BEING from the country, Racquell Brown grew up in a yard where her grandmother had a small garden, and like most homes in rural Jamaica, it was filled with herbs and fruit trees, but also had a rock in the midst of it. As a little girl on those misty mornings, she would climb and sit on this rock watching her grandma, totally enchanted by the sweet aromas of these fruit trees lingering in the air as the sun gently played on the swell of her back. This love of all things natural was the birth of Brown’s Irie Rock. Irie Rock’s products include serums, body splashes, a facial care line using as many Jamaican ingredients as possible, such as coconut oil and aloe vera gel.

That’s the story that would greet anyone who searches Racquell Brown on the Internet. That rock in the garden has lent its name to her company, Irie Rock.

“The name came about from a focus group and in that group there were several names to choose from. Irie Rock was the name that stood out during the session with the focus group. What cemented it for me, was when I was walking on the road one day and one of the persons from the focus group saw me and said ‘Hi Miss Irie Rock’, and I said ‘Yes, that’s it. The mere fact that the person can remember the name, because a brand should be easily remembered,” she acceded.

But her journey to become an entrepreneur really started when she was made redundant.

“We started in 2009. We started in the heart of the recession. I was let go with the company that I was with,” Brown told then Jamaica Observer in a recent interview. Brown worked at Jamaica Standard Products at the time. There she was the marketing co-ordinator and sold coffee.

“After that we had the recession and then during that recession they were laying off a lot of persons and my position was made redundant, but they had kept me on as a consultant for them. About six months prior to me being let go, I had actually started Irie Rock. The concept was there for a good two years prior; in the year prior I started doing formulations and all the necessary research and development that was needed.”

Brown said she did all the formulations herself, using every source she could, including the internet to learn how to make the products. She said she took the products to the Bureau of Standards Jamaica for testing and had help with standardising the formulation from the Scientic Research Council.

“We also have a testing company in Turkiye that we use whenever we are formulating,” she added.

Brown, who suffered from acne, said she started mixing formulas to help her own skin and decided to go full force into a business with the products.

“Irie Rock is a natural skincare company. We specialise in creating solutions for persons with different skin conditions. So from acne, to hyperpigmentation, to aging skin, we specialise in that, producing products that are not only effective in producing the results that we want but also products that feel good on the skin.”

But during the initial stages of the business, things were difficult.

“It was difficult initially because Jamaican consumers at that time did not have a lot of local skincare/facial care brands. Most of it was imported, and there was just a very small amount of locally produced skincare brands and they mainly dealt with body care, not skincare.”

But Brown said she perservered and found acceptance amongst locals for her products. Three years after launch, she took her ambitions overseas.

“I went to a show in Birmingham in the UK, Spring Summer Collection was the name of the show, and we were actually trying to get Boots, which is one of the UK’s largest retailers, to actually look at our products and give us some attention, and we did a formulation of a batch to get feedback. We gave Boots a sample of the products, they looked at it and looked at us and told us that they have something a little bit similar in concept and one thing they can say to us is that while they were not able to take the product, they told us ‘good job’ and told us as well that the line of products that it was selling was similar to the one Boots was selling was that was one of its best-selling products.”

Boots is a health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain that operates in the United Kingdom. Instead of being daunted, Brown said she was encouraged by the feedback from Boots.

“When I got that response, yes, it was disappointing that Boots didn’t want our product. But I reached out and though I didn’t get them to make orders as I wanted, I got some very valuable information. One, the concept works. They have tried and tested it. It is one of their largest-selling products. ‘Mi nuh need fi hear more than that,” she said as she slipped into Jamaican. “We producing something that works. Our formulation, in all honesty, based on the ingredients used, was a superior product to what they have. But the basic, basic element was similar — tea tree oil and all… but I had other ingredients that enhanced the product overall,” she added.

Taking note of the acknowledgement of her products from Boots, Brown became more resolute.

“When I heard that, I am like, look here, I need to go full force with this particular line, and can I tell you, our tea tree and witch hazel product has become our flagship product,” she said.

Brown said the product has helped her to cement the brand in the minds of consumers.

“We had a line of products that is catering to a whole group of persons that had one particular skin condition, acne….want something that works to not only get rid of current breakout but also prevent future breakouts.”

Sure, despite the disappointment at Boots, Brown has managed to still get her products to the UK and mainland Europe. Her products are certified for sale in the EU but most are still sold locally. The EU certification, she said, has helped her to gain customers who are usually sceptical about using products from people who use the internet to learn formulations.

“In order for you to be on EU shelf or in the UK, you have to go through a stringent certification process. Once you meet the EU standard, you can meet the standard for anybody else. That’s because in the EU, they take the formulation apart and every element has to be listed, tested and approved before the product goes onto a shelf in Europe.

But still, she said, export sales are not where she would like to see them.

“Our export sales are still very small in comparison to our local sales. Our local sales remain our bread and butter, so to speak, and we work hard to create market penetration and to ensure that we captured a nice little section of the market for ourselves, but there is still a lot to be done. When you look at store shelves what you mainly see are international brands.”

She said her products are in dozens of stores islandwide and she works continuously to ensure that the products are easily available to the consumer.

“One of the wonderful things that I have seen happening more and more over the years is that our retailers are approaching us for our products. They are saying customers are coming in and asking for the products. In the early days that was not the case.

“At this point in time, we are in expansion mode. Expansion in terms of product offerings, different types of product offerings, different ways in which we will be offering those products, expansion in terms of territory, in terms of exports, different ways in which we are looking at exporting in a real way in which we have more control. We are expanding in terms of our physical space. Where we are currently is not where we would ideally want to be in the next six months and we are actively pursuing that. Because we are ready, we are there. We are ready for that next step. Our foundation is very strong, in my opinion, we have worked very diligiently over the last 16 years and we are at a space at which we are comfortable to say, alright then, we are very confident in making the next steps.”

She said she is now working towards her own manufacturing and distribution plant as demand means the company has outgrown the space it has been operating in since inception.

And new products are being added to the line. Brown said a total of six will be added over the next few months.

“I can happily say that as a company and a brand, we have our foot solidly within the local market space. I think we have created a brand that persons trust; we have created a brand that persons look forward to and have invested emotionally in.”