When it comes to bath products, especially soaps, we don’t usually have the intention of wanting to eat ’em’. But with Wunderbath’s products, we’re certainly in for a treat. From Ice Gem Cookies to Musang King soaps and more, these quirky products are all handmade locally and the best part? It’s vegan.
2CENTS had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the founder of Wunderbath, Evelyn Marieta.
The back story of the brand
Homegrown brand Wunderbath was established in the year 2015 when Evelyn was in the search of finding the perfect lip balm. As an advocate of plant-based products, there were limited selections of vegan products in the market then. Hence with her background as a food scientist, she started getting her hands dirty by formulating lip balms in various shades for herself. Not long after that she distributed some to her friends and family and started getting amazing feedback about it. Fast forward to 2020, Wunderbath is now 5.
A German twist
Initially, the first name she wanted to go with for her brainchild was Soap Opera. But she dodged it instead since the name has been overused in many countries including Malaysia. The whole point of creating these products is to be vegan-friendly and wonderful. So with that thought in mind, she played around with the German word “Wunderburg” and that was when Wunderbath was born. Both of her father and sister helped drew the logo and turned it into a vector design.
Food scientist turned soap extraordinaire
It doesn’t matter what you sell, you’ll succeed as long as you’re the best at what you do and you love doing it! – Evelyn Marieta
Evelyn graduated with a Nutrition and Food Science degree from the University of Alberta and always thought that she would end up in an R&D lab for a big company. One of her main goals to achieve in life is to launch her own product and she now has, with Wunderbath.
When it comes to creating a product, the ideas and inspirations come from Wunderbath’s customers and fan base. With their thoughts in mind, she formulates and analyses the ingredients before incorporating any of it in the products. Every product of Wunderbath’s is made with love and care. Hence why they choose to try any of their products first before launching it to the market.
The duration to complete a customised order varies and it may take a few weeks. Whereas orders made through the website will be packed and sent out within two days.
From lip balms to soaps, body butter and more
Evelyn knew that she would be launching Wunderbath with her handmade lip balms however she wanted to create more products for the brand and a square soap bar just doesn’t cut it. The brainstorming period for product ideas took her at least 6-8 months back in 2015 and she thought she had hit a dead end.
That was only until she decided to take a break for a bit.
Evelyn decided to pull a prank on her boyfriend then, now husband with a realistic-looking soap in the form of a fried egg. To make it look more believable, she even placed the egg on a plate and had it served to him which he almost ate before realising that the egg was just too perfect. It turned out to be a good laugh among the family members and not long after that was when she finally had a lightbulb moment.
And just like that, Evelyn Marieta has created her first handmade realistic soap.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo with Wunderbath’s best-seller
Although they started out with lip balms and soaps, one product that keeps getting the attention is their Fairy Godmother Body Butter that sells for RM38.90. With an improved formula, this body butter is nature’s best antidote to those with Eczema and Psoriasis. This isn’t just mere words as they’ve received many return purchases, especially from first customers in 2015.
I personally got the chance to try it out and I have to say it works wonders on my dry skin.
Quirky and delicious
Moving forward to today, Evelyn has created plenty of delicious looking products in the shape of food such as Macaroon, Musang King, Mooncake and even Cheeseburger soaps. For the candles, there’s the Kopi-C and Nasi Lemak. They look so real and perfect that we are quite certain that we might actually try to eat it.
Evelyn’s secret to success
The secret to my success is in the clarity I have with my purpose and passion in life. I know I’m here to create so I spend most of my time developing and creating. I know marketing is not my strong suit, so my aim is to create products that are amazing enough that people will not stop talking about them. The second secret is by realising that I have a mind creative enough to solve any problem. You’ll be surprised how differently the world looks like with a little bit of creativity and wonder. – Evelyn Marieta
Brief review
Just like what the subheader states, I am going to give my two cents on what I personally think about the products of Wunderbath. Having the desire to try out their healing body butter for a while now after hearing so many good things about it, I have to say that I am both impressed and obsessed with this particular product. As someone who suffers from dry skin, the Fairy Godmother Body Butter works marvellously for me. By just applying the lotion after showers religiously, it doesn’t just make my skin feel moisturised but it also has lessened down the itchiness. Plus, the smell of this body butter is heavenly and I would definitely be one of Wunderbath’s returning customers for this product.
As for the Youth Potion Spray, it comes with the sweet scent of rosehip that I love. The scent might be a little too strong for some but eventually, you will get used to it. It’s perfect to carry around and it helps keep my face fresh and supple throughout the day. I tend to use it as a hydrating base before applying my makeup as well and it works great.
For the BOINK Treatment Oil, I tried using it on my face but I find it to have a cooling sensation like menthol which I personally don’t enjoy. Then again, everyone has their own preferences right. If you’re trying to use this for dry skin, I wouldn’t encourage it because it isn’t as moisturising as the body butter. But it does have a pleasant scent and isn’t as greasy like other oils. What I do use this mostly for is to treat my split ends. The oil softens it and makes it look less frizzy than usual.
Last but not least, with all my heart I enjoy using lip balms especially those that come with sweet tastes like Wunderbath’s Musang King and Ais Kacang. These lip balms are suitable for sensitive lips and are free of SLS and Paraben. It also consists of Vitamin E, Rosehip Seed Oil, Pure Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil. The packaging is so cute and it actually has made me want to eat durians and ais kacang during working hours.
You can find them at @wunderbath.co to check their products out.