The £20 million baby skincare brand, founded by a rapper and backed by Premier League footballers
By means of Jes SharpMoney reporter
It’s an unlikely collaboration – a baby skincare line founded by a rapper and backed by Premier League footballers – but you can’t argue with a multi-million pound valuation.
Krept, one half of hip-hop duo Krept & Konan, winner of four MOBO awards and host of his own TV show, is on a mission to make Nala’s Baby as household a name as he is.
The company, whose name was inspired by his daughter, was founded just four years ago and today values itself at around £20 million. It landed in 400s Boots stores in 2022 and has since launched in Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug and Ocado, to name a few.
It was a journey, Krept, real name Casyo Johnson, tells the Money blog.
“It sounds crazy when I say it like that,” he laughs. “When I look back, I remember we were in a car, Konan was homeless, we had no money and we were arguing.
“Literally, having to fight over the last piece of chicken because we couldn’t afford it anymore… I’ll never forget that. Fast forward and I’m here selling baby products in almost every retailer in the country.”
Nala’s Baby started as a project for Krept, 34, and his co-founder and ex-girlfriend Sasha Ellese while she was pregnant with their daughter. The pair still own 75% between them, while the remaining 25% has gone to investors including footballers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
During her pregnancy, Sasha was “really concerned” about the fact that she was oiling her skin. Krept says, “We received a lot of gifts from baby showers… but none of the products were completely clean.”
They used an ingredient rating app called Think Dirty, which ranks each product from 0, the cleanest, to 10, the dirtiest, but there was no “zero-certified clean natural product,” Krept says.
“We saw that as an opportunity to say, why don’t we create our own? There was clearly a gap for this.”
After two years of perfecting the products, Nala’s Baby was born. It became one of the first British baby skincare lines to receive a zero rating on Think Dirty.
All items are 99% natural, ethically sourced, vegan and made in the UK.
‘Our strategy was simply to put our trust in people’
Products start at around £5.55, with Krept keen to keep them affordable by reducing profit margins.
Unlike brands that “want the best margins and focus on profitability,” he says, Nala’s Baby has chosen to “push our margins because we really feel like this is a product for the people.”
“We thought if we make the most natural product and the price is lower than many of our competitors, we won’t give people a reason not to buy it,” he says.
“That was our strategy…just put our trust in the people and trust that they will see what we are doing.”
He has plans to expand and says toys, clothing and food still need to be explored: “We just want to be a brand that parents can trust, in whatever way they can.”
Lessons learned from a failed business
Krept’s journey was not always smooth sailing, and not all of his business ventures were lucrative.
In 2018, he and Konan opened a restaurant in Croydon, south London, called Crepes & Cones, with celebrity clients including TV presenter Maja Jama, rapper Stefflon Don, musician Dave and Top Boy star Noel Clarke.
Days before it launched, their business partner died and they were left without a mentor. It was then forced to close its doors in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and never recovered.
“It’s a very difficult business, but what I learned from it is that your team and who you hire is so important,” says Krept.
“I was in the restaurant where everyone was being served. People thought we were doing it for PR purposes, but we weren’t, we had to be there.
“I did payroll, bookkeeping and staffing there, and that really took its toll on the company because I’m not a professional in that field.
“No matter how much you can come up with a great idea, you always need great people to help you execute it.”
His fame hasn’t always been a business asset either.
“Obviously I’m a musician first and people know me as a rapper, so when I say I have skincare products for babies, they ask me what I know about them,” he says.
“The benefit is that I can let the world know what I do and market it so people can see how sincere and sincere I am about it.”
He can’t remember exactly how many companies he’s been involved with now, but estimates it’s about 10, including an events management company and a marketing agency.
“If you take advantage of your time, you’ll be surprised at what you can do in a day,” he says.
Balancing between business and music
Krept has put the lessons he learned in business into practice in his music career, which hasn’t slowed down. The duo will release a new album next year, Young Kingz II, which he produced.
“This last work of art that you put into the world is the same as doing business, you need the right team, the right people to run it. You need the right staff, it goes hand in hand and I learned all that from doing my restaurant,” he says.
When asked what fans can expect from the new album, he says “deep songs” are a key feature.
“I wrote a letter to my daughter as something she can play when I’m gone, but we’ll have the atmosphere,” he laughs.
“This is my passion, I love making music and the creative process, so it will always be something that starts from love.”
‘It just fits my moral compass to give something back’
Giving back to the community is another of Krept’s missions.
“Having had a tough upbringing and not having many opportunities in certain areas, I’ve always had support from the community, so the least I can do is give back to those same people,” he says.
He runs an organization called the PD Foundation, which aims to get children off the streets by giving them opportunities in the creative industries, and he recently teamed up with Samsung as an ambassador for their Solve the Tomorrow competition.
The initiative aims to give young people aged 16 to 25 in the UK the skills and confidence to create future tech solutions.
New research from the technology company shows that 39% of 13 to 19 year olds believe there are insufficient resources for young people to create change in society through technology.
“It just fits into my moral compass to always give back and there are so many people you can help,” Krept says.
“These young people are going to be the future of the world, and if I can have any input or input into that, I’m happy to do so.”
Registrations for Solve For Tomorrow are open here until January 12, 2025.