Maker Spotlight: Thulisa Naturals

When Anusha Moodley started Thulisa Naturals she wanted to share the bath and body products she was making that were improving her skin and her mood with others. She shares more with us about how her business began and how she made it into 150 stores nationwide.

the story behind thulisa naturals

"I was born and raised in South Africa and have been living in the United States for 16 years. I’m a mom of two, and this journey started after I became a mom.

I struggled with postpartum depression, and having a background in healthcare, I knew that in order to take care of my family, I needed to take care of myself.

My daily shower was one of the times in the day when I could get a moment to myself and relax. While I savored this time, I wanted to find a way to elevate it even more.

I started researching essential oils, and that’s where this all really started. I became obsessed with their individual properties and the impact they had within a formulation.

I started making a few of my own products from my kitchen and quickly realized they helped improve the look and feel of my skin and helped me feel more grounded and uplifted.

So I founded Thulisa Naturals (‘Thulisa’ means bringer of peace in Zulu) to share not just the amazing, all-natural, and safe products but to support others in creating  rituals that benefit their mental and physical well-being." 

my first product

"I started making bath bombs because I had a difficult time finding natural bath bombs without synthetic fragrance and color."

my best sellers 

"My bestsellers are body butter, shower steamers and body polish bars."

proud moment

"I’m proud that I took the first step and had the courage to start Thulisa Naturals. My products are now in over 150 stores across the country."

what’s next for my biz

"I’m working on expanding my production team so that I can launch a new men’s line of products."

my top biz tools

• Shopify: great website platform which gives me detailed sales analytics
• Later: to schedule social media post
• Makesy: because they have the best natural essential oil blends 

lessons I’ve learned

1. "To stay focused: with social media it’s easy to compare yourself to others and this takes away from what you could be doing to grow your business."
2. "To be patient: Manufacturing products on a bigger scale takes a lot of time to find the right team members. Being patient is key in finding the right people."
3. "To be flexible: the pandemic forced me to learn how to adapt and manage supply chain issues."

advice for new entrepreneurs

"Expect challenges and obstacles and choose to be resilient. You will succeed."

favorite makesy products

"Can I say all? I love the egyptian geranium essential oil. I’ve tested many other geranium oils but Makesy’s by far is the best.

Makesy’s shea butter has become a recent favorite which I use in body scrub bars."

 while making, I…. 

• listen to ‘How I Built This’ podcast by Guy Raz 
• put on my apron 
• and then...weigh and organize all my ingredients in the order in I need them according to my recipe and let the making begin!