It's all in the family

Barely 14, she tuned in attentively as her parents, Ricardo Fisas Mulleras and Maria Gloria discussed strategies to nurture and nourish Natura Bisse, a company which is a fruit of their commitment to creating a brand name that symbolises purity in skincare.

Today, nearly three decades later that 14-year-old has grown
up to become the CEO of the company. Naturally she brings to her job the same vision and passion as her parents.
This Spanish company makes products based on a very simple premise: the bottomline is not about statistics but about relationships with its clientele.

Fisas was in Dubai recently to get a better understanding of the burgeoning Middle East market for Natura Bisse's skincare range.

Her sun-kissed complexion glows as if it's a testimony to her brand's efficacy. If you thought CEOs are from the tough-talking, let's-get-down-to-business mould, she corrects that impression straight away. Her attempts to correctly convey her passion, commitment and unshakeable belief in her company in English are an instant ice breaker.

She talks animatedly about the products and lines in her brands picking and choosing her words.

A sober pride about the company's pursuit of purity for its products hangs in the air. Her parents, she says, taught her and her siblings the art of keeping faith in the company and the ability to provide a comfort zone to every individual who reposed her trust in Natura Bisse. "They are
very hands-on people who respect every individual. They taught us that business is about adding the personal touch and to always remember that people who use our products are 'real' and not mere statistics," says Fisas. It is this human approach to business which has seen the company grow to one that makes 300 products and 12 lines and is ever expanding to address a wide spectrum of skin-related issues.

The shifting sands of childhood

"When our parents decided to start a company, the biggest change was having to adjust to the idea of a working mother. Until then, our mum was a housewife and we had her completely to ourselves. Oh, she doted on us. With her going to work, we suddenly had to be more responsible.
"We lost a little of our mother as she had to travel and get involved in the manufacturing of the products but we gained a little of our father who until then was too busy with his work. Now he would spend more time at home."

Getting the job by hard work and not by virtue of being the daughter "The fact that we are our parents' children never meant that we had the privilege to start at the top. All of us had to work our way up – and I mean really work. As far as I can remember, I was always helping my father in some way or the other at work and no work was big or small. If there was a job that needed to be done and if we could perform it, we had to pull up our sleeves and finish it.

"I will always give credit to our parents for never pushing us in any which way to join the family business. On the contrary, my father wanted us to join the company only if we truly wanted to. He gave us the freedom to pursue our dreams. We knew that the door was always open just in case we wanted to join him. So I studied Law and worked for a year before I did an MBA and got into the family business."

The lack of sibling rivalry is a blessing
"There is no sense of competition among us brothers and sisters. We are a team. We argue a lot on various issues, but we have agreed to disagree. If we feel that there is no clear mandate on a issue, we mull over it, bring it up for discussion again until we get a clear opinion from all the board members.

"The business is run professionally which means most people who join it are there on merit and not because they are related to the family. "There are 10 grandchildren in the family which means a third generation is already in place. However, we still follow the same principles that my parents had set.

Nobody gets anything on a platter. No family member is coerced to work in the family business or can take a job for granted by virtue of the accident of birth. If you want to work for the brand, you have to start at the bottom and prove yourself valuable to the company. "When we were young, we were studying and working together. We want our children to have the same sense of respect for everything they have."

Parents are retired but active "They are still on the board of
the company. However, they do not get involved in the daily operations of the company."

Why Natura Bisse is special

"Each of our products is supported by intensive R&D before it reaches the shelves. In fact 6-7 per cent of our revenue is ploughed back as investments for further R&D. We specialise in the use of keratin, amino acids, collagen, etc, in our products. It is scientifically proven that all these ingredients nourish, protect and recharge the skin cells.

"We recently introduced diamond dust as an ingredient in our skincare range and it has received an extremely enthusiastic response from our clientele, which only proves the trust that they have placed in us over the years.

"But this faith does not make us complacent. The fact that we are a global brand now makes the nature of our business even more challenging. We have to constantly understand the specific needs of all our market regions and launch products accordingly."

The trend of having international celebrities as brand ambassadors "We have confidence in the efficacy of our products and know for a fact that they have an international following. But we are not into celebrity endorsements although we know that our products are used by top models and Hollywood celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Lopez to name a few."

The Middle East market and the UAE market
in particular "This is my first visit to Dubai and I am fascinated by its dynamism and beauty. I am so glad that we set up shop here two years ago. "Our clientele is growing in the Middle East. We have our presence in Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

"What I like about working in Dubai is that here we get an opportunity to cater to a multitude of skin types, given the fact that there are people practically from all over the world living here.

"There are so many requirements and I am glad to say that our different products have successfully been able to address the needs of a variety of textures and hues. Dubai is a window to the Russian, Gulf and Indian markets and I am impressed by the sheer potential this region offers."

– Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary is Senior Feature Writer, Friday