“If it weren’t for the incubator, then we likely wouldn’t have had the confidence to start our business”, openly states Maija Rieksta-Riekstiņa, the founder of the “Vegan Fox” brand. The idea for manufacturing vegan-friendly cosmetics came during a conversation with a friend – a doctor of chemistry in Poland. Vegans often ask her questions about which cosmetics can be purchased and which not. The problem is relevant all over the world – ingredients must be very carefully read in order to establish that a product is truly vegan. “We decided to solve this problem. Now, each of our cosmetics users can be certain that no animal-based products are used in the product, and that the ingredients of the products are not tested on animals,” says Maija.
“Vegan Fox” already exports the largest amout of their products to Estonia, Poland, Finland, Czech Republic, Great Britain, and Ukraine. The head of the company emphasizes their good relationship with Korea, who gained their contact through LIAA. “We’ve been noticed in Korea and currently have sent them the first batches of products,” says Maija.
Participating in INK had another added value – the co-financing for implementing various projects. The “Vegan Fox” team was pleasantly surprised with the quality of lectures and seminars. “High level specialists are provided, as well as from our own industry, which significantly helped with our own industry knowledge and practical experience,” highlights Maija.
Currently “Vegan Fox” plans on placing a larger focus on marketing activities and developing their ecommerce sales. The company consistently and actively supports various campaigns to improve animals’ quality of life.
Accept the possibility that you can lose your invested money.
You’ll have to invest twice as much energy and time as planned.
Use the opportunities provided by the incubator – that can be not only support, but also additional motivation to go from thinking to doing.