Black Immigrant Daily News
Women refer to their hair as their golden crown of glory, spending thousands of dollars on products that promise to deliver length and health.
Sadra Lindsay, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Garden Gold Cosmetics, says she has found the winning formula for hair growth.
The local and relatively new entrepreneur, who manufactures haircare products, takes pride in knowing that all the ingredients used are organic.
Lindsay says that despite the odds, she started her company during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, crediting divine inspiration for concocting the golden formula.
“Well, as an entrepreneur I have another business, and during the pandemic, we went through a rough patch, so instead of using regular shampoo I just decided to use the things in my garden, just like that, fresh from the garden. The results were amazing,” she says.
“The business was started back in June 2021 when we actually began producing for retail. Before that, we were kind of just trying all this stuff in my own hair and the results were amazing. So based on that, we decided to try the market to see how it would be received, and it was a blessing,” Lindsay notes.
She commends the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) for equipping her with the right skills to be a savvy and hands-on entrepreneur.
“I have been a member of that entity for several years, from as far back as 2013. Before I started production, I went and spoke to my business development officer at the JBDC in Mandeville and outlined what I was going to embark on,” she says.
Lindsay points out that the JBDC officer provided the necessary advice. “In terms of drafting a business plan, he helped with that, but it’s also something that I would have done already, having been trained as an entrepreneur by the JBDC in 2015, but he was instrumental in setting me on the right path and refining my ideas,” she adds.
Lindsay notes that she also benefited from additional training by the HEART/ NSTA Trust in 2015 when she was doing level-three administration.
“It was a lot of training as it relates to entrepreneurship on how you create products and how I would do the labelling and stuff like that. This was from a pilot programme that the JBDC had with the Leuphana University in Germany that lasted a few months,” she says. Though equipped with the information, producing the oils did present some challenges, Lindsay points out.
“We wanted to use 100 per cent organic oils and that was a little difficult to source here. There is one particular ingredient that we religiously source from overseas because it’s really expensive out here and most of the persons who sell it here (Jamaica), they sell the refined version,” she says.
“Also, it was difficult to get proper bottles. However, we managed to locate a distributor who provides us with our bottles and we try to buy in bulk, so that we are never out of stock,” the CEO says.
She also acknowledges the work of the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) for ensuring that her products met the necessary standards for mass production.
“All our products are actually tested by the Bureau of Standards to ensure that there are no harmful ingredients in it to affect persons,” Lindsay says.
“We also have all our labels approved by the Bureau of Standards,” Ms. Lindsay notes.
There are two main items in the Garden Gold product line – the signature Aloe Oil Blend and the Rosemary Oil Blend – both of which, she says, are guaranteed to grow one’s hair rapidly.
“We first started with the Garden Gold Aloe Oil Blend and the results from persons were just amazing. Apart from my own hair, it’s a completely different feeling when you have reviews coming in so often from people that you don’t even know saying, ‘oh my gosh, this is a godsend’,” Lindsay says.
“We then started doing the Rosemary Oil Blend, which is another amazing product that allowed persons to grow really thick hair, really fast. It was particularly wonderful for those persons with very curly hair. We have since produced the shampoo and the conditioner to go with the line. The response has been amazing, as we get at least five reviews in a day,” she adds.
Lindsay says she has been able to ship the products to the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, USA and Canada.
“I really see the business taking off internationally and we ship to other parts of the world. The reviews coming out of countries outside of Jamaica have also been amazing. I really look forward to the business making a name for itself in the industry,” she says.
What makes the products so good, she says, is a secret ingredient that she believes no other hair company has attempted to use, and which helps the hair to grow fast.
A mother of two, Ms. Lindsay says it would not have been possible without a supportive husband.
“He’s very supportive in the business. We work together, we manufacture together, we take care of the boys together, we pretty much do everything together,” she adds.
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