As we continue to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month at Qissa, we sat down with co-founder of Delhicious Body, Zara Saleem, to discuss how she brings her own heritage to a successful skincare brand.
You started Delhicious after experiencing skin problems during pregnancy. Were you working in the beauty industry before this? Is it something you had always wanted to do or was it more of a flash of inspiration?
The only experience I had was I had done a short internship at an Asian fashion and beauty magazine but other than that I had zero experience! However, I always wanted to start my own business so it was something I had in the back of my mind from quite a young age but I had no idea what the business would be. I fell into teaching and even then was thinking of starting something in the education tech space but because I had an interest in the beauty world I was also coming up with ideas in the beauty tech space. Delhicious had more of a natural start in that I had pregnancy induced eczema and didn’t want to use steroid creams so I formulated a body scrub using Indian tea. It worked so well that I thought that this could be the start of a business.
How would you describe ‘beauty’?
Beauty is something very individual but can also be found in everything and everyone. For me, beauty translates into every action - how someone may speak or how they may deal with people and situations could be beautiful. It has so many layers and I love that it's finally being seen in the actual beauty world too where people are sharing and breaking down beauty standards that I grew up with.
You run the business with your husband, Zak. How do you switch off from work and back into romantic partners, rather than business partners?
When you run a business that you are passionate about, a lot of founders would agree that you don’t really switch off from it. It does consume us, especially since we have put so much heart and soul into the brand, however it comes quite seamlessly in that we do make an effort to switch off and spend time together. It does take effort to not talk about work when you’re out for dinner but we make it work.
Your South Asian background is hugely influential in your business. If you could recommend just one South Asian beauty product or regime to someone unfamiliar with the culture, what would it be?
It would definitely be Indian Amla Oil and regular hair oiling. It’s one of those classic ingredients which so many people haven’t heard about and has now started trending especially since hair oiling has become trendy too. We grew up using pure Amla oil and it's insanely good for hair growth, premature greying and strengthening hair too.
You appeared on Dragons Den in 2022 but were unsuccessful in achieving funding. However, your business has gone from strength to strength. If you could go back to the Dragon’s Den, would you do anything differently?
We didn’t actually apply to go on the Den, they reached out and asked us to come on. I wasn’t ready for it and I walked into the Den actually not feeling very confident and sure of myself so going back that would be one thing I would do differently, to walk in feeling confident of what I had built. My husband and co-founder was unable to come in as he worked full time at the time so I felt a lot more pressure to carry the brand. However, I also don’t think I would have done anything differently as I am a believer in things happening for a reason so it was actually a good thing in hindsight that I didn’t get the investment and instead gained so much support.
What has been your proudest professional achievement?
Having the same retailers who rejected us in the beginning now reaching out to us to stock the brand. It proves that we were right in what we believed the brand to be and the power it had in the market so to have that happen really is a full circle moment.
Are there any upcoming products that you’re able to tell us about?
We have so many new products coming out, one of which is a scalp balm! We had so many people use our current viral product on their scalp and realised we needed to make something that was easier to use, so that will be dropping in a few months.
What do you do for self-care and looking after your mental health?
Put my phone away! That’s the best thing I can do. As I run the socials for the brand it can become really consuming especially growing a page in such a busy space. I have to switch off from my phone and socials and go for a walk in the evenings for my own sanity.
Can you tell us about one other small business that you’d recommend?
I love Good Girl Gang - she’s a one woman band who creates these beautiful empowering t-shirts which she hand prints herself and I just love her attention to detail.
You celebrate many amazing women on the Delhicious blog, such as activist Mercedez Brye and jewellery brand founder Hanan Abdel-Khalek. Who is the greatest inspiration for you both in a professional sense and personally?
There are so many it's so hard to choose from! I have some really wonderful small business friends who really inspire me as well as some who have nothing to do with the beauty world. I am a big fan of Farzana from Desi doll company. She's built an Islamic toys business which is now stocked in the likes of Selfridges and Asda. She is another woman who has gone ahead with a business that people would never have thought could hit the mainstream market but she's done it in such an incredible way. She also shares bits on her personal development and I find that really inspiring.
Thank you so much for sharing your own story with us, Zara!
