Freshen Up was founded and created by Terri Smith in 2019. She grew up on the tiny island of Tobago in the Caribbean; which exposed her to an organic and green upbringing. She says her talents came from my grandmother, Ena whom she considered to be a 'master herbalist’, she spent a lot of time surrounded by her mastery. Terri says “Island culture is very much, a 'make your own' which meant a natural way of living. So it was no surprise to me that I birthed Freshen Up, when the market didn't provide what I need.”
Becoming a business owner wasn’t an initial thought for Terri. She would make her products because she enjoyed playing chemist to de-stress and a form of self-care. Her family saw her talent, the vision and the need for the business before she did, and it was their encouragement and support that Terri decide to step into the business owner shoes.
Freshen Up is an all-natural skincare line for your armpits. They offer handcrafted, and travel-friendly deodorant products that are hypoallergenic and free of toxic chemicals. Freshen Up developed a 4-Step deodorizing routine, aimed at helping customers transition to natural worry-free customers.
Having ditched her chemical-based deodorant years ago, it often startled her when she heard that natural deodorants don’t work. In fact, this is the number one complaint. So, Terri decided to focus on the two main deterrents for the natural deodorant perspective: not being able to maintain freshness (odour control) all day and an unpleasant transition period. Our line is purposely designed with convenient, on-the-go products, that provide a holistic and thoughtful approach to natural personal care.
Freshen Up was formulated with the customer and their lifestyle in mind. Most natural deodorant companies try to mimic the one-and-done conventional deodorant. As we know, natural remedies do not produce results overnight. You need a system of products to get you through your day, especially at the beginning of the transition period. Freshen Up offers a Transition Kit purposely designed with convenient, on-the-go products, that provide a holistic and thoughtful approach to natural personal care at helping customers transition to a natural worry-free. Freshen Up gives you the confidence to know that you can ditch your chemical deodorants knowing the natural products can keep up with any lifestyle.
Another main focus of Freshen Up, is to change the perception of underarm care. Freshen Up markets itself as a brand that offers a skincare regimen that helps the customer to maintain healthy and natural underarms. They have carved out a niche that is uncommon to most, but not far-fetched. They don’t use one product on our faces so let’s take that same approach to our get the best results possible. That's why we curated a 4-step deodorizing routine aimed at blessing our underarms with some much-deserved pampering.
Terri started creating her products in 2014, but it took 5 years for her to fully start her business. Formulating a product with non-toxic ingredients wasn’t her only concern, but convenience as well. Her daughter was pretty active; her schedule included going from soccer games to dance class, and finding deodorizing products to keep up with her active lifestyle was a challenge. It was through her journey that Terri was able to explore and carefully cultivate answers to the many pain points that the active, on-the-go person who wants to switch to natural deodorant may face. After much testing and tweaking, in November 2019 she finally decided she had products that could proudly stand behind.
Terri would finally commit to vending at the Farmers Market, as well as do more events, and physically shop her products at local stores. So, when 2020 rolled around and COVID took over, she became paralyzed. Terri had a plan to engage and drum up interest in Freshen Up, the old fashion way. None of which was possible with our new norm. She had a serious mental setback and the doubts took over for a couple of months. Terri knew she had to chart a different course. She made the pivot using social media - which is by the way was her arch-nemesis. Yes, she is aware that one can’t have a thriving business without using these platforms, but what she wasn’t prepared for was to solely rely on it to build her brand. Terri slowly found a way out of the crippling fear - by posting the essence of the brand, and putting out valuable content via her blog and IG Lives. She was resolved that there was a need for my products and she had to adapt- and that is what she did.
Terri thinks the success of Freshen Up orients with the customer and their journey with the products. Thinking like a customer was the main approach when she was developing each product; putting herself in the shoes of prospective clients long before that customer knew that she have the answer. Hearing customer feedback, as well as positive reviews, has contributed to our growth, both in product development and in sales. Moving forward the objective will be to focus and give attention to building trust with new and prospective customers, and delivering a remarkable experience with the brand.
The Vision is quite simply, is to be: The Worlds Premier Underarm Care Company, offering confidence to the consumer that they never have to choose between health and beauty, by delivering truly natural deodorizing products that can keep up with any lifestyle. Being the premier underarm care company does not mean being the biggest but it does mean being the best in terms of consumer value, customer service, diverse team, community outreach programs, and consistent and growth.
Sales are one of the most important, most essential skills that she has learned starting her business because it allows her to convey not only the products but also the ideas to others in a way that makes them enthusiastic about it too. Learning not just to sell but also to communicate with people in a way that makes them interested in an essential skill, not just in business, but also in life.
If you want to learn more about Freshen Up visit their IG page @getfreshenup or list their website https://getfreshenup.com