Founders Q+A: Prosody London on business karma

Prosody London on all natural perfumery and business karma

Prosody London founder Kershen Teo is both the Creative Director and business force behind the brand. Luxury fragrance is a market dominated by synthetics, chemicals and largely untested ingredients. Prosody London is working to change all that with totally natural ingredients and a transparent, responsible supply chain.

We sat down with Kershen to find out how he found his way to the world of natural fragrance and what 2022 has in store.

ESGmark®: Let’s start with a question we’re sure everyone asks, but what does the word Prosody mean?

Kershen Teo (KT): Prosody is an old English word for the structure and rhythm of poetry. We chose this as our name because while many synthetic provide an unvarying uniformity to fragrances, naturals are both more beautiful and more mobile in character.

ESGmark®: How did you come to the world of all-natural fragrances?

KT: I’m an avid gardener and simply fell in love with English cottage garden planting, where scented flowers and herbs are found side by side – I began to dream of capturing their beauty in perfumes made only with natural materials. I studied under several masters in the UK and US, including the doyenne of natural perfume, Mandy Aftel and through John Stephen, my British mentor and tutor, I was able to forward samples of my  first collection anonymously to Luca Turin - the world’s most exacting perfume critic. Turin’s response was to ask if they were Stephen’s work, as he thought them very good, the work of an established professional. This convinced me to dedicate myself to all-natural perfumery for the rest of my life.

ESGmark®: Can you share with us some of the business pillars of Prosody London?

KT: We have both a mission and a vision. Our mission is to make all-natural perfume the first choice for all fine fragrance lovers. With that comes our vision - A world where all fragrance is natural, avoiding the synthetics that pollute waterways and build up in the ecosystem of plants and animals.

From there we built up the foundations of what we stand for: over 90% of our ingredients are organic, we use the absolute minimum water necessary, we’re British-based but support communities along all points of our supply chain, everything we do is vegan and cruelty free, we’re forest friendly and ensure we produce as little waste as possible – we’re also delighted to be working on our recycling incentive scheme offering consumers a discount on their next purchase if they return an empty 50ml Prosody London bottle to us with the packaging.

ESGmark®: There are some pretty shocking statistics when it comes to the harm synthetic fragrances can do - what are the ones you find most compelling?

KT: Two findings really stand out -fish caught off the Japanese coast have been found to contain non-biodegradable musk used in commercial fragrances, and nitro musk used in Chanel No.5 has been found in breast milk.

Research by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics concluded that only 80 of a possible 5,000 synthetic fragrance ingredients have ever been tested.

ESGmark®: How do you make sure sustainability remains embedded in your business decisions on a daily basis?
KT: As a buddhist I constantly ask myself and the Prosody London team (one of whom has met the Dalai Lama twice) what is good karma in business.

ESGmark®: Are there any compromises you find yourself having to make?
KT: All the time, every decision you make has a cost, efficiency and environmental, social impact decision. You constantly need to get these things right.

ESGmark®: What was the most valuable lesson you learnt in your first year(s) of business?
KT: It's important at the beginning to reach out and speak to as many industry people as possible. Going to trade shows, networking and making new friends is a vital part of getting better, improving what I do. Hearing from other entrepreneurs about mistakes they've made can be invaluable. 

ESGmark®: If there was one thing you could change in the Prosody London journey, what would it be?
KT: I wish I had understood the restrictions on shipping perfumes better at the outset. It would have led to a lot of decisions about product and pack size that could really have saved money. Unlike most perfumes (made largely with synthetics), all-natural and organic perfumes really do cost more than their packaging, which means you must manage costs as efficiently as possible.

ESGmark®: Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
KT: I believe we will have created substantial business success by then and helped the category of all-natural and organic perfume to be far more widely known and discussed than today.

ESGmark®: What are your priorities for the next 12 months?
KT: We will open three new overseas markets this year and build a far stronger customer base internationally for our ecommerce operation.

ESGmark®: What important trends/developments do you see shaping responsible business practice in the coming 12 months?
KT: I see more sustainable producers coming together and cross-promoting the message to consumers that there is a cleaner, more responsible and sustainable way. We, for example, are now stocked in London by a clothing and homewares retailer committed specifically to all-natural, organic and sustainable products.

ESGmark®: Who is your biggest business inspiration?
KT: The pioneer in campaigning for no animal testing and cruelty free cosmetics is Anita Roddick. Her clear simple heartfelt message turned into a beacon of change and hope that still inspires the whole world.

ESGmark®: What are you reading at the moment?
KT: I’m reading 'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durrell, his first autobiographical volume about growing up as a young naturalist on Corfu in the 1930s. I am still fascinated by the world of childish innocence and wonder, and it’s a book that keeps me smiling all the way through.

For more on Prosody London and their all natural product range, visit their website.

Speaking to our founders is a fundamental part of how we keep the ESGmark® community connected - read our other interviews with Lofty Box on sell by dates and subscriptions, Green Glamour on sustainable fashion or booheads on innovation and compromise.