“Essènci stems from my innate sense of caring for others.”
June 17, 2020
Five years ago, I went on a road trip to the south of France. It was during this trip that, with the support of my husband, I was able to create the initial concept of Essènci a sustainable luxury skincare brand. Inspired by the region, I wanted to ensure our products integrate the finest craftsmanship with the highest quality ingredients to deliver an unforgettable aromatherapeutic experience for our clients. As a long-time, fierce advocate of sustainability, sustainability lies at the core of everything we do here at Essènci and I am excited to pioneer the way for conscious and luxurious skincare.
Sustainability, however, is not limited to products and processes – it concerns people as well by way of creating opportunity for others and nurturing diversity. Essènci stems from my innate sense of caring for others. A value passed on to me by my late father, Henry Ramsey Jr., a judge, prosecutor, attorney, and Dean of Howard Law School, who was born in South Carolina during the Jim Crow era and spent his life fighting for civil rights for the black community. I credit him for not only instilling in me a strong sense of justice, but for inspiring me to change the things that I cannot and will not accept.
With sustainability so deeply embedded in our DNA, Essènci challenges the status quo of the luxury beauty industry both environmentally and socially. Today, many well known, high-end skincare brands are White-owned. Although a few of these brands claim to promote inclusivity, their leadership fails to reflect these visions and consist mostly of White men.
As one of very few, if not the first Black woman creating a luxury seed-to-skin natural brand, I seek to disrupt the industry through my products and way of doing business. Though I usually refrain from using the word luxury as it has come to connote a high price point and aspirational marketing, I am eager to redefine the term. Luxury, to me, is creating quality through people and shared values throughout the product’s journey. In my book, luxury is sustainable, diverse, and inclusive.
To be honest – my experiences in this space have been difficult and at times discouraging. I have had challenges with investors who do not take me seriously since I do not fit the mold of a “typical” entrepreneur. Statistics show that over 90% of venture funding goes to startups led by men and a mere 1% to Black founders. As a Black woman entrepreneur seeking funding, the bridge is too far for most investors.
At Essènci, I am creating a company that celebrates diversity and provides opportunities to everyone: From the farmer hand-picking our immortelle to our porcelain artists to those who sit on my core team, I take pride in cultivating inclusive teams. My core team is made up of seven women (three of whom are women of color) and one man.
Aside from this, it has been important to me that Essènci searches for and partners with local farmers and artisans and supports them through the necessary certification procedures needed for us to use their raw materials in our products. Environmental sustainability means nothing without social sustainability. Part of what excites me about Essènci is that the brand has the capacity to promote the wellbeing and longevity of people and communities. These small, deliberate actions of wanting to help and take care of others is the foundation of Essènci’s socially sustainable practices. Only by doing so and making a concerted effort towards diversity can we begin to change our society for the better.
Embracing diversity within Essènci has allowed the team to engage in an enriching dialogue and learn from each other’s experiences. It allows those more privileged to step into the shoes of minority groups and see how their life is, the commonalities and differences in values and aspirations and confront the barriers those marginalized face. Unless both your personal and professional lives are set up in such a way, this is hard to do since as the expression goes, “birds of a feather flock together.” Thus, we need to make a concerted effort and transcend beyond this natural inclination if we want to change society and the trajectory of human history. The only way to do so is to advocate for diversity.
The Black Lives Matter movement reflects a struggle that transcends generations – the struggle that my father tirelessly dedicated himself to is the exact same struggle that I seek to overcome with Essènci. We are living the new chapter of an old story, brought to light in today’s day and age through social media at lightning speed. At this critical point in time, business leaders are able to influence the change the world is now demanding. It is important to not only be an ally outwardly but also put forth internal and external practices that encourage social sustainability by way of diversity. I challenge those in positions of power and privilege to revisit the values of their companies, identify the ways in which they might have undermined social sustainability, and commit to enacting inclusion and belonging.
Yetunde Beutler, president and co-founder of Essènci Skincare, is a mother of two and currently resides in Paris, France with her husband. Having spent her early years in Berkeley, California, today she embraces both cultures - French and American.