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The Canberra Business Podcast
A podcast about all things Canberra Business.
The Canberra Business Podcast
Eco-Friendly Entrepreneurship with Swan Ricco
Discover the inspiring journey of Swan Ricco, the visionary behind Lifa Lab, as she reveals how her kitchen experiment blossomed into a flourishing enterprise transforming ancient herbs into modern marvels. Swan candidly shares the hurdles and triumphs encountered while scaling her business during the COVID-19 pandemic. From overcoming marketing challenges to transitioning from a home-based setup to partnering with contract manufacturers, Swan's story offers invaluable insights for every aspiring entrepreneur. Her experience highlights the delicate balance of maintaining transparency and trust, especially when dealing with unique, patent-protected products.
This episode is supported by CareSuper.
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast. I'm Greg Harford, your host from the Canberra Business Chamber, and today I'm joined by Swan Rico, who is the founder and chief executive of Lypha Lab, an award-winning family-owned company that specialises in natural and organic products made from exotic ancient spices and herbs combined with modern science, which all sounds very exciting and mysterious. Swan, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Let's begin by getting you to tell us a little bit about Lifea Lab. What do you do and how did you get started?
Speaker 2:Sure, what do you do and how did you get started? Sure, lifealab is a company that I founded in 2019, where we turn traditional remedies to products that are non-toxic and they're basically a natural alternative to products that are currently in the market, mostly in supplements and cosmetics. I started the company because I couldn't find products that are purely natural. Basically, I started it for myself, creating products for myself, and then all my friends wanted it, because they all wanted to know the secrets behind my skin and my energy level and everything else. So that's how it started. It's basically, it was from the kitchen bench and ended up to be a big company.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. So that's a great success story. And like, how's it going? I mean, you've been going for what? Five, five years or so. What the growth is is working out as you'd hoped.
Speaker 2:It's. It's ups and up. It has its ups and downs, obviously it's especially. When I started, it was 2019 where COVID hit it was. It was a crazy time for all of us. The first lockdown was really hard on everyone and for us because we were new. When you're new, you need to go out to the market, talk about it. It's not something like health products are not something that you can use social media to advertise. It's like there is especially at the time, it was like all social media banned anything any products that are that was actually health related to be advertised on metal or, like you know, instagram and other things. So it was mostly like advertisements like mouth-to-mouth or people who were referrals-based, which is harder to scale up.
Speaker 1:Particularly in those very early stages, because you started your business in December of 2019, right just before the madness hit.
Speaker 2:Exactly exactly. It was crazy Just before the madness hit. Exactly exactly and it was crazy. But the good thing is, you know, when you have your friends first to kind of test and tell you to go ahead with this business and we support you and we want your product, it's a great thing because they refer someone else and then another person refers it to another person. It's just mostly um life a lab is based on the community. So we created a family community of people who wants wellness differently and they want clean products and they really open to go back to their roots and understand like as humans we've been on the planet for thousands of years, we survived and how it happened. It's all about the wisdom and all the knowledge passed on from generation to generations and that's how kind of during COVID, we survived.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just to be clear, you're selling direct to consumers or are you a wholesaler as well?
Speaker 2:Wholesaler too, for export part of it, but we are like an e-commerce brand.
Speaker 1:Now I know for you it's not a full-time gig. You've got other paid employment to help keep you going. But how big is your team?
Speaker 2:We have a small team. We had a bigger team before. However, the second lockdown in Canberra pushed to the ages that I could not keep everyone on board, pushed to the edges that I could not keep everyone on board, and also I kind of reshuffled and restructured the whole company in a way that we can automate things and it's a team of four at the moment which works for me and for them. We do contract manufacturing and looking into taking business overseas.
Speaker 1:So you've moved from your kitchen bench into contract manufacturing. How's that experience gone for?
Speaker 2:you that experience was really overwhelming, to be honest, finding the right contract manufacturer, especially because our products are all trademarked and patented and they're like secret remedies and it's really hard to trust to find. How can I say like people won't copy it or you know trustable, reliable contract manufacturer? And most of our products are from natural ingredients. So when it comes to pharmaceuticals, because of those synthetic powders and all the chemicals they have, their machinery is different. So ours is basically produced in the compound pharmacy and it was really hard to find the right contract manufacturer, even explain why our product is different to others.
