Conversations with Georgy & Joyce

Today we’d like to introduce you to Georgy & Joyce.

Hi Georgy & Joyce, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
We are from the southern region of India, with familial roots deeply embedded in a state called Kerala. Kerala is known worldwide for its natural tropical vegetation and rich diversity of medicinal plants. Ayurveda, an ancient form of medicine, has been nurtured on the shores of this state for centuries. So, growing up, it was quite natural for us to rely on herbs found in our backyard whether it be a cold, a cough, or even dealing with acne or dandruff. The reliance on using pure herbal extracts, oils, butters has been our forte for all our products and thus is the ethos on which Zakai is built.

Fast forward to our time at pharmacy school, where we met each other and were introduced to a wide array of subjects which included medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, and pharmacognosy. This academic training enabled us to leverage the benefits of using the right blend of herbs, oils and butters for use in our skincare and haircare products. Our educational background was the foundation to learn the science of formulation. We incorporated herbal extracts to our formulations and gave samples to our classmates who had skin conditions. We were pleasantly surprised to receive great feedback, and thus propelled our excitement to formulate additional products.

We later tried to launch a home-based small business called ‘Rhema’ catering to the needs of local beauty salons, family and friends. The stiff regulations in India and the herculean task of marketing were insurmountable in the early years, and we had to shelve our plans for a few years. However, deep down within us, we always kept our dream alive and continued to formulate products for family and friends.

As years went by with additional responsibilities of raising our family and professional commitments, which involved living and working in other countries, we always kept our dream alive by researching and working on new products for our personal use.

Following our move to the United States a couple of years later, we finally had the opportunity to realize our dream. We launched our company, Zakai (meaning “Pure”). Zakai has been focused on providing small-batch skincare and haircare products, which includes lip moisturizers, deodorants, hair oils, body oils, face oils, beard oils, face scrubs, mud masks, and many more and we were thrilled to showcase our products at the Juneteenth Celebration, Morrisville, Eno River Farmers Market, Hillsborough and the Chapel Hill Farmers Market at Chapel Hill. It has been a blessing to interact with our community, and we have received an overwhelming response of support and great feedback from our customers.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

From our experience, we understand now that having a sound vision and refining that vision along the way is important as every vision goes through various phases from conception to realization. Having the patience to perceive the times and seasons and taking the appropriate action to keep the dream alive during the ups and downs of life has been vital for us.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We have exciting news, Zakai products are being evaluated to be available at retail markets, we’ve had our first opportunity to showcase our products at the Saxapahaw General Store at Saxapahaw NC, we are also looking forward to broadening our reach at other retail stores.

We have other products in the pipeline such as hand & body lotions and body butters which are in the works for a launch this year.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
Our advice for other small businesses is to maintain a purposeful vision. In business, having a clear vision is critical, it is an extremely powerful tool to achieve the results you want.

The vision of  Zakai is to provide pure quality skin care and hair care products to serve and enrich the lives of all people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zakai.store
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/zakai.store
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/zakai.us.store