At LOOQAL, we are committed to championing brands that make a difference to the people, planet, and heritage. We believe that behind each purposeful brand is a conscious entrepreneur with a story. In our series, Founder Talks, we get up-close and personal with the founders of your beloved LOOQAL brands to discover what drives them on their journey.

In this episode, our Founder, Joyce, chats with Rithika Gupta of Ollie, a Singapore-based sustainable brand championing eco-friendly and all-natural products for your home and everyday living.

Rihtika dives deep into her years of experience in the essential oils industry, the science that goes behind creating the products, and life as a mompreneur living in Singapore.

Read along or watch the full video on YouTube.

Joyce Teh: Let me just rewind it a little bit. So what was life before Ollie?

Rithika Gupta: So I'm a third-generation essential oil producer. I got into the business in 2014, and that's when I came to Singapore and I set up office and sort of started understanding the industry better, started travelling, meeting producers, meeting different players in the industry - in the flavour and fragrance industry around the world.

As I started doing that and learning about essential oils and learning about this entire space is when I realised there's so much more that essential oils can offer. There's so much you can do in the home and personal care space. I would try things at home. There was a lot of DIY that I would do, that's sort of what led to Ollie eventually.

JT: Do you still travel to the sources of essential oils and all that these days?

RG: I do. In fact, I was out in Europe last week. I just got back a couple of days ago. While it's a small industry, it's also so diverse that I like to cover as much as I can to see as much and learn as much as I can. And that's something that I will constantly keep doing.

JT: Is there an evolution to, you know, like the production of essential oils in the world out there?

RG: There are constantly new botanicals being discovered, so there might be something that is used in medicine or in cooking in some places, but you don't see an oil for it. And then somebody tries to distill oil and then there's a buyer for it. Or there are takers for the oil either in the flavour, fragrance, candle making, soap making [industry]. It's always a demand [and] supply. So if there's enough of a demand for it, the supply will be there. Then you'll find that the people in the region, more and more farmers start growing this because it’s a cash crop at the end of the day.

JT: There’s a demand for it.

RG: Yes. 

 The Ollie Wellness Blend. A LOOQAL Exclusive.

JT: You started with oils and now you have moved into—and I think very successful as well, into the eco home living products. So maybe you can, if you could explain a little bit on how you choose the oils for maybe some of your products.

RG: There’s always the aroma but there’s also—because these come from plants, right? So you've heard that if you're feeling nauseous, Lemon is good for you. If you have a mosquito bite, then Lavender or Lemon Eucalyptus is good for you. The same properties are carried in the oils. If there's a the underlying plant botanical is good for you for something, then the extract out of it is also, contains the same properties. So what we try and do is create products that not only smell very good, but also help towards a purpose in a way. So we have Tea Tree Oil, which is antibacterial in our Hand Wash. In our Sleep Spray, we have essential oils that have calming and have sedative properties. So it not only smells great, but also it serves the purpose. In a lot of our products, the fragrance, which is a composition of essential oils and plant extracts, is actually the active.

JT: Along those lines then, what does wellness itself mean to you personally?

RG: That's a loaded question.

[Collective laughter]

RG: Wellness, I think, for me is about being in a healthy, sort of balanced state of mind. It doesn't mean that there's never a moment of stress, but overall, balance the level of stress in your life. Keep it to a minimum. Try and find a balance between work and personal life. Get time for your hobbies. Just be in a place where you go to bed happy.

JT: And we know that, you know, you're also a mom to Neel. You definitely have, you know, a team to take care of for the business and also the travels to the sources of the oils. What is your wellness routine and how do you incorporate them into your mompreneur life?

RG: I shouldn't be saying this, but I'm very, very bad with [a] routine. No two days are the same. I think if you look at the bigger picture, I think what I try to do is keep some balance. I try and limit my working hours, which has been a big change after Neel, actually. I try and spend some time in the evening with him. Whether it’s the park, whether it’ss reading him a book, whether it is doing something fun together. After that as well, we try—my husband and I, we try and spend some time together. We try and do hikes on the weekends. We try to incorporate sort of, indoor, outdoor, work, play—all of it in a balanced fashion.

JT: Since you are an expert in essential oils, can you also tell us a little bit of perhaps how you incorporate that into your wellness lifestyle as well?

