Nature's Syrup taking the beauty industry by storm; gets brick-and-mortar store
One Minnesota woman is taking the lessons her family taught her and using them to take the beauty industry by storm.
DeVonna Pittman is the creator of Nature's Syrup hair and skin care.
It started in her kitchen and has blossomed into a business that has her products in major department stores and now her own brick-and-mortar in the Minneapolis Skyway.
"Nature's syrup chose me; I did not choose Nature's Syrup," said Pittman.
Pittman worked in corporate America for decades and searched deep inside to find a path that honored her past and blazed a trail for her future.
"I was someone who did not embrace the hair that grew out of my scalp. One day I woke up and decided to cut the chemical relaxer out of my hair," said Pittman. "But I had no idea that everything I was using was not going to work on my kinky curly hair, so that led me down this path of formulating in my kitchen. Four years [of] formulating before acknowledging that this was a real thing."
Pittman relied on the wisdom passed down from her grandmother to help come up with Nature's Syrup hair and skin care.
"My grandmother was a baker; she baked in her kitchen, she had a candy store and I was always hanging around her kitchen."
Pittman uses essential oils and herbs, everything that comes from the earth, in her products.
"People want something they can trust. Our shea butter comes from a small village in Ghana, so we purchase pure, authentic, unadulterated shea butter that comes from a shea nut; it's not made with fillers or fake fragrances."
Her secret: small batches.
"We make things right here in the back. My hands touch everything that goes out the door."
Pittman also treats every customer like they are family.
"We do not provide one-size-fits-all when consulting here at Nature's Syrup. [When] people come in, we give you one-on-one time, we talk to you [and] we look at your hair."
For this entrepreneur, the sky is the limit.
Pittman is grateful for all the support and has advice for anyone thinking about chasing a dream.
"My mind is blown that I started at my kitchen table. We are now in Macy's, Walmart, Amazon, Hy-Vee and every time I think about it, there is this crazy awakening and reminder that if you keep at something, it is going to materialize. It will become something, it will become something amazing."
Pittman says she's all about sustainability. When customers are done with their bottles, they can return and the bottles will recycled. She is also working on a refill station so people can drop by the store and refill their products, keeping waste out of landfills.
