Spacebath aims to help its customers relax (All photos: Spacebath)
Hospitality and travel have been part and parcel of Suki Lim Fonxin’s profession in hotel management — she worked at renowned hotels and resorts including JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Pangkor Laut Resort, Tanjong Jara Resort and DoubleTree by Hilton — and software engineering. “While in hotel management, I was serving guests and got to see their experience with facilities and learn feedback in detail. When I joined (global management consulting firm) McKinsey, there were opportunities for me to travel around Southeast Asia for various projects and be the guest.”
As someone familiar with both sides of the spectrum, she noticed the least talked about facility in hotel premises is the bathroom, unlike the spas, beds or swimming pools. “Their amenities would have some sort of menu, like different kinds of pillows, bedding and towels customers can request for. But bathrooms don’t have that much impact in a hotel.”
So Suki set up a bath bomb business to add significant value to the space and transform user experience in hotels as well as homes. Established in January this year, Spacebath aims to help its customers relax. They include travellers, fitness fanatics and those who live a mindful and healthy lifestyle.
Like many others who found more time to spend at home during the lockdowns, Suki filled the hours by picking up new skills. “There wasn’t much to do. So I took the opportunity to learn a few things and that’s when I started making bath bombs.”
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She followed methods and recipes from various sources such as YouTube and books, and tried to replicate skincare products. Was it easy to do from the get-go? “It was quite difficult because a bath bomb is delicate before it hardens. It’s a very sensitive item and can get smashed. Making them is tedious,” she admits.
Suki sources plant-based ingredients and botanic oils from local suppliers. She uses common ingredients such as tea leaves, coconut oil, citric acid, baking soda and sodium bicarbonate as the base before adding fruit and flower extracts such as rose, lavender, jasmine, peppermint and orange.
Currently, Spacebath offers bath bombs with six scents. Aligned with its mission to offer relaxation, each fragrance is named after places around the world known for their beaches — Bali, Jeju, Hawaii, Miami, the Seychelles and Kyushu. It also allows customers to customise the ingredients in their purchases.
One of the most important aspects of making bath bombs is getting the aroma right, Suki notes. “First, I choose the fragrance that will suit our target audience. Then I experiment by mixing one ingredient with another to make sure the bomb smells good. Sometimes, the essential oil and the scent of tea leaves don’t match. So I have to discard them and change to other combinations.
“It takes time to get the perfect scent. It’s mostly trial and error. When I imagine two different scents combined, I think they will work. However, when you actually make them, they don’t smell good at all.”
Spacebath’s bath bombs expire after six months. Suki opts for airtight plastic mould packaging that blocks moisture from getting in. This ensures the scent is maintained for a longer period. “If the smell of the bath bombs is not strong, then you know it’s not fresh anymore.”
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Besides selling the products through a website that she built on her own, Suki joined a weekend bazaar at Kedai KL when she started. She discovered that customers were not really keen to purchase the bath bombs because they do not have a bathtub at home. “Only those who have one or are going on a trip will buy it. But they won’t purchase it early on. They will wait until the date is near. For that reason, I don’t participate in bazaars anymore.”
The 29-year-old has since been focusing on supplying products to lifestyle brands and hotels. In the past, she worked with Ark Workshop & Lifestyle, a homegrown retail store that offers a selection of lifestyle products and gift sets.
“My vision is to partner at least one hotel in different countries in Asia by the end of next year. I’m trying to approach hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Sasa (a beauty product retailing group in Asia) has reached out to me, so I might join forces and work with them.”
Persistence and consistency are important to keep the business going, Suki says. “I started off knowing nothing about e-commerce. I had to figure out how to make bath bombs, how to take pictures and set up a website, and the right packaging for the products. For example, after taking 10 bad photos, I will get one nice shot. You need to keep doing it until you’re happy with the work.”
The name Spacebath exudes a sense of individuality and serenity. Suki wants her brand to remind people of the importance of having your own space and making time for yourself. “If you live with a partner, it will be quite difficult because you have to share every corner of your home with them. So the bathtub will be a space for yourself.”
This article first appeared on Nov 21, 2022 in The Edge Malaysia.
