Student entrepreneurs create skin-friendly products.

By Ella Gupta ’23

Founded in 2019 by Mila Patel (’21), Sonia Shah (’22), Ella Gupta (’23), and Natasha Sachar (’22), Blōra Beauty is a growing CA student-led company. Mary Esposito (’21) has also joined the team, bringing her experience from founding and leading her startup: Purple Pear Co.

This past spring, the group won the Power Pitch award at the global Conrad Challenge Innovation Summit after eight rigorous months of ideation and research, which led them to become finalists in the Smoke Free World: Repurposing Farmland and Tobacco Crops category sponsored by the Foundation for a Smoke Free World.

It all began when they realized there was no universal solution to common skin ailments, such as acne, eczema, and sunburns, that worked well for people of different backgrounds. Corticosteroids, like Cortisone, often have negative side effects, such as skin discoloration. Native North Carolinians, the group was intrigued by the Repurposing Tobacco category of this challenge and thus decided to create a plant-based skin cream utilizing tobacco seed oil as the primary ingredient, since this substance has anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties.

But even after the Conrad Challenge, the group didn’t stop. “Being a teen entrepreneur allows you to experiment and ‘fail fast’ over and over again- that is partly what encouraged us to continue beyond the Conrad Challenge,” comments Mila. “Moving away from the Conrad Challenge, we had this boundless freedom, which was hard to grasp. We were previously a mere idea, and we wanted to be a brand. Today, we aim to be a beauty brand that targets topical skin issues in a modern, more vivid, and experience-oriented way. The biggest challenge we are currently facing is avoiding a standstill. With our target product in the making, we are always looking for ways to engage with and hone in on our target audience- exactly what our lip gloss collection aims to do.”

Currently, the group of young entrepreneurs is selling lip gloss infused with almond oil in order to fund the costs of working with a pharmaceutical company to better develop their product and put it on the market. They also currently hold a provisional patent on their innovation and are looking forward to seeing how their company continues to prosper.

Sonia comments, “Now that we’ve fully established our lip gloss brand, we’re definitely looking for a way to smoothly transition our overall brand image to best market our future skincare line. We’re aiming to appeal to and market towards young women- millennials and Gen Z’ers alike- through our all-inclusive and clean beauty brand image.”