Saloa Aguirre’s company Boiess is bringing her Spanish heritage to the U.S. through Eau de Colognes, hoping to incite memories of happiness among families.
Saloa Aguirre says the memories from her childhood in Spain are defined by the scents that made up her home: hints of ocean breezes, fruits, lavender, fresh and natural elements. That strong tie between memory and fragrance is what inspired Saloa to launch Boiess, a fragrance that is safe for kids. It is a gentle blend of fresh scents that trigger positive familial memories.
After 20 years in the corporate world, in 2020, Saloa decided to take a completely different path and started a new professional adventure. Inspired by the memories and scents of family fragrances back home, Boiess was born in 2021. The name Boiess (pronounced “boys”) is a nod to Saloa’s son’s last name, and its logo features a subtle wink to Spain.
Boiess’ products are designed to match the youngest skin sensitivities. Unlike other fragrances in the marketplace, Saloa took the time and attention to detail in sourcing and working with chemists in Europe to ensure her first product could be 0+ certified.
“We know that skin doesn’t fully develop until 3 years of age. One of our challenges was using alcohol in the fragrances: we needed it to provide stability of the elements and avoid bacteria, and despite using only natural alcohol (from beetroot and sugar cane molasses), we knew it is a drying element on the skin. Our next goal was to develop formulations to counteract it and after months of research and testing, we found the solution by infusing our ‘Les Enfants’ collection with prebiotics and Vitamin B3, counteracting the effects of alcohol and keeping the skin in a healthy balance.”
“The way I see it, if anything is going to touch the skin, let’s make it as clean as possible. We want to ensure moms and dads can trust what their children are using. If it’s safe for babies, it’s safe for all.”
Her second priority: quality and price point. She wants to make Boiess accessible to every family. “All our products are dermatologist and pediatrician tested, free from toxins and hypoallergenic,” she says, and one of her biggest challenges was to bring products to market at an accessible price point without compromising on quality.” Sustainability is also a big part of their focus: they manufacture products in a facility that only produces natural products, with zero waste initiatives and green energy projects. They ensure products are cruelty-free throughout the supply chain.
It is evident that Saloa’s background in the corporate world coupled with a passion for nostalgic scents of home and love of family life has enabled Boiess to start its first year with incredible success. Saloa’s background gave her insight into logistics, trading, shipping, natural resources, trends, and finance which enabled her to shape Boiess to be a quickly scalable company.
250 ml / 8.45 Fl Oz – Lavanda
“I wanted to make sure I put all the capital into the systems. It’s not a company where we have a lot of manual work: products come to the warehouse fully integrated with the e-commerce website, so there is as little human interaction & handling as possible. This will allow me to pinpoint and connect as many marketplaces as quickly as possible, to bring the product where the customers are,” she says. Next, she is looking at teens, tweens, and others with sensitive and changing skin where she sees gaps in the market.
“We have been approached to create deodorant for teens, and by grandma’s that love our products given how gentle and fresh they are. They are tired of strong scents and want to wear light hypoallergenic day fragrances, especially when they are around their grandchildren. ”
Saloa believes there is a big opportunity in the market for quality products in this segment. She understands that not everyone will share her view of fragrances as part of kids & families well-being, but she feels confident in the products Boiess is crafting and in providing safe choices to the consumers. Saloa explains:
“This isn’t just creating a fragrance. The sense of smell is capable of recalling forgotten memories that the other senses (touch, taste, and sound) cannot. Why? Smell is a basic, primitive sensory experience. The olfactory bulb, which is responsible for the sense of smell, is located in the limbic system, just a few millimeters away from two crucial brain areas, the hippocampus, concerned with ‘episodic memory,’ or memories of specific events at a particular moment and place and the amygdala which controls our emotions and how we feel about things. In our brains, smell, recollections, and emotions are all linked inextricably, the same concept as with grandma’s baking, triggering happy memories.
This isn’t going to solve mental health issues, but it is a fact that scents can trigger happiness and positive memories. We want to instigate these connections of nurture and love in early childhood as a form of wellbeing,” Saloa says.
Hispanic Heritage Month provides us an opportunity to learn and share about our Hispanic Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs). WBEC Metro NY and Greater DMV is proud to work with over 100 in the region, and celebrate our Hispanic WBEs all throughout the year.