ECO beauty QUEENS

Meet the women determined to build brands using natural, planet-friendly ingredients and packaging

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I was shaking with excitement when our products hit the shelves'

Zara Saleem, 37, is the co-founder of Delhicious Body.

She lives in Wembley, London, with her husband and co-founder Zak, 36, and their two daughters, aged eight and seven.

THE IDEA

When 2020 began, I was a teacher on maternity leave, struggling with pregnancy-induced eczema. Doctors suggested steroids, but making your own healing remedies is ingrained in my culture: I have Indian and Pakistani heritage. My grandmother Tahira was known for her Ayurvedic, natural skin and hair remedies, so I decided to experiment with my own body scrub made from a specific grade of Indian black tea. I saw results within days and wondered if I had made something that others would benefit from.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Zak and I built a scrappy little free website and made a batch of body scrub in the kitchen. I was still teaching and Zak was full-time in a demanding corporate role. We called our company Delhicious - the spelling is a nod to my grandmother, who was from Delhi. Amazingly, six months later, beauty subscription box Glossybox placed an order for 110,000 units. Our children were both under two years old at the time, so it seemed crazy to accept it, but we saw it as an opportunity for 110,000 people to try our product! The house became a factory overnight - our neighbours even took our furniture so that we would have more room for production.

BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT