Tata Harper | Founder of Tata Harper Skincare - a podcast by Gemma Watts

from 2021-06-15T19:00

:: ::

In episode sixty eight of the Glow Journal podcast, host Gemma Watts talks to the founder of Tata Harper Skincare, Tata Harper.

Born in Columbia, Tata Harper grew up surrounded by beauty. Her grandmother would host a weekly spa party at home, with Tata helping her mix together facial treatments, hair masks and body scrubs for her family and guests. This would take place every weekend, for a full morning, and it’s a tradition that has helped shaped Tata’s own beauty philosophy. A philosophy she maintains to this day

Despite that early interest in beauty and, later, in fashion, Tata studied engineering and worked as an industrial engineer before moving to the US in the year 2000. In 2005, Tata’s stepfather was diagnosed with cancer- a diagnosis that prompted Tata to begin looking at her own health and, in turn, her lifestyle.

Tata grew conscious of what she was putting on her skin each day and began looking for a natural alternative to the luxury brands to which she’d grown accustomed. Given that this was some 15 years ago, no such high-end alternative existed- so Tata set out to create one.

The Tata Harper brand launched in 2010, and has been cited by many guests on this very podcast as being the first brand of its kind- the first truly luxury natural beauty brand. A pioneer, and intent on remaining one, Tata Harper is one of few brands that formulate, quality control and pack all of their products in-house (in Tata’s case, that’s on her farm in Vermont), at a time when in-house formulation and manufacturing are far from the norm.

In this conversation, Tata shares why it’s important to tread carefully when it comes to seeking investment, the challenges across time, money and effort that sustainable manufacturing can present, and what physically qualifies a product as high end.