Fadi Ghaby has a nose for business. After falling in love with the exotic scents and smells of Thailand, the savvy businessman jumped at the opportunity to bring them home.
Ghaby is the owner of Harnn & Thann North America. The Thai-based, all-natural skin-care line enjoys huge success throughout Asia, Australia and Europe. Surprisingly, its North American headquarters is in Ottawa. The brand's success across the continent rests largely on Ghaby's shoulders, as he gets set to take on the leading skin-care giants.
"I am blown away by the product," he says. "Both men and women love it. The line is exotic but not feminine."
The 37-year-old believes people buy products from companies that have a huge marketing machine behind them such as Aveda, Clinique and the Body Shop.
Harnn was first launched in Thailand in 1999 as a home-spa product company. Thann was created three years later to promote its skin-and hair-care line. The company now boasts 70 stores in 22 countries. The two lines feature all-natural face and body care, moisturizers, cleansers, aromatherapy and anti-aging products. All are paraben-free with no artificial colours or fragrances, and the packaging is made from recycled materials.
"Asian culture is about balance. Our concept is to calm people down by concentrating on mind, body and spirit," Ghaby says.
The sensual aromas of jasmine, orange, magnolia, lemon grass and cinnamon greet visitors at his store, where customers can purchase full spa treatments.
"When people try it, they're addicted, but this is a niche market where we have to entice the right customer," Ghaby says. "Our client is not usually an impulse buyer. They want information on ingredients, product line, and will return to make a purchase."
Ingredients include sesame seed oil, rice bran oil, chamomile and honey extract and Shiso essential oils.
Ghaby, a former JDS Uniphase employee, left the field of high-tech in 2006 to become an entrepreneur.
"When a friend brought back the product from Thailand, my wife and I tried it and were hooked. I went to Bangkok, met the owners and the rest is history."
Visit www.thann.ca
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