Perky Pear‘s CEO & Founder Samantha Ryder
If you are a woman who shops online on the unavoidable popular webshops such as Pretty Little Thing and Boohoo, then you have probably heard of Perky Pear, the lit & shape tape the first cotton based breast lift tape that is 100% sweat and motion proof and is extra stretchy to withstand heavy breasts.
But did you know Perky Pear was founded by Samantha Ryder all by her self? Andd.. In just a few months Perky Pear has become so big and popular that her products have become the best seller products in the accessory department on Boohoo.com & prettylittlething.com! Samantha Ryder’s successful Start-Up has led her to win the NatWest EVA (Enteprise Vision Awards) Highly Commended Businesswoman of the year, alongside many other awards like winning the Digital Business award of the year.
It all started when Samantha Ryder was tired of the boob tapes on the market that were just not working for her. ‘’They are all designed by men and are plastic and the wrong shape to offer a nice natural rounded effect.’’ She tells us, so she decided to go for her own designed tape and it worked out pretty well because she launched her own tape that is trademarked, patented and owned by herself.
Samantha set out to create the perfect breast lift tape that not only lifted up to a G cup but also helped to shape the breasts to create a pushed in, rounded effect providing a comfortable and lasting hold! Perky Pear is the first premium cotton based breast lift tape to give the effect of a surgical breast lift! The products have been designed and created by Samantha – Perky Pear’s founder, an E cup who like many women around the world, had tried every breast lift tape and adhesive bra on the market but found that no product worked as well as it claimed.
"I realised that if nothing on the market was working for me, other women must also be in this frustrating position and something had to change"
Samantha Ryder, CEO & Founder
Perky Pear? What was going through your mind on that day?
I Had tried every single product on the market and google searched for every possible breast lift product for a particular dress I wanted to wear. I must have spent over £100 and nothing worked for me. It was all plastic-based tapes or silicone cups that didn’t mould to you or stretch so it just couldn’t hold the weight of heavy breasts. I found a particular material and created prototypes that I just made for myself to wear. It was a couple months in when I thought “I should share this with women all over the world” The confidence it gave me and the ability to wear things I would never have dared to wear before really needed to be shared and that was my drive. I wanted to give women globally the confidence to wear whatever they wanted!
What makes Perky Pear tapes different from all the other breast tapes?
Perky Pear lift & shape tape is the first cotton based stretchy breast lift tape on the market. The cotton fibers allow sweat and air to circulate underneath unlike plastic based tapes which means the tape doesn’t sweat off! The adhesive is also heat activated so the hotter your body temperature gets the stickier the tape gets so it works with your body in order to stay put! The design is also what gives the ultimate support and shape as it is designed to cup the breast and support from the top and the bottom. The side coverage gives you a nice rounded shape and the slanted side makes it super discreet in wide set deep plunge styles!
How do you test your products?
The tape was tested for a whole year before bringing it to market! The tape design was redesigned 8 times as each design was tested in a real life situation such as a night out dancing or at a gig so I could see which design worked the best to hold and last! I tested the products myself along with different size testers to test all of the sizes as we do cup sizes A-G!
You are selling a few different kinds of breast tapes. Which ones are they and which one is your favorite and why?
There are three styles in our lift & shape range. The Original lift & shape tape was the first and what we are known best for. It’s our iconic design! This style comes in sizes A-B, C-D, DD-E & F-G. This style holds heavy breasts due to the amount of material supporting you from the top of the breastbone, the sides and the bottom giving you an extreme lift! This style is my favorite! We also have the Bandeau tape which supports more from the sides instead of the top of the breastbone making this style perfect for strapless, bandeau and thin strap styles. This style is for A-DD cups as there is less material. The other style is the Mini Lifts. Small but mighty! They go more in the center of the breast perfect for extra revealing styles for A-C cups!
Tell us about your first entrepreneurial experience as a kid?
My mum installed a work ethic in me from a young age as she was a badass single mum bringing up twins and was always financially independent. I was entrepreneurial from a young age and my first experience has to be when I was 11 and I had coloured in earbuds (the things you clean your ears with) all different colours and took them to my mums work and sold them for 20p each. I guess I was always a fan of a high-profit margain! I also got told off in primary school for drawing on classmates arms with gel pens and charging them £1. I was always creative and I wanted to profit from it!
You built your own brand are you free from the 9-5 life? How do you spend your days now?
I am definitely free from the 9-5 but only in the sense that owning a business is a 24-hour thing! I rarely give myself a day off as I’ve built a life I don’t necessarily want a break from which in my eyes is complete freedom! I rarely stop working at a set time. Whether it’s replying to customers on social media or creating social media posts I could be doing this at 12 at night! Every day is different which makes it so enjoyable!
Would you say you have to have specific potential needs in order to start an online business? If so, what are the specific potential needs?
