Yaye: The Indigenous-Owned Business Making Waves in the Bath & Body Industry

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, April 18, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Melissa Cole, a Warumungu and Luritja woman from Alice Springs, always had a passion for educating others. For over 33 years, she worked as an educator in Australia. However, it was a pandemic that sparked her entrepreneurial spirit.

When COVID-19 hit, Melissa was on the hunt for a hand wash with antibacterial properties that featured bush medicine extracts from Central Australia. After searching high and low without any luck, she decided to create her own line of bath and body products that would feature her beloved native plants. Thus, Yaye was born.

Yaye is an online store that offers a range of soothing and healing bath and body products that are renowned for their unique fragrances and textures. The conscientious consumer who wants to support First Nations businesses through the products they buy will love Yaye. The store has three ranges: Summer, which features the bush medicine native Silky Lemongrass (Aherre Aherre) with a lemon-lime fragrance, Ochre, containing Emu Bush (Utnerrenge) with a vanilla caramel fragrance, and Dreaming, which features White Cypress Pine (Irlweke) with a pine and Sandalwood aroma.

Yaye offers an array of products such as moisturizers, body scrubs, bath salts, body wash, hand wash, and bubble bath. Melissa plans to expand her range to hotel amenities such as shampoo, conditioner, and more corporate gifts over the next six months.

Melissa’s hard work and dedication to her business were rewarded when she became a recipient of the Ka Hao Program. The Ka Hao Program is an online course designed to help Indigenous entrepreneurs like Melissa to develop their business skills and knowledge. Melissa learned many strategies to grow her business, including tweaking her Klaviyo auto responders, learning the importance of video sales letters, and offer stacking.

Melissa also overcame several adversities while participating in the program, including changing her money mindset from scarcity to abundance and struggling to find printers to create her product labels to the standard she wanted.

When asked about her plans for the future, Melissa said, “In five years, I’ll be generating $30,000 per month in sales, working full-time in my business, and Yaye will be stocked in a major chain like Mecca or Myers.” Melissa’s business is poised for growth, and she’s already made some significant changes which she attributes in part to the support and resources provided by the Ka Hao Program.

When asked if she would have been prepared to invest in the course if she hadn’t received a scholarship, Melissa said, “At this stage in my business, money is tight, and not all programs are created equally. You don’t really know how beneficial a program will be until you begin. However, I’d be happy to sign an agreement at the start of the program promising to give back down the track when my business is successful either through mentoring future participants, writing testimonials or making financial contributions.”

Melissa’s dedication and hard work have paid off, and her Indigenous-owned business, Yaye, is thriving with the help of the Ka Hao Program. The program has been an invaluable resource for Melissa, providing her with the necessary support and guidance to turn her dreams into a reality. Melissa is proud of Yaye’s success and hopes to inspire other Indigenous entrepreneurs to pursue their goals.

If you’re interested in supporting Indigenous-owned businesses like Yaye or learning more about Melissa’s journey, be sure to visit her website at https://yaye.com.au/. There, you’ll find a range of unique and high-quality products, each crafted with care and designed to honor Melissa’s Indigenous heritage. By supporting Yaye, you’ll not only be helping Melissa achieve her business goals but also contributing to the growth and success of Indigenous entrepreneurship more broadly. Additionally, you can discover more about the skills and resources that helped Melissa grow her business by checking out the Ka Hao eCommerce Program.

Manuela Klevisser
Te Whare Hukahuka
+64 27 807 7891
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