RG: So we diffuse a lot of oils at home. I think my husband diffuses more oils at home because I spend all day with them that when I go home I'm just like, okay, I'm going to take a break. We diffuse oils at home, for sure. There'll be some oils that are go-to for us, like if my son is sick or if any one of us is sick, Eucalyptus is a big one. The mosquito repellent—I used to use oils, but now I just use a mosquito repellent. That's something—I get bitten like, very easily. So that's something I always, always use. Oregano is another one. It has very powerful antibiotic properties and especially if you have an upset tummy, If I feel like I've eaten something that's going to cause me trouble the next day, then Oregano is something that I always keep handy. So yeah, I have some of these oils.  For me, moderation is very key. So I try and make sure that I use it when I need to.

JT: And I'm just curious. So for instance, if you ingest the oils, how would you ingest it?

RG: With Oregano, for example, I put like a tiny not even a drop, like a droplet, either in a bowl of yogurt. I mix it up. So you need a good carrier because it's a strong oil. Or Honey. You can even like, a drop of it on your omelette or something of that sort, like on your food and you spread it around. I think the idea is make sure you dilute it well. And also use as minimal as possible.

JT: Pure essential oils are super potent.

RG: They are very potent. It takes, hundreds of kilos of raw material to produce one kilo of oil. Like Oregano leaves itself right, you add a little bit to your food, you use this much. This much is not even going to get you a drop of oil. So when you need that much to produce a drop of oil, you can imagine how concentrated and how condensed it is.

The Ollie Wellness Kit. A LOOQAL Exclusive.

JT: So Rithika, essential oils also have the properties to uplift, calm, relax. What one recipe will you offer other women you know, like you who wear [multiple] hats?

RG: To be very honest, it differs from person to person. Everyone's requirement is different. Some people need to slow down. Some people need to pick up pace. Some people need something to calm down. Some people just like, need help focusing. There's so much out there that it’s very hard to sort of say, “This is the one recipe”. There's no one shoe fits all.

JT: But would a habit of diffusing oils, do you think that is a good habit to have?

RG: If it works for you? Yes, absolutely.

JT: You know, I haven't gotten into the habit of doing it. For me, everything—I guess, for a lot of people as well, it needs to be within sight. It needs to be within reach, you know, and then you remember to do it right. So I'll get there.

RG: With some people, they diffuse oils religiously. They have something in the morning, they have something when they're at work and something in the evening. That's what helps them be their best well selves and that's great. To be honest, at home, we have two dogs in a small apartment. So every time we have people coming over, we're like “Ooh, this place smells. Let's diffuse something”. So whatever works for you is, I think, the best way.

JT: If Ollie were a person, what would his or her wellness routine be like?

RG: Let's put Ollie as a ‘they’ for now because we don't know if it's a ‘he’ or a ‘she’. I don't know. I feel like Ollie's going to be this, nerd, this, sort of plant nerd trying to find things and R&D-ing all the time. I feel like relaxing in a botanical garden would probably be the most calming wellness ritual.

JT: I can sort of envision that as you're saying it. So how about an illustrated book for Ollie? Think about it.

RG: Yeah!

JT: Isn’t it?

RG: So the whole idea of Ollie also was to make it simple, to make it personable because it is personal. It is personal for us, it is personal for me, and it's very important for me that we put the best products out there. We put the right products out there. Lots of people mix all kinds of things. But our products are like, for example, our Hand Wash and Body Washes are HSA-approved. They’re Health Sciences Authority (HSA) approved in Singapore. Our hand sanitisers are FDA-approved.  So it's very important for us that the quality is up there with the best. Giving people the right product formulated right, but also has the best quality botanicals in there.

JT: And knowing that, you can use it with absolute peace of mind as well.

RG: Absolutely.

JT: One last question is what is your number one advice for parents teaching their kids about the importance of wellness?

RG: At least in my experience, and my son is five, what I've found is obviously like the few things you have to get right. Sleep, healthy food, routine, as much as possible, and also emotions right? Keep a check on their emotions. There's so much going on in their world every day. There's so many questions in their mind. They see so much and you don't know, you're, even as parents, we only have control over a very small part of their lives. So I think talking to them regularly and understanding emotionally where they're at and making sure you're guiding them right, whether they're processing emotions right. I think that's, that's 80% of it.

JT: Just watching you with Neel, you're really investing a lot of your energy into that. If I were to just compare myself to a lot of people, I would not have that patience, to answer question after question. Good job!

JT: Well, thank you for sharing such intimate details with us and also for us to have a peek into your personal life. You know, we really look forward to what else is new, what else is coming up with Ollie. And all the best on your continuous journey with the brand.

RG: Thank you.

JT: Thank you, Rithika.