In terms of needs, I think anyone who wants to start an online business needs to know the basics of online marketing and content creation. The more you know the more you can save money from getting other people to do it for you and the more your business will be visible in a sea of other online businesses! Whether it’s a website, social media pages, blogs, SEO, learn it and get passionate about it because all those things help grow an online business! I have written a book called Boss Babe 101 and it gives simple tips on how to create a professional looking brand and market it online as my business wouldn’t be what it is without online marketing!
You’re selling Perky Pear also via Boohoo.com, Pretty Little thing and In The Style. How did you approach your first big stockist? How did you make sure anyone could find Perky Pear?
When I launched the business, it was only a week before we were sat in the Pretty Little thing offices. Even though the walls were covered in flowers and pink unicorns with pink fluffy pillows it didn’t help my nerves! The truth is I had planned to sell our tape via the Perky Pear website and wait a couple of months before even trying to approach stockists but we never had to approach anyone. As our tape is one of a kind they all approached us and in the words of Tina Faye we took her advice to “say yes and figure it out later” I say “we” because my twin sister joined me on the Perky Journey straight away and she is the key reason we have such a great working relationship with our stockists.
What is unique about your work with customers?
Our ethos is women supporting women. Not just boobs but we like to be as personal as we can with our customers and we work hard to ensure that they know we will always offer a personal shopping experience no matter how big we get. Whether it’s a customer sending us images of her dress so she knows what style tape is best for the dress, to us sending a sample for a bride to test our tape out in her wedding dress at a fitting. CLEAVAGE ON FLEEK
We want to be like the big sister they come to with all their boob queries, not just a faceless brand! We’ve also always had a strict rule to not sell using the usual clichés. Instead, we like to show our customer results and let their reviews do the talking.
What are your goals currently? As in vision and mission?
Our current goal is to just keep going! We hit the ground running and we haven’t turned back since! We want to continue improving our brand image and growing our exclusive stockist list globally to ensure that women all around the world can get their hands on their dream cleavage faster. Our mission is to continue supporting women in the cleavage area along with working with breast cancer charities to do our part in ensuring that boobs not only look good but remain healthy too! We’re ending 2018 on an absolute high!
![From Music to Perfume: How did your background as a music teacher influence your transition into perfumery, and how do you incorporate your musical sensibilities into creating fragrances? I’ve always thought in terms of metaphors, and music has many that can be related to perfumery! Beyond just thinking in terms of top, middle and base notes [soprano/alto/tenor in choir], I approach each fragrant idea as a composition. When documenting my ideas, song structures often come to mind. As the scent brief is visited, I meditate on what the fragrance should convey - do I want to create an accord or a “chord” of fragrance note combinations? Do I want an a capella soloist (a particular ingredient to stand out more than others?) Many of my thoughts regarding song composition transfers to my scent formulation process, with me treating each note as an intentional soliloquy at some point.
Brand Origin: What inspired you to start Pink MahogHany in 2005, and how has your vision for the brand evolved since its inception?
An avid lover of all things pleasantly scented (with slight modesty), looking back in retrospect, it’s no huge surprise that I’ve created an indie perfume house with just an idea to provide unique options for those who may be sensitive to unnecessary pungency. Initially, I just wanted to evaluate various blends to note their aroma profiles when “played” together…it wasn’t until I had friends and family asking if I knew of brands that catered to those who may be on the more olfactory sensitive side, that I really began to take my research more seriously. In the almost 20 years that Pink MahogHany has been in existence, our micro visions for the brand have evolved to larger territory. Where Pink MahogHany used to only be a personal brand, we are now also a bespoke formulation service provider to other indie brands seeking unique fragrance offerings for their products. These products range from (but are not limited to) perfumes, candles, body butters and lip balms. Ingredient Transparency: You emphasize transparency and the use of desirable ingredients in your products. How do you select your ingredients, and what challenges have you faced in maintaining this standard?
Being an indie brand often comes with a set of assumptions and misconceptions - one of them being more negative than positive as it relates to ingredients used. There is a lot of “fluff” in the industry with labeling falsification. Because fragrance formulas are a trade secret, not every molecular breakdown of a material has to be noted on the ingredient label (it would be incredibly long), but we at Pink MahogHany™️ adhere strongly to the IFRA [International Fragrance Regulatory Association] regulations that state for common and potential allergens to be listed on our ingredient label. We’ve taken this a step further to also include these ingredients listed on our website to promote further transparency, all while protecting our intellectual property. Unfortunately, we’ve had companies to unethically sell lesser expensive “dupes” of our artisan perfumes, so as a way to create a better authenticity stamp, we make it our duty to be honest about our claims. If our perfume says “Rose Bulgaria”, it is in fact just that and not a component of rose being passed off as the source material. Collaborations and Custom Scents: Can you share more about your work with private label clients? What excites you most about creating custom scent solutions for other indie brands? I could easily sum this up in one word and say “Funding.” True, there is money out there, but I’m always thinking outside the box. Having a program that has an “Each One Fund One” mentality doesn’t exist (that I’ve been made aware of). Bootstrapping can be quite the challenge, even when you’ve reached the 6-figure mark annually. Competition to be seen and set apart is extremely high, so having quality packaging and branding is a must. There are lots of factors to consider, though when desiring to make upgrades. If there were a unique, tier-geared funding operation available, it would help perfume brands offset packaging and bulk material costs in the beginning stages.
