In 2020, during the covid-19 lockdown, Bianca Brown ’27 started making skin care products with her mom from her house, experimenting with ingredients in  hopes of creating a product that helped her eczema. Four years later, Brown is the CEO of her all-natural skin care business, SimplyB, and has received over 1,000 orders for her homemade body butters, body scrubs and lip glosses.

“My mom was like, ‘Well, you could definitely start a business doing this,’” Brown said. “So I started selling small things to my local community, and then I got a few orders for the first time locally. I eventually created a website and then they took off from there.”

Shortly after launching her business, Brown went viral on TikTok and received a mass influx of orders. At first, Brown described the situation as “stressful,” because all of her products were made-to-order. Brown, who was doing hybrid in-person and at-home learning because of covid-19, balanced making products from home and going to school.

When Brown was featured on Philadelphia’s 6abc news the following year, she was better prepared for increases in orders.

“I was more prepared because after the whole TikTok thing, I knew how to make my products in bulk,” Brown said. “That was a lesson that was definitely to be learned, and that was really cool because that helped me get a lot of the return clientele I have today.”

SimplyB products come in a variety of scents and themes. Some, like her Birthday Cake Foaming Body Scrub, are dessert-inspired. Others, like Lily Blossom Body Butter, one of Brown’s personal favorite products, are inspired by florals.

Brown said it’s important for her body butters and scrubs to be all-natural, unlike the skin care products she used before founding SimplyB, which had harmful chemicals. Ingredients in her body butters, which she sources from third-party distributors, consist of products like shea butter, cocoa butter, almond oil and hemp seed oil. Her recipes have changed throughout the years and have been refined over time.

“Some of it is a little bit of trial and error,” Brown said. “But I did a lot of research as to what the ratio should be, and some of the melting points of some of the products.”

Brown’s commitment to natural ingredients is one facet of her dedication to SimplyB as a whole, which influenced her decision to attend St. Joe’s. The university’s proximity to her home in Delaware County allowed Brown to return home to work if necessary.

“I just felt like I spent so much time and energy into my business,” Brown said. “I didn’t want to give it up once I went to college.”

Similarly, Brown said SimplyB influenced her decision to double major in business intelligence and analytics (BIA) and marketing. Her ultimate career goal is to be a full-time entrepreneur. In the meantime, Brown said running her business has taught her about “saving and spending, risk and profit.” She also learned practical life skills, like balancing commitments, as her CEO role includes running social media accounts and answering emails in addition to physically making products.

“Time management was a huge thing to learn,” Brown said. “Because I was very involved in school, some sacrifices had to be made. Like, ‘Hey guys, I can’t go to the mall today because I have to make my products for my business.’ It kind of was hard for some of my friends to understand because running a business, they didn’t really quite understand that. But I learned a lot doing it as a teenager.”

Brown said during her first semester, she frequently went home on weekends to restock products. This year, Brown changed strategies and made large batches of products over the summer so she doesn’t have to go home as frequently.

Although her workspace is stationed at home, Brown has found business opportunities on campus. Last year, she collaborated with SJU Naturals, an affinity group for the Center of Inclusion and Diversity focused on promoting wellness and healthy self-image, at an on-campus vending event.

Brown said at first, she was nervous about openly talking about her business as she didn’t know how her peers would react, but has realized that confidence is key to success.

“If I didn’t talk about my business, SJU Naturals wouldn’t have known to ask me to do a vending event,” Brown said. “People say how important networking is in business, but it really, truly is.”

Events like the SJU Naturals collaboration enabled people on campus like Sydney Jackson ’27, a friend of Brown’s, to try out SimplyB’s products.

“I sat by a table and bought the honey turmeric soap,” Jackson said. “I also bought a peach body butter. And I just enjoyed using those products so I’ve bought again from her. They’re all-natural and they just honestly made my skin feel soft and moisturized, which is very important, because I have dry skin.”

Steissy Vasquez ’27, another friend of Brown’s who’s a repeat buyer of her color-changing lip gloss, described Brown as “influential.”

“It’s so cool how she uplifts her business,” Vasquez said. “And she does it all by herself, with just a small help [from] her mom. She does a really good job marketing and promoting it, and her products are really good as well. I really like that, and it’s just so inspiring to see her on this path.”