EATONTOWN – Tiffany Martino, owner of A Natural Journee in Eatontown, takes pride in pursuing her passions and never having any regrets. That extends to her online skin care business.
“I have always had an interest in being selfless and wanting to help others,” Martino said. “To some people it is just your average skin care business, but to me, it is much more. I have so many stories about people telling us how our skin care products have helped and given them the self-confidence they have always wanted and needed. We are bringing meaning to people’s lives.”
Martino grew up in a family with a lot of creative, natural energy.
“A lot of the people in my home were artists,” Martino said. “I was really inspired to pursue that atmosphere. I always made it a point to follow the women in my family because they were all unique in their own way and I looked up to them constantly. My mom was a teacher at a local preschool and I wanted to be just like her growing up.
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“I dreamed about serving the community and being part of the community,” Martino said. “That was the path I chose from an early age and it was the path I wanted to pursue as I got older and came into my own. I observed my mom and wanted to emulate the way she interacted with her peers and students. She became a role model for me and I got a lot of my personality traits from her. I just saw how she wanted to genuinely help people in need and I felt proud to be her daughter.”
Martino also took after her grandmother, who encouraged her to express her artistic side as well.
“My grandmother had an art studio in her house,” Martino said. “I started painting and coloring with her and I also progressed into dancing. I expressed myself and I was encouraged to do so by my grandmother, and that was a real starting point for me, as it carried over to how I run my business now. It’s not just your average business. It’s a way of creating something real and original. In the end, I am expressing myself with the product I create and it is something that only I can do.”
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While Martino was in college going for her education degree, she got pregnant with her son, Journee.
“It was my last semester and I had to take a break in order to give birth at that time,” Martino said. “During that time off, I had to put myself into something meaningful, so I talked extensively with my fiancé and we came up with an idea to create and sell lip balms. I had an Amazon gift card and I ordered what I could to get started. I purchased a lip balm-making kit and several ingredients to start making my original product from scratch.
“I also did a lot of research online, including watching YouTube videos and really putting in the time to inform myself and get as much knowledge as I could to get the business off the ground,” Martino said. “I tested some flavors with my family and I got very good feedback. We initially opened up with four distinct flavors at launch online. I was very inspired and it was time well spent.”
In November 2018, A Natural Journee was born — named after her son — and Martino started with an Instagram account. At first, she had a small group following. Slowly she gained more recognition.
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“We were thinking that we would have one or two people following us on Instagram, but after a short period of time, we were seriously blowing up,” Martino said. “We received great reviews and that motivated me to go even further. I started to expand my product line and I was very excited to keep going.
“I had no prior business experience and I was not so sure about how everything would turn out, but I just went for it and I was all in,” Martino said. “Once we opened, we started with just high school and family friends, but the more we grew, the more notoriety we gained. Looking back, we never would have predicted how much people would support us and follow the business itself. It’s very refreshing and inspiring.”
Aside from making the product, Martino also comes up with things like the labels, logos and names for all of her products.
“I pretty much do everything, as far as the creation of the product,” Martino said. “I make the soaps, lotions and lip balms, among other things. It is my passion. There is a quote that I live by — ‘When someone buys a piece of art or creation from you, they buy a piece of you.’
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“I feel like people can truly experience a part of who I am,” Martino said. “My energy is going directly into that and it’s helping heal people, as well as inspire confidence. I like to think my intent is to be selfless by getting people to feel more beautiful and love themselves as a whole.”
A Natural Journee opened close to the winter holiday season in 2018 and by that time, there was already a buzz around it.
“Whether people just wanted to support us or they just loved the product, we got a lot of orders from customers wanting to try out our stuff,” Martino said. “We are so grateful to everyone who helped make this business what it is today and we want to continue to serve our loyal customers.”
Martino promotes her products’ organic and natural origins. She also sells products such as soap sprays and body oils.
“As I was coming up with the ideas for my product, I thought of my son and other people out there of all ages that have certain skin types,” Martino said. “I studied a lot about using the best ingredients for my skin products and I always remember that our family was big on natural remedies when it came to that stuff growing up. That was a big inspiration for me and that goes for all of my products that include cleansers, facial sprays, soaps, scrubs, body butters, lotions, toners and moisturizers, among others.”
Although Martino is doing well with her online skincare business, she does plan to someday open up a brick and mortar location.
“Although I am confident that we will continue to grow, I want to have an actual store where we can give customers a more hands-on experience,” Martino said. “We would like to bring that same positive, loving energy from our online presence and transfer it to a physical space. It is all about spreading the love.”
Owner: Tiffany Martino
Founded: 2018
Website: www.anaturaljournee.com
Phone: 908-675-0521
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