Though they have not yet entered their teenage years, sisters Lily and Melanie Sandler (ages 12 and 10) have started their own ecofriendly lip balm company: Blamtastic. With the encouragement and support from their mother, Renee Sandler, the girls became entrepreneurs, selling their products across the nation. The lip "Blam," which comes in several sweet flavors for girls and boys, is made in the USA and does not contain any parabens or petroleum. Blamtastic does not use animal testing.
How did you go about creating the lip Blam?
Lily: Well, once we decided to "improve" on the formulas of the lip balms we were currently seeing on the market, we just started cooking up the ingredients in our kitchen. We knew we would have no parabens or petroleum in our formula, so we melted and mixed a million different ingredients until we got the texture we wanted for our Blam.
Renee: Once we nailed down the formula we sought out a manufacturer. We quickly realized that many of our competitors manufacture their products overseas with little or no oversight. We committed right then and there that we would always manufacture in the USA.
What kind of message are you hoping to send to the fans of your product?
Lily: If you see a product that needs improving, get to work and change it. There is no reason to wait for someone else. You can do it yourself. Also, don't let anyone tell you that you can't because you're young.
Renee: And our part as parents is to support the effort. If your children are showing an entrepreneurial spirit (or working as advocates for change) don't brush them aside. You might be surprised at what they can accomplish if you support them.
Blamtastic is sold in stores across the country. How do you plan to grow or expand in the future?
Renee: Well this is the biggest challenge of most small companies. How do we grow? It's all about making the right connections with groups that can help you move forward toward your goals.
Lily: We've registered our trademark in many of the countries where we plan to expand. For now, we export to South Korea and Canada.
How has Blamtastic affected your lives?
Renee: Wow. When I think about it it's truly been a life changing event for all of us. I went from being a stay-at-home mother to being the CEO of an award-winning consumer goods company. That's a pretty big change. As for the girls, we have to be very careful that this company doesn't swallow them up. Prioritizing is extremely important when it comes to the girls' involvement. After all, they are still kids and we want to be we don't lose sight of that, business or no business.
Lily: My mom tries to keep us focused on school and other activities rather than just Blamtastic all of the time. My sister is really involved in music and softball. She's pretty shy and doesn't like doing interviews. I am in my play at school which takes up a lot of time. Plus, homework gets pretty intense in middle school.
When you first came up with the idea to start a lip balm company, did you know you wanted to make it ecofriendly?
Lily: Yes. After my mom said she would support us if we started a business, we noticed that the lip balms in our drawer have some ingredients in them which may not be so healthy for people. That became the focus of the company in the beginning: make it better for people.
You support over five local and nationwide causes and charities, setting a great example for kids everywhere. How did you get involved with these charities? Will you be adding an environmental cause soon?
Renee: This is our favorite part of the business. Doing well at Blamtastic means we can support charities we find important. The girls have chosen the charities important to, or affecting, kids.
Lily: Yeah it's the best part. Animals are very important to me and I love that we can help them. Also, kids who have cancer really need support too. We will continue to add as many charities as we can, including those for the environment. One I've been reading about lately is the destruction of the rainforest so I'm sure we'll add something like that.
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