Type 1 diabetes inspired SOZO founder to the pages of British Vogue

Charanduk is among a wave of young entrepreneurs in Queensland who have stared down the challenges of COVID and are riding the ever-rising swell in the digital economy.

She took the plunge in March to launch SOZO Australia’s first three hair care products; a shampoo, conditioner and hair mask to the Aussie and international markets.

With national and global sales escalating and her products earning features in international style magazines, Charanduk said the timing was actually taken out of her hands.

Charanduk inspired by her troubles

“A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, it was a big shock to me.”

“I became quite ill because I didn’t know the warning signs for the disease and, for months after my diagnosis, I experienced hair loss from the stress my body had gone through.”

“I had fine thin hair to start with and it was quite concerning.”

“I sought medical advice for solutions, but I found a lot of hair care products were full of harsh chemicals, or all-natural products weren’t effective as I wanted them to be.”

“So that started my journey to create all-natural products that actually were effective, that actually worked as well as or even better than chemical-based hair care products.”

Charanduk said while consumers have turned to online shopping during COVID, demand has also increased for all-natural products from small businesses.

Lockdown startup success attributed natural products

“I don’t have a lot to compare it to, I’ve only started during the pandemic.”

“But during the pandemic, I’ve seen that consumer spending has been impacted, but also so many people have moved to spend more time online and buy more frequently online.”

“There’s pros and cons to launching a business during this time.”

Charanduk said she sourced exclusively natural ingredients, from finger lime to Australian manuka honey, with all steps of the process completed on the Gold Coast.

“I am passionate about Australian-made products and all-natural ingredients. When I say natural, I mean natural, you won’t find any nasty chemicals in the products.”

“I trialed these myself and I saw fantastic results with new hair growth for me. I got my natural curl back in my hair that I haven’t had since I was a young girl.”

Charanduk said she had seen consumers increasingly become more confident shopping online, and more informed about products and ingredients.

“A lot of people are educating themselves and becoming more aware of natural products and the negative impacts chemicals can have on us.”

“They also expect to know what is in the product and why it works.”

She said SOZO was not designed exclusively for hair growth, even though that was her creative motivation after she began rapidly losing her hair following her 2019 diagnosis.

“These products are designed to treat and help improve both your scalp and your hair health to give you overall strong, shiny hair that’s easy to style.”

“When you focus on your hair health the other benefits follow like hair growth.”

“It has been an amazing journey so far. It’s great when people become more aware and see that they can make the switch to all natural and feel confident about it.”