Speaker 2:Because with our supplements, why are products different to others? Because with our supplements, you can actually see what's inside the capsule through the layers of ingredients and it's like an art. Actually it's like a sound that some people call magic pills and art. But it was purposely made that way because I wanted to talk about transparency in products and how important it is. What you put in your body is your fuel. It's very important. So lots of pills we get, or capsules or supplements we take, they are just there to be there. They don't even absorb in our body and the whole point of our supplement line was to indicate that transparency. And it was hard to find the right contract manufacturer and obviously it had to go up and down, obviously it had to go up and down and finally, after all lots of NDAs, signage and finding a reliable one, we could find one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and how did you go about that? I mean, is it as simple as kind of going out to contacts and saying, hey, we need a contract manufacturer, or is there a kind of a matchmaking service that you use?
Speaker 2:How did it work? I used first my friends, like a bunch of friends that I made on business journey, and I told them about like the plans and like what I want to do, because I did never want to actually go big or scale it up. It was supposed to be a small kind of company that I would share my products with my family and friends and just you know, whomever is interested. And then I got interest from Middle East and they suddenly wanted 17,000 units each month and I was like, oh my God, how am I supposed to produce such thing?
Speaker 1:Because, like it's a big scale-up right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can't do that in a compound pharmacy and it requires like a time frame as well. So it was like you have three months to produce 72,000 units. And then you know, and I had to fast thinking like like this is a great gig, I need it, it's, it just put me in a different map but also how I'm gonna do it. So, tapped into my network of business friends and mentors and people like you know, um camera innovations and try to find alloys in this. And one of my friends introduced me a guy who was in kind of like an association of pharmacies and I kind of talked to him and he sent me some lists. None of those lists actually worked. And he sent me some lists. None of those lists actually worked.
Speaker 2:So I was like Googling and like going through like all the supplements in the pharmacy to see who produced them and kind of write their name and then send an email and say, would you be able to do manufacturing or contract manufacturing this and that? And then they were like no, or how many units do you? Like no one actually took me seriously either, like at the time, manufacturing this and that. And then they were like no, or how many units? They were like no one actually took me seriously either, like at the time and um, and then, yeah, I kind of like I didn't give up so a bit of tenacity is obviously really important at getting um, getting things going and and getting your product out to market.
Speaker 2:ultimately, at the end of the day, yeah, and I think you have to be open to a change, like, when changes come, you have to be open to it and just say, okay, this is an opportunity. I can say no, but it's going to put me under pressure and let it go. Or just take it on board and look at it as a as a kind of a good challenge or something that it will bring rewards to your business, or a learning like because, um, by trade, I'm a landscape architect and urban designer. I'm so, um, so passionate about environment and sustainability. So for me, lots of skills learned through my business and that was a great opportunity for me to test it. Test that myself, but also learn and, yeah, I just took it on board.
Speaker 1:And it's obviously delivered good things for your business. You won an export award, I think, a couple of years ago. How significant is that export market to you now?
Speaker 2:It is very important. Export market is very important and knowing your market is very important. I think like if I was going back and start, wanted to restart, I would look at it only for export and wouldn't like obviously, like you know, it was a learning time four years or five years. However, export brings lots of opportunity and helps you to scale up, but also gives you brand awareness and tap into different markets.
Speaker 1:So that's a really interesting insight, because many business people would be thinking well, I'll start small, start local and then expand. But actually you reckon it would be better just to kind of embrace those international markets to begin with.
Speaker 2:It's very dependent on your business and your product. If you have a dentistry or you need to start local and then kind of franchise it. Or if you have a restaurant that is actually something special about it, you need to start it local and then kind of franchise it, Whereas, like if you have a particular product, you need to see where they actually want that product and how big is that market. So I think when you start a business you need to look at all the possibilities If you want to be successful in your business and look into that.
Speaker 1:And how did you get your first export orders then? If that wasn't your focus, they found, you did they.
