Earthbound: Environmentally Friendly Spa Products

In 2016, Saranchana Atipanya went to study in Chengdu, as the company also expanded into China, which is now their main market.

“We found that customers in China are different from those in other countries, so we had to adjust our products to make them suit our customers,” says Saranchana.

Although the brand first produced packaging, the company developed a soap product when Saranchana was studying in China, where she discovered that soap products were very popular with Chinese consumers. So Earthbound created a natural based soap that came in boxes created from various kinds of agricultural wastes, such as vetiver grass and fan palms.

“We use all natural ingredients to produce our soap,” she says. “Our products do not contain any chemicals nor are they tested on animals. In terms of design, our vetiver grass packaging, besides from its authentic look, is also reusable, in accordance with the circular economy concept.”

Part of the Earthbound’s goal is to support local business while developing new products. 

“I have joined with local businesses to use palm leaves from Prachinburi to make boxes,” she says. “We would like to create jobs and generate income for local people.”

Saranchana also praises the support Earthbound has received from the DITP. For instance when the company joined a “Thai Groove” Event hosted by DITP, they gained more customers from Singapore and the Philippines, two markets that interest Earthbound.

“Currently, our main customer is China,” Saranchana says. “We also export to Myanmar and Singapore. When we first opened in the China market, we could see that customers there weren’t yet interested in the concept of eco-friendly or natural products, so we have educated them that products without chemicals can be beneficial. We also had to create new designs for packaging to fit with the Chinese market.

“One of the things I have learned from Chinese consumers is that when they buy a product, it’s not just what’s inside, but also the packaging they care about. If it has the right design, they can use it as a gift or for decoration.” 

Earthbound’s offline sales have suffered a little due to the current Covid-19 situation, but the brand is still thriving and keeps creating new environmentally- friendly products.