What Nobody Tells You About Building Something From Scratch
Building HERBOLOGY was not glamorous. There were batches that failed. Nights that never turned into mornings. Being a woman, navigating herbal ingredient sourcing in Pakistan comes with its own particular set of difficulties — from access and authenticity to the quiet persistence, required to be taken seriously as a sole-trader doing something unconventional.
The struggle for pure, fresh and organic ingredients.
One of the most quietly exhausting parts of this journey was something most people never think about; where do the ingredients actually come from ?
In Pakistan, finding genuinely clean, fresh, organic herbs and botanicals is far harder than it sounds. The market is full of dried, old, or chemically treated stock. I needed things like Fresh Hibiscus, Pure Aloe Vera and Clean Herbs — and I simply could not find them in the form I trusted.
Growing them myself
Being ambitious, I grew them in my own garden.
I planted Hibiscus, Aloe Vera, Calendula, Chamomile & Marigold and tended to it. I nurtured the very herbs that would eventually go into the products I was making. It took lot of time, patience and a great deal of physical effort. There were seasons that did not cooperate and batches delayed because the plants were not ready.
Organic Essential Oils and Natural Scents presented yet another layer of difficulty. Finding oils that were genuinely pure and that would not react badly with my Cold Processed Formulas was complex enough on its own.
But there was also something quiet beautiful about it — Knowing that from the soil in my garden to the bottle in your hands, I had watched over every single step. That is a level of care you simply cannot buy from a supplier.
— HERBOLOGY by Zarrmalaj ; Founder, Maker & Mother of Four —