AKIPRESS.COM – EBRD and We-Fi are helping Lhamour LLC prepare for global expansion, according to the EBRD statement.

Founded in 2014, Lhamour is a natural skincare brand with ecological references – the first of its kind in Mongolia. The company recently benefited from EBRD support and funding from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) to improve its human resource management processes, allowing founder and CEO Khulan Davaadorj to step back compared to the management of daily activities and to focus more on strategic objectives.

Lhamour started out as a home-based business, and Khulan found herself responsible for marketing, design and branding, social media, and even accounting. After seven years of managing it all, she felt the time was right to shift her focus to other areas and contacted the EBRD’s Women in Business program for help.

The EBRD put the company in touch with consultants, who conducted an HR audit leading to the establishment of a KPI and a bonus system within the company. These goals and incentives have improved productivity, better defined roles and access to leadership positions. For Khulan, it was essential that the corporate culture she had spent years fostering remained and thrived with change.

Inception: turning a passion project into a viable business

A self-confessed nomad and entrepreneur, after returning to Mongolia in 2012 after many years abroad, the seeds for Khulan’s business idea were sown when she began to suffer from rashes. Her GP suspected the cause was a combination of local air pollution, water quality and extreme weather, so Khulan searched for gentle, natural skincare products that would help relieve the itching without causing it. additional inflammation.

However, she found nothing. The products on the market were either imported – and not truly natural – or of poor quality. She was inspired to learn more about our skin and the effects chemical-based products can have on it and enrolled in Formula Botanica – the world’s leading online organic cosmetic science school – and became certified formulator of skin care products.

Khulan was soon making products at home using Mongolian ingredients. The business grew from there, launching as Lhamour, in 2014. The name is a combination of “Lhamo”, his niece, and “amour”, the French word for love, and now counts 34 employees producing more than 40 handmade skin care products and accessories. using many locally sourced ingredients, such as yak milk. Today, Lhamour officially sells its products in 10 countries.

Lhamour is truly setting the tone for eco-friendly businesses in Mongolia, providing natural skincare products through a zero-waste production method and using unique local ingredients for the health-conscious and socially-conscious consumer. .

The company suffered a setback in 2015 when its factory basement flooded and everything was destroyed. Khulan reached out to her Facebook followers for help and was moved when 10 young volunteers she had previously mentored showed up to help remove the water – which was up to her knees – and dry out everything. they could.

Because Lhamour had loyal customers and employees who shared Khulan’s vision, it prevailed, despite the challenges of resuming production. Fast forward to today and the company plans to expand, with a focus on establishing new business links and opportunities in the EU, US and Japan in the very near future.

With a strong brand identity, excellent corporate culture and commitment to sustainable business practices, Lhamour’s continued growth seems almost assured.