix it," she says. "Every story is different (but) they just want one thing. They want the dogs to be comfortable, and they want them to be able to get out and enjoy life and have their daily adventures."

In Part 1, Louise talks about:

* Gratitude for her husband's support and encouragement.
* The unlikely journey she took to becoming the brand's owner.
* How she feels energized talking about her business.
* Why she outsourced many of the business's aspects at the start.
* How she equates her skincare regime with her dog's care.
* The fun of talking up New Zealand and its products to pet parents worldwide.

Join Ramon Vela and Louise Knight as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.

For more on WashBar, visit: https://washbar.com/

Subscribe and Listen to the podcast on all major apps. Simply search for “The Story of a Brand,” or click here to listen on your favorite podcast player: Listen now.

This episode is brought to you by Mercury

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Get physical & virtual debit cards, domestic & international wires, and integrations with essential payment processors, from Amazon to Shopify to Etsy and more. Plus, access the best-fit financing for your company with Mercury Capital, available just for Mercury customers.

Apply from anywhere in minutes and receive $100 when you make your first deposit. All banking services provided by banking partner Evolve Bank and Trust."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	There's probably two pillars that make washbar a little bit more special than your average
0:06.6	dog soap or shampoo.
0:08.9	And the first is the Manuka and Kanuka ingredients.
0:12.4	Kanuka is like a cousin of Manuka.
0:15.2	And the Manuka plant is like a shrub-like plant that grows in New Zealand, that's indigenous
0:20.2	to New Zealand.
0:22.5	And many of your listeners might have come across Manuka honey.
0:28.0	And so that's honey.
0:29.6	That's where the bees have taken pollination from flowers
0:33.9	and used that to make the honey.
0:36.5	But oil, which is what we use in our products, is actually distilled, as a steam distilled,
0:42.3	and we use the leaves and the twigs.
0:47.3	Manuka oil is a very, it's not very well known at this stage, but the studies that have been done indicate that
0:56.5	Manuka oil has all the wonderful properties of Manuka honey, which is antibacterial, antimicrobial,
1:05.2	and actually is it stronger and better, or stronger than Manuka honey. Of course it's not as sweet,
1:13.6	but it's terrific for the skin. And then the second pillar for washbar is the environmental
1:20.8	aspect. So it's the core product of our business is solid bars.
1:28.7	And it's different, obviously, to a traditional dog shampoo where it is a liquid and it comes
1:34.5	in a bottle.
1:35.6	And at the end of the day, at the end of your wash, you know, you have a plastic bottle
1:39.5	to deal with.
1:40.5	It's got to go somewhere.
	...

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