A mother who struggled to find a safe and efficient solution for her seven-year-old son’s body-odour problem, Mapula Ramothwala, decided to start a business that makes safe toiletries for children aged between six and 12.
The founder of Kool Crew, formerly known as Kiddo Kool, started the business in 2018, after realising there was a gap in the market for a product that could help children who perspire and develop strong body odour from a young age.
“My son used to play soccer at the time. I thought maybe he wasn’t washing himself properly, and I would help him bathe, but the problem prevailed,” she said.
After having conversations with other parents in her community, she found this was a problem for many others. However, most parents would suggest home remedies such as making a paste with bicarbonate of soda and lemon to use as an antiperspirant roll-on alternative.
“In our society, it remains a taboo to let a child use [antiperspirant] roll-on [deodorant], so a lot of parents would try different things to try keep the body odour at bay. But this comes with dangers, because some of these products are acidic and eventually burn children’s skin.”
With no experience or background in making deodorants, she started experimenting with different ingredients at home to make a fully organic product for children. She also reached out to someone she knew who had studied chemistry at university to help with the project.
Body odour can lead to children being bullied and experiencing low self-esteem, so it’s important to make sure our products are accessible
— Mapula Ramothwala, Kool Crew founder
After a process of trial and error, she came to understand she could not make a fully organic product, as it would have only a seven-day shelf life. She funded the whole project herself and made her first batch of children’s roll-on deodorant in 2019.
“This batch was meant to test the appetite for the product, and to get feedback from some of the parents about what we should do differently,” she said.
As demand for the product grew, Ramothwala found some parents wanted their children to use Kiddo Kool products even in their teenage years. This led to the range expanding from catering only to children between the ages of six and 12 to accommodating teens up to the age of 18.
However, this created another problem, as she learnt from the parents who would buy the deodorants that their teenagers were refusing to use products branded “Kiddo”.
“In 2022, we had to rename the company to make it more inclusive. [We changed the name] from Kiddo Kool to Kool Crew.”
After self-funding the company for a while, Ramothwala brought in an investor for a short period. This was before she approached government entities to help fund her start-up.
Funding from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) allowed Kool Crew to expand its reach from Soshanguve and neighbouring towns to three other provinces.
“Seda and the innovation hub played a crucial role in the growth of the business. I [gained] a lot of knowledge about how to run a business and mitigate challenges as an entrepreneur. I also managed to get my product tested through the innovation hub,” she said.
Today, Kool Crew produces plant-based, toxin-free antiperspirant roll-ons and body sprays with no parabens. The products are safe to use on children from the age of six. The products can also be used on children with sensitive skin, skin conditions such as eczema, and those with albinism.
The company manufactures and sells about 1,000 products a month, and is looking at increasing sales. Kool Crew also donates its deodorants to organisations that work with children.
“Body odour can lead to children being bullied and experiencing low self-esteem, so it’s important to make sure our products are accessible,” Ramothwala said.
The products sell for R60 each, but her clients are willing to pay a higher price because they believe in them
“Some 80% of our clients are return customers who have been using the product for years. Unfortunately, as a small business, our production costs tend to be higher, as we don’t buy ingredients in big batches.”
Today, Kool Crew products can be found in 28 pharmacies, as well as retailers such as Makro and Spar. The company is also getting ready to supply Pick n Pay and Clicks.
Looking at the future of the company, Ramothwala said the goal was to become a leading children’s brand of deodorants globally. She said after making the product available at retailers across the country, the next step would be selling Kool Crew products in neighbouring countries.
“We went on trade missions to Botswana, Namibia and Nigeria, where we saw there was demand for our product. The only challenge is getting the products couriered there, as this is more expensive for the buyer than the actual [cost of the] products. But [going regional and then global] is one of our goals.”
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