Industry Challenges: What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an independent fragrance house, and how have you overcome them to grow your brand? As the brand continues on the path of organic growth, I would like to expand our reach into schools, offering perfumery as an arts elective for middle and high school. I’d love to partner with botanists, farmers and horticulturists directly to grow and source raw materials for the students to work with in the creation of tinctures. My passion is getting back to nature as best as possible, as nature was my first “scent experience” as a child. We would also love to witness our fragrance creations being used to scent model homes, our focus diffuser blends being used in automobile dealerships as well as partner with Air Bnb and boutique hotels that specialize in highlighting minority, indie brands. Personal Journey: How has your personal experience, particularly as a divorced mother and someone who has experienced the loss of a child, shaped your approach to life and your work in perfumery?
Because I homeschool my twin sons, we are together a lot more than most, so one thing we all do is have moments of sharing where a neutral “floor” is laid to converse about anything. Though they are quite communicative by nature, I realize that sometimes I can be in work mode so much that it spills over into what should be our quality time. My sons see the authentic me and learn how to communicate through seeing authenticity. I’ve learned not to feel as if I have to be the epitome of perfection but allow them to see my imperfections vulnerably but with discernment. Having had two traumatic experiences pretty close together has taught me how to truly slow down and enjoy the simplicities of life - igniting a spiritual aspect that I’ve always carried but never fully explored…until Kenji’s sudden passing (2018.) Grief has a way of catapulting us into a quest for more meaningfulness in both life and business. After Kenji’s passing and my processing through the initial stages of grief, I was able to incorporate our spiritual bond into Pink MahogHany by way of essential oil diffuser blends for both focus and sleep and most recently aromatic perfume elixirs. It’s been quite the process channeling the void of his physical presence, but I also have peace knowing he can be honored in a great way through scent. I noticed once I began to be more open and receptive to spiritual signs, synchs and “winks”, more ideas began to flow. It’s been this way since his transition. Emotional Expression: Fragrance is often tied to memories and emotions. How does your personal life influence the fragrances you create, and do you have a particular scent that holds special meaning to you? My creative process is much more alchemic now, and I include Kenji by talking out loud to him, believe it or not. I’m a firm believer that when our loved ones transition from the physical plane, they are still present - just in another form. I choose to keep his memory alive by not pretending he never existed (even if for a brief period of time). I am working (slowly) on a book and accompanying fragrance, but I know it will require me to revisit some memories I’m not quite ready for, so until then, his big brothers will launch their debut fragrance, The Peaceful Tiger (they chose the name.) I’ve learned that even in what we consider “small things”, our transitioned loved ones want to be recognized and acknowledged. When the twins and I designed their fragrance label (with a designer out of the country that didn’t know anything about me personally), we had issues with the graphic - so much so that the designer asked if they could rework the design. When they sent the proof for approval, the Tiger was not only younger but sleeping, with an uncanny, angelic resemblance to baby Kenji! Becoming more aware and being more sensitive to my intention for launching a fragrance has definitely made room for more divine situations like these to occur. Healing Through Scent: In what ways has creating fragrances been a form of healing or expression for you, especially after the loss of your son, Kenji Mwamba? I know my sons may not necessarily want to be perfumers, but they definitely have an entrepreneurial heart. My desire is that whatever they decide to pursue (acting, script-writing, music or architecture), they know that anything is possible with the right amount of determination, grit, belief and immersion. One reason I chose to homeschool is so they could enjoy learning without restraint and have ample time to devote to their own separate passions and it still be fun. They know Pink MahogHany is theirs if they want it (many, many years from now - lol), and we are already discussing business structures for whatever they choose their role to be once I retire. Work-Life Balance: How do you find balance between your professional responsibilities and personal well-being, and what self-care practices do you prioritize? I’m not just a perfumer; I’m also a consumer, and self-care is huge for me. I often take salt baths to reset my energy and clear my mind after being around large groups of people or free a long day. I’m a habitual perfume sampler, and I have so many to choose from to wear as my “nightcap.” Even if just for 10-15 minutes, I cherish each moment I’m able to have some “me-time.” When time and co-parenting schedules permit, I’m definitely on a flight somewhere to indulge in some delicious food and mouth-watering mocktails!](https://www.womenontopp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_3812-1200x720.jpeg)
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