Speaker 2:So the one with the middle east they found me, but mostly because we are an e-commerce brand people from different countries, they wanted to buy the products. And that was the first time, that was my first experience of, you know, selling to Russia, selling to UK, selling to Canada and America. So they were like my first sales and it was exciting. So I could. I remember when I wanted to enter to the export award and then I was like I don't have this big revenue and they were like well, you're exporting, you're selling to Canada, you're exporting to like. Well, you're exporting, you're selling to Canada, you're exporting to like, doesn't matter. And that was the first step towards exporting and understanding. Actually my products are well received overseas.
Speaker 1:And in terms of selling health products overseas through e-commerce channels are there particular complexities around that border, rules around therapeutic products and so forth.
Speaker 2:Oh, 100%, especially since the TGA kind of regulated lots of supplements as well. You have to be kind of aligned with the regulations. It is really hard, for anything goes to the capsules. So it doesn't matter, like whether you say any health claims or not, you have to be registered. So we have the most restricted regulation in Australia when it comes to health products. So, as Canada I mean not really, but like we are better. But yeah, each country has their own laws and basically when anyone wants to buy anything, we will tell them that you have to. You are responsible for your kind of like your country law when it comes to the health products. So if you still want to buy our products, you can, we'll send it to you. But that part of it they have to look after it and obviously each country has their own regulations.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it must be very difficult to stay on top of 189 or 200 countries, or however many there are and what all the rules might be? Do you find there are particular markets that are interested in your product? Is it mainly to Europe and North America?
Speaker 2:Very much. So I would say Middle.
Speaker 2:East is very interested in my products and because they kind of known to, they understand the story behind the products and they're really into natural and organic products and wellness is a big buzz over there and they understand like lots of products that previously sold to the Middle East under the countries that were supposed to be good countries they weren't really like doing good for the people over there and I don't name the countries, but it was in the West and now they kind of understand they have to go back to their roots and the countries that are actually honest and with laws and regulations are better for them. They kind of want those products from those countries to enter to their market. And they're very much interested in LifeLab products because of us being transparent and clean and knowing that all our ingredients are organic and they know the ingredient.
Speaker 1:Now you talk about trade, secret ancient recipes which have been followed and used by empires such as the Asian, egyptian, roman, greek and Persian empires. Now that really appeals to me as someone with an interest in classical history. But I have visions of you digging up scrolls in a desert, like Indiana Jones, to sort of get to the heart of these recipes. But what does that really mean?
Speaker 2:Or it can be queen of the deserts. So I my grandmother. She taught me all about Nutri-Peddy and nature and all the remedies, so I learn from her. She was an ushupa and culturally like this is something in those cultures, like Egyptians, persians, armenian and Greeks and all the Mediterranean Middle Eastern people, they have this wisdom which they learned from their ancestors, their grandmas and their grandpas, at least till my time, and they kept it as secrets in their families or they shared it. But basically, all these remedies, most of the people are known but it was secret at the time and we kind of like tapped into that and used it to kind of make our products so your products have their origins, essentially and word of mouth, recipes handed down from your grandma.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, story so, basically, like what worked for me, and I am sharing that with with the rest of the world and I feel like it's a calling that God put in my heart to share that and knowing people need to be aware of how they maintain their health and wellness through natural ingredients and through simple things that is in their pantry.
Speaker 1:How important is sustainability to your business and how are you talking the talk and walking the walk to try and save the planet?
Speaker 2:It's really important for us and I have to tell you this because one of the reasons we use natural ingredients, organic ones, because they're not pesticide, they're not having any chemicals on them, but also, if you use products and ingredients that are already in nature, your carbon footprints will be less. So that's what we look at. Are all our packagings are like glass and aluminium and recyclable, and we also, if we use something that is like, let's say, because they are health products, it has to be specific in certain kind of packaging. If they are made from compost, plastic or something, we make sure we can make something out of it and recycle it. And that's how we kind of go about the work environment and the packaging and everything, but also educating people as well, like how can you kind of use this bottle and turn it to like a drink bottle for drink water bottle or something else. So it's very important for us. It's like a main core of LifeAlab.
Speaker 1:Now I know you recently visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attend the Aussie Expo. Now Saudi historically, is not often being visited by Australians. But what took you there and how did it go?
