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Quick chat with Maria Sullivan, owner of Exotic Scents |07 April 2020

‘Solidarity will save us’

 

With COVID-19, many entrepreneurs who had tourists as their main clients are being forced out of business. Maria and John Sullivan, owners of Exotic Scents, are also finding themselves in a very precarious situation. But nevertheless they have made a new product to ease the worries of Seychellois – hand sanitisers completely made in Seychelles. We had the chance to have a small chat with Maria.

 

Seychelles NATION: Please describe Exotic Scents for us?

Maria Sullivan: For over eight years now Exotic Scents has been making handmade natural soap and body products from vegetable based dew materials for tourists and the local market.

 

Seychelles NATION: Who started it?

Maria Sullivan: It is a partnership between myself Maria Sullivan and my husband John Sullivan.

 

Seychelles NATION: What kind of products do you make?

Maria Sullivan: We make artisanal soap, body lotions, shower cream, massage oils, bath bombs, sugar and salt scrub, bath salts, baby skincare, facial cream, body mist, room diffusers and sprays anything you can think of for the body and to give a nice fragrance to your home.

 

Seychelles NATION: With COVID-19 you came up with a new product?

Maria Sullivan: During COVID-19 we tried to explain to our customers on the importance of washing their hands with soap and when the sudden shortage of sanitizers started to happen we decided to use our materials to make some. This was to help those who did not have a chance to get some and would be able to do as to help not to spread COVID-19. It is a liquid hand sanitizer containing 98% ethanol and we added aloe vera gel, vitamin E and glycerin to help moisturise your hands since hand sanitizers are being overused at the moment.

As we are going to run out of some of the raw materials, like empty spray bottle and ethanol, we want to make a shout out, if there is anyone who has any in stock locally and wants to sell please call us on 2773528, solidarity will save us.

 

Seychelles NATION: How will your business be affected and also how many people you employ?

Maria Sullivan: COVID-19 has hit us hard as we have had to close three of our shop locations (2 located at Coral Strand and Savoy who asked us to vacate their premises when they shut their gates when all the tourists had left and another at the airport since there are no more flights departing. We currently employ six staff.

(The accompanying photographs show some of the products manufactured by Exotic Scents).

 

Compiled by Vidya Gappy

Photo sources: Exotic scents

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