“It’s been nice to reflect on the growth of the last five years,” says Abena Boamah-Acheampong on celebrating her brand’s fifth anniversary this month. “As a business, we are not thinking only now, we are already thinking in the future, so it's exciting to think about our goals,” the Ghanaian-American skincare entrepreneur continues. Boamah-Acheampong launched Hanahana Beauty — an ethical and clean skincare brand in 2017, inspired by the need for increased transparency and sustainability in the skincare industry. 

Over the years, the skincare brand has become known for its moisturising shea butter in varying flavours like eucalyptus and lavender vanilla. Though Hanahana Beauty’s headquarters are based in Chicago, their shea butter is sourced in Tamale, Ghana, where the business works with a local group of women in the shea trade. Last year, the company released their 4EVER NOT ASHY collection to mark four years since launch. To celebrate this year's anniversary, Hanahana Beauty is celebrating with the Take Care Collection, a limited edition range consisting of painted silk scarves, a deck of wellness cards and a travel size of the brand's beloved bamboo coconut shea butter. We caught up with Boamah-Acheampong to chat about celebrating five years of Hanahana Beauty, her plans, and how running a business has changed her. 

AMAKA: How has the experience of running your own company changed you? 

Boamah-Acheampong: I feel like I’ve grown a lot. I’ve had to be more confident in what it means to be a leader and also learn what it means to build and manage a team while also managing myself. Running a business has pushed me to prioritise my growth as a person because it affects everyone I work with. 

AMAKA: What would you say has kept you going? 

Boamah-Acheampong: I feel like the mission keeps me going. For me, it's [discovering] what it means to create a sustainable business in a holistic way. What helps me grow and has kept me going is the support and the different types of people that have come into my life in the sense of my team and also mentorship; being able to have a solid foundation of different mentors and friends whom you can share your ideas with.  

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AMAKA: What do you think is the secret to your success? 

Boamah-Acheampong: I feel like I’ve been very clear-headed around what it means to continue to learn and unlearn. I don’t know everything and being confident about the things that I know and don’t know so that I can learn is helpful. Having that mindset helps me navigate different skills. 

AMAKA: What has been the proudest moment of your journey so far? 

Boamah-Acheampong: There’s been a couple. In the beginning, it was anytime I would go to Ghana and figure out [new] ways to run this business while living my life in between. It’s also being able to maintain a team and seeing different people grow in their positions. 

Let's talk about your anniversary and the exciting stuff you’re working on. Boamah-Acheampong: 

This month we are launching a limited edition release called the Take Care Collection. It’s going to have our bamboo coconut body butter in a mini travel size. We are also releasing a deck of cards called the Take Care Deck and these cards offer different reminders on what it means to take care of yourself. 

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What excites you the most about the future?

Boamah-Acheampong: I’m excited to see how we partner and work with other brands. This year we are expanding our social impact; the Hanahana Circle of Care, how we work within the communities of our shea producers and with Black and Brown children, as well as being able to curate a space for wellness and learning experiences. We are going to be doing a lot of partnerships and curations and I’m excited about how we’ll expand in our product innovation and the way people are going to be introduced to Hanahana Beauty whether online or in retail stores. 

Right now we are focused on direct-to-consumer but [we are also considering] how it will look like for Hanahana Beauty to expand into different retail spaces internationally and also within America. I think for me it's to curate how people are introduced to Hanahana Beauty internationally. 

It’s also about continuing to create results-driven products that are efficient and looking into creating new offerings like a cleanser or a serum. We are keeping it under wraps for now but in May we’ll be launching a new product around what our community has been asking for.