David Chong Ling Jr, founder of Prudent Caribbean Ltd, is passionate about self-care in an era where many people seem too busy and put proper self-care on the last rung of their daily to-do list.
His brainchild was born from a desire to produce safe and affordable self-care products that are also certified organic for people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds across the region.
How does he feel about the company's growth, especially in an unprecedented business environment following the spread of covid19?
"The feeling is inexplicable. I saw my dream become a reality and it has given me a profound sense fulfilment and accomplishment," he told Business Day.
The 30-year-old businessman was inspired to establish Prudent after hearing many people, men and women alike, saying they could not find brands, especially for their hair, that worked well for them. Many complained of problems from frizzing, due to humidity, hair loss and slow beard growth. He saw an opportunity and planned accordingly.
Chong Ling said, "We did our research and confirmed there were more imported products on shelves than products made in Trinidad and Tobago. And the locally made products often seemed sub-par to those imported. Bottle design and labels were not as attractive. We intended to create a brand that could match the most premium brands being imported, in every way. We wanted to produce something Trinidad and Tobago can be proud of."
The point of ideation to fruition took just about a year – a year of tireless work which included sourcing reasonably priced certified organic raw materials, gathering a team for planning and promotion while fine-tuning product presentation.
"When it came to things like labels, it was evident that many young entrepreneurs, especially, didn't pay close enough attention to presentation. Many were not ensuring their labels were printed properly. We wanted to do something clean and modern that could appeal to everyone."
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He said design and printing of labels is done locally, in an attempt to keep the business as local as possible, while bottles and raw materials are imported from US-based business partnerships they established.
Prudent started in late 2019 by approaching barbershops and salons.
"We had to start spreading the word to build some kind of buzz while establishing relationships as we got a feel for the environment we were about to enter. So, we started with the people who know hair and skin care best – the people who run barbershops and salons."
Prudent got its footing by supplying barbershops and salons with shampoo and conditioner in a range of sizes, as much as by the gallon.
"They were all impressed, as were their clientele."
Initially, as is with almost any new product, he said, there was some hesitancy from customers and partners when approached by the Prudent team. "However, based on a rigorous marketing campaign, the company has seen consistent growth for both supply and demand of our product
