Sigulda-based company “Spring Breath”, under its “Innosenta” brand, produces entirely natural face and body care cosmetics. The company’s founder and manager, Viktorija Zariņa, develops the product formulations herself from scratch, without using ready-made cream bases. Although most of the company’s customers are currently in Latvia, its products have already reached customers in France, Romania, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and Norway. The company’s next goal is to develop its marketing and sales activities in order to turn individual international orders into a targeted export business. For the third year, the company has been supported on this journey by the business incubation programme of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) in Sigulda.
Viktorija is a certified physiotherapist by training and had run her own private practice for many years before establishing the cosmetics company. Although her experience of working with clients and her in-depth knowledge of biochemistry, pharmacognosy and pharmaceutical dosage form technology helped her develop the products, building a company required an entirely different set of skills. She began her participation in LIAA support programmes with pre-incubation to gain a better understanding of how to turn a product idea into a viable business.
“Running a private physiotherapy practice cannot be compared with managing a cosmetics company. Once I started producing cosmetics, I had to think in a completely different way – about product development, investment, sales and the company’s future goals,” she explains.
Viktorija describes herself as a researcher and product developer – someone who most enjoys experimenting, testing formulations and searching for new solutions. At first, however, defining objectives and planning business development seemed challenging.
“When I was told that I needed to set specific goals and plan how to achieve them, I will not hide the fact that it was a challenge. I am more of a researcher – I enjoy developing products and working hands-on. However, the team at LIAA’s Sigulda Representative Office helped me understand what I wanted to achieve and how to think about my idea as a business,” she says.
During the programme, the entrepreneur has benefited from training, mentoring support and consultations with the staff of LIAA’s Sigulda Representative Office. Financial support has been invested in product development and the creation of the company’s online store, as well as used to participate in the “Baltic Beauty” exhibition. The support has therefore helped both to further develop the products themselves and to take the first steps towards promoting them more widely in the market. At the same time, Viktorija acknowledges that administering state support can sometimes be challenging for a small company.
“For a new company, it is not easy to predict six months in advance all the exact expenses that will be needed, especially when the support plan cannot subsequently be adjusted. For example, when participating in an exhibition for the first time, additional needs only become apparent during the process – things you may not even have considered at the outset. However, if those costs were not planned in advance, they can no longer be added and state support cannot be received for them. In my view, greater flexibility in this respect would be useful,” the entrepreneur says, sharing her experience.
Viktorija admits that, at the beginning, her husband, who has experience in project management, helped her prepare the necessary documentation.
“Incubation has not been an easy journey for me, but it has helped me recognise what I still do not know and what I need to develop in myself. It has been a journey of growth not only for the company but also for me personally. Creating a product is one thing, but turning it into a sustainable business requires an entirely different set of knowledge and skills,” Viktorija concludes.
This article was produced within the framework of the project “Development of Innovative Entrepreneurship for SMEs”, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Union.
