Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Rocca.
Hi Tina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a poor Italian family with very ill grandparents that my mother took care of. I observed daily how unhealthy habits can wreck havoc on a person’s health. I made a promise that I would learn how to increase health & wellness for people in order to help them improve the quality of their lives. That is how I began to teach fitness as a teenager in Beverly Hills, CA then went on to college to get my degree in Kinesiology and a Masters in Exercise Science. I was involved in health and fitness since 1977 being very involved with wellness before it was a popular topic. I stopped teaching fitness in 1994 as I had started an aromatherapy company with my then husband.
We were first to make natural candles in 1995 using only essential oils as aromas. We grew the company to be a successful business. My ex-husband didn’t want to make candles anymore and he wanted to divorce as he had met someone else. We had to sell our company in 2006. I stayed on as President for two years then had to step away as I had two young daughters to take care of and try to heal our changing family. My passion and desire to help others learn to live healthier through pure plant living was still very strong. I created a plant-based bath and body brand. I started to make plant-based aromatherapy wellness candles again in 2014. I developed my own wax out of coconut. I made my essential oil aromas. That became Pure Plant Home – a passion project for helping people make a simple change to use healthier products in their homes. I knew I had to find a healthier solution. After many trials and tests, I determined that my allergies were being triggered by synthetic fragrance. Both relieved and alarmed with my findings, I became inspired to help people who were struggling with similar health sensitivities to synthetic, harsh chemicals. I poured my passion for wellness and aromatherapy into Pure Plant Home.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has not been smooth for a single mom with two daughters in a small family business. That being said, when I first sought out to make natural, plant-based products, there wasn’t a process in place or precedent to follow. While today, “clean beauty” is trendy and manufacturing such products has become more streamlined, in the late 90s early 2000s, I found myself networking the old-fashioned way. I read books to conduct my own research, traveled to meet chemists in labs and sat on the phone with manufacturers around the clock in hopes of finding partners who were aligned with my plant-based, non-petrochemical, vegan mission, philosophy and chosen plant-derived ingredients. Only then was I able to start making and selling wellness self-care products.
At the time I began creating wellness products, parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrance and artificial color weren’t yet on brands’ “no” lists – in fact, I don’t think “no” lists even existed – but I was keen to put them on mine. While doing this definitely helped gain a cult following, many brands quickly followed suit.
However, while many of these brands adopted the practice of avoiding some harmful ingredients, one major message has not found its stride just yet. And that’s the one on synthetic fragrance. The dangers and harmful effects of these chemical compounds were the reason I first became inspired by natural products. In a very saturated market, I want to share my message on synthetic fragrance, educate my consumer on the fragrance industry’s alarming secrets and altogether eliminate synthetic fragrance.
In business challenges (and there will be many challenges), stay your course. Don’t take advantage of people’s vulnerability. Should an entrepreneur choose to adjust their foundational platforms, it should only be to help their consumers – not for the purpose of profit. This good, kind will is what has helped build my customer loyalty through good times and bad.
As you know, we’re big fans of Pure Plant Home. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Pure Plant Home aromatherapy wellness coconut wax candles with real essential oil aromas do not contain any petrochemicals, they are vegan, sustainable and have extraordinary smells for a plant-based candle. I would say that the essential oil aromas that I have created and the extreme high quality are what set them apart from other candles. I am a certified aromatherapist and have been blending essential oils for 28 years now.
I am most proud that I have the honor and pleasure of working with my daughter Sofia daily. I am also happy to be able to work with my daughter Carina who helps me with medicinal plant research. We are truly a family business and we share a passion for pure plant living. We walk our talk which is rare in the business world.
I hope to be able to continue to grow our brand by adding back in our plant-based bath & body products. If we can grow then we can afford to fund all this or hopefully find an investor that sees the value and purpose of our wellness mission.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am open for all help and collaboration as it takes a lot to grow a small plant-based, vegan wellness business. It would be a blessing to have more support for what I am doing. I appreciate everything so much and am grateful for each day that I get to do this with my daughter.
My daughter and I are open to collaboration through social media as well as offering private label to help other wellness-driven individuals reach their goals and make their dreams come true.
Pricing:
- Retail
3.1oz Candles $13
7oz Candles $20
Contact Info:
- Email: tina@pureplantspa.com
- Website: www.pureplanthome.com
- Instagram: pureplanthome
- Facebook: pureplanthome
