Vee.p Bath and Body launched to the wholesale market at Life Instyle in August this year with a range of vegan bath products handmade in Melbourne.
Vanessa Gakovic started Vee.p in October 2014 after taking a soap making class. She soon became addicted to the hobby and needed to do something with all the soap bars she was producing—her family and friends could only use so many—and decided to try selling them.
“I love learning and am always looking for new crafts to learn,” she says. “I had never thought about soap making before but I had thought about one day owning a business.”
She started out with just a few soap blocks, but her product range now extends to body scrubs, body butter, beard oil, face masks, cleanser, toner and face cream, which were on display at the fair.
“I wanted to expand my business and get into the wholesale scene as previously I was only selling my products through markets and my Etsy store,” she says. “I received a lot of interest from retailers from all over Australia. Most retailers were very excited by the product range.”
With a diverse background including a degree in animal sciences, a job at an animal shelter and a love of craft and design, Gakovic has steered Vee.p in an ethical direction, and says it is important that all her products are vegan.
“I do not believe that animal testing is needed in today’s advanced society and for all the animal products that are used in cosmetics today there are numerous non-animal alternatives that work just as well, and sometimes better,” she explains.
“I also believe that everyone should be able to purchase my products and did not want to exclude the vegan population.”
She says her inspiration comes from seeing other creative women succeed, while her product ideas are often inspired by the colours and patterns of the natural world.
“I am very encouraged by creatives that enjoy supporting other local businesses, especially amongst business women,” she says. “I strongly believe in supporting and complementing other businesses as opposed to seeing them as competition I have to defeat. We’re all in this together.”
Gakovic will soon begin donating 10 per cent of Vee.p’s profits to charity Clean the World, which distributes personal care products.
“I decided I wanted to donate part of my profits because I want to be able to contribute to things bigger than myself,” she explains. “I decided on Clean the World because I thought it was fitting that they provide soap bars and personal hygiene education to developing countries.”
Vee.p is now available in stores across Australia, and Gakovic says she intends to keep growing the brand. “We will have some Christmas special soaps coming out very soon and some new soaps coming in summer 16/17. We have a long list of product s we want to experiment with so the product range will continue to expand.”
By Ruth Cooper