Speaker 2:It's funny you mention that In 2000, I think 2020, I was a part of the program at ANU. Anton Palmer took me to talk about life a lot to a part of the program at ANU. Anton Pama introduced me, took me to talk about life a lot to a bunch of students over there. They were like master degrees students and one of them was from the Kingdom of Saudi and as part of that program we've been in touch and talk about and he loved my products as well and we were supposed to take it to Saudi at the time. So he sent me this whole information about the expo ando and I was like, okay, I don't know about it, but then again, me knowing that like I need to take risks and kind of this is an opportunity, or calling that I have to follow, I was like I give it a go.
Speaker 2:And then I contacted this company, trademark and the Saudi-Australian business cancelled that and they said to me this is an expo, if you want to come, this is it, this is the way, and yeah, and then I went, uh for for 10 days and um, I extended actually my stay, kind of um network with other people and got to know the whole country. It was in Riyadh and I loved it and I felt like it's a place for business and it's actually a place to expand, because they understand again the demographic. They kind of understand the products, they're keen and they're open to it. It's a great market to tap in, so um, so some real opportunities there.
Speaker 1:And again through e-commerce, direct to consumers. Is that the way you approach the Saudi market?
Speaker 2:Probably not. It's dealing with the Middle East, very different to dealing with America, Australia and Europe. It's the power of handshake and that's I learned from the um, one of the ministers in in saudi arabia, and um. So it's all about who you know and um, and it's about trust. Trust and that relationship. E-commerce will work definitely in that region. However, you need to have a good foundation over there and support to guide you and there is available, like there is help there, like with the whole Australia and Saudi business firm and council. They provide all this to. I think actually 400 businesses for the last two years or three years moved from Australia to Saudi Arabia.
Speaker 1:So that says there's huge growth opportunity there in that market.
Speaker 2:It is 100%, 100%.
Speaker 1:Now there will be some people listening to this who say well, how was your experience in Saudi as a woman? Was there anything particularly difficult or challenging about that?
Speaker 2:I would say, like, what you see in the news is not what actually the experience of everyone I have as a woman. I went there and I have to say that actually I was so comfortable there. Obviously you have to follow tradition and respect people tradition, but the way they treated me was like very respectful. I didn't feel uncomfortable, I didn't feel less than anyone. You know, sometimes in some situations they don't consider women in the room or when you sit on a table to talk about an issue, they don't consider you in some situation, whereas over there it was very engaging and they were very open and my experience was great.
Speaker 1:Actually, I really felt respected to be honest, that's really good to hear. So what was your key learning from that trip?
Speaker 2:oh, I learned a lot. First of all, I learned that um, don't judge the book by the cover and don't necessarily um think what you see is not what your experience is. Sometimes you have to go deep and experience and see whether it's for you or not. And that trip was very eye-opening for me because if it wasn't for the expo, I wouldn't consider going to Saudi Arabia. Because I wasn't for the expo, I wouldn't consider going to Saudi Arabia because I wasn't feeling comfortable.
Speaker 2:Based on misinformation in the media and the whole world. We see things about the Middle East in general Like people don't know about Middle East but they easily judge it and they think all around Middle East everyone's the same. So I learned that, like, take a chance on something and if you feel you have to do something about it, go for it. And now I am starting a new adventure with Saudi Arabia, do something about it, go for it. And now I am starting a new adventure with Saudi Arabia and starting a women council between Australia and Saudi Arabian women to exchange ideas and all workshop things and learn from each other and connect. So that is what I took from the whole trip a new adventure, a new community, a new goal.
Speaker 1:That sounds really really positive and I hope it goes really really well for you.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Swan Rico is the founder and chief executive of Life a Lab and has been with me today on the Canberra Business Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me. It's been fascinating to learn both about your business and your trip to Saudi, and I wish you all the very best as you keep growing and developing over time.
Speaker 2:It's been a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining us and just a reminder that this episode of the Canberra Business Podcast has been brought to you by the Canberra Business Chamber with the support of CareSuper, an industry super fund with competitive fees and returns, exceptional service and a focus on real care. You can find out more at caresupercomau and don't forget to follow us for more of the Canberra Business Podcast on your favourite podcast platform. We'll catch you next time.