Read our Mayo Business Award Proposal
We were asked to apply for the Best Emerging Business / Start Up in the Mayo Business Awards. We wouldn't be here without you, so we thought to share a little behind the scenes of how NAMAWE is growing.
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NAMAWE founder, Maria Mayorga, created her business to carve out a niche in the vast skincare market by focusing on natural Irish ingredients. She started NAMAWE because she struggled to find reliable natural products to ease her partner's psoriasis and eczema. She created products with local ingredients, and saw a noticeable improvement.
We saw a chance to create a product line using tallow, a byproduct of small Irish farmers. Tallow comes from cow fat and is often discarded. It's a high-quality, abundant ingredient and has fantastic moisturising properties. Yet, modern skincare has overlooked it. It has been used for thousands of years in human skincare and was even part of the first soap used by the Celtic people. NAMAWE is built around tallow because of this heritage, distinctly Irish, history. Tallow is a top skincare ingredient in our balms, creams, herbal first aid, soaps and shampoos. Its similarity to human skin allows easy absorption of its vitamins. It provides excellent care for sensitive skin and also supports Irish agriculture and sustainability.
As consumers grow eco-conscious, they want to buy products with a low environmental impact. At NAMAWE, sustainability is our business model and branding. We source locally and use repurposed ingredients. We use premium grass-fed tallow, a sustainable byproduct of Irish farming. We do this by collaborating with local farmers and butchers in Mayo. This cuts waste and stops landfills from creating excess methane that increases emissions. Also, we host workshops on natural health and skincare. These workshops help people make informed, sustainable choices. They also teach the benefits of natural Irish ingredients.
NAMAWE grew from a kitchen operation to a thriving retail business in three years. Maria started selling at the Westport Country Market in 2021. We opened our first shop and factory in 2022, then relocated to a central location, in Westport’s Octagon, with better equipment in 2024. These moves improved quality control and brand positioning. We now have loyal local and international customers and a growing list of stockists connecting with customers who want help with skin issues using a natural, herbalist approach.
Our stockist growth has been the bread and butter of our business. In 2021, we had just three stockists, but as of 2024, that number has grown to 12 in 3 counties (9 in Mayo). This shows retailers' trust in our products and customers want morehigh-quality, Irish-made skincare.
Our online sales have surged, growing by 300% in 2024 alone. We did this without any paid marketing, and we are only in Q3. This digital growth shows NAMAWE's products are now popular beyond our local market. We reach customers nationwide and internationally.
NAMAWE's business model is adaptable to changing market conditions. Skincare businesses face rising costs and ingredient shortages. Many skincare brands rely on expensive, imported plant-based ingredients. These are now scarcer and costlier. Using tallow has saved us from the escalating cost of many imported ingredients. Cocoa butter, for example, rose from €20/kg to €60/kg in one year. Olive oil has increased in price by more than 50% in one year.
Using natural, local, heritage Irish ingredients makes us unique in the skincare market, in Ireland and abroad. The appeal of Irish products and ingredients goes beyond our borders. There is a rising demand for authentic, local goods. Irish products are renowned internationally for their quality and sustainability. NAMAWE is ready to meet this demand with skincare made from top Irish ingredients like tallow, seaweed, and hemp oil.
Cross-branding partnerships with local farmers add a unique story to our brand. It helps us control our costs and ensure a stable supply chain. Farmers, then, can get paid for tallow they would otherwise throw away. They can also resell NAMAWE skincare products made with their raw materials. So, their farm's brand will connect with customers' skin needs.
With more marketing reach, NAMAWE will resonate with eco-conscious consumers worldwide. We have attracted international attention by highlighting our sustainable practices and the rich heritage of our ingredients. As we scale, we expect growth in global markets. Consumers want transparency, tradition, and ethical sourcing in the products they buy.
NAMAWE has ambitious plans to expand its operations into the UK, EU, and US. We want to open our own farm to grow our brand into other local products and be a resource for heritage knowledge in the West of Ireland. We intend to expand our partnerships in Mayo and Ireland through stockists and farmers. We seek stockists in cities with high demand for sustainable skincare. We will also invest more in our growing online platform. It will make our products more accessible to a global audience.
To support this expansion, we will work with local farmers and suppliers. We will maintain high sustainability standards while scaling our operations. We are also exploring new products with other natural Irish ingredients, like seaweed and botanicals. They will help us attract more customers.
NAMAWE was born to innovate in skincare using heritage methods and ingredients. We are becoming a brand that showcases Ireland’s agricultural abundance. We saw early on that rising plant-based ingredient costs would be a big hurdle for many businesses. Instead of following the crowd, we took a different approach. Irish ingredients, like seaweed, tallow Nettle, and rosehips, can bring high-quality skincare benefits. By combining our sustainable sourcing with Irish heritage, we are building a high-end, sustainable skincare business in Mayo.
