The Fillaree extended family is growing! A new public partnership has been in the works for a few months now, and we’re excited to introduce you to this meaningful new collaboration with Nailah’s Shea!
After years of pushing beyond our limits to make most of our products in-house, I realized that something had to give. Our equipment and factory space was working quite well for our liquid soaps and cleaners, but the bar soaps were becoming an increasing burden on our team and our production facilities. Our customers love bar soaps though, so eliminating them wasn’t an option; but neither was continuing to tax our systems so much to make them. So, I started looking for a bar soap partner.
And that’s when I met Camilia, the owner of Nailah’s Shea in Greensboro, NC. It was basically love at first sight. Camilia lives and breathes the bar soap business – she has perfected the manufacturing process and is at a place where she can scale up to meet Fillaree’s needs. And better yet, her quality standards already meet Fillaree’s strict criteria for all natural ingredients with low impact production. We are aligned in so many ways that building a partnership was a no brainer.
Public Partnership, not Private Label
We made an intentional decision to create a public partnership rather than a private label agreement. Private labeling would mean we repackage soaps that Camilia makes (either using our recipe or her own) with the Fillaree brand. Sometimes that kind of relationship makes sense in the retail business, but that wasn’t at all what we wanted with this new relationship.
Camilia’s brand is strong and her products are amazing. We dare say that you’re going to fall deeper in love with Nailah’s Shea bars than you ever could have imagined. Team Fillaree certainly has (we each already have our favorites!). There was simply no denying the fact that she is better at bar soaps than we are.
So that brings us to this exciting day. We’re launching Nailah’s Shea soaps as our exclusive bar soap at the Fillaree storefront, online, and with our corporate clients, like The Durham Hotel, and hanging up our bar soap making hats, for good! We’re super psyched that this means we have more time and energy for all of your other Fillaree faves, like Soap & Suds, Clean Plate Club, and Clean Dream!
While we keep doing the stuff where we truly shine, we’re passing the spotlight on to others where they shine brighter. We’re holding each other up and rejoicing in the fact that it takes a village to run these mission-driven small women-owned businesses - which makes it all the more fun to do!
Camilia shared these lovely words about her thoughts about this new venture:
“My first reaction was "WOW!" I have always loved the mission and vision of Fillaree, as they mirror our mission and vision as well. So, naturally I was humbled when Alyssa approached me with the possibility of a partnership. At the same time, I was a bit nervous because this ongoing project would be one of the most involving ventures Nailah's Shea has ever taken on as of yet. Likewise, this opportunity really allows me to showcase my love for holistic wellness through our use of natural organic and fair trade body care products to a broader audience. Moreover, I truly feel that Nailah's Shea and Fillaree will be able to exemplify our love of low waste, handcrafted organic and fair trade goodness to the nation by our partnership. And being two woman-owned businesses from the Triad and Triangle I must say is a plus! 😉”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves… it’s such an honor, and a “major plus” to be embarking on this together!