Sanchita Sharma
Gabriela Fonseca
Jiayi Liu
Xinni Lu
Rutgers Business School
Loubna Erraji
Keep this story going! Share below!
The key idea of Pinch of Colour comes from Linda’s childhood experience in Albania, a developing country with a serious problem of water conservation and water filtration system. Even though Linda has been in America for many years, she has been regularly going back to her mother country to help those people who need it the most. She always thought of helping people not just as means of doing something good, but also to have a purpose in life.
Seeking ways to give back to society, Linda had the vision to start a beauty company that would build awareness about the importance of water and raise money to help nonprofit organizations grow and help people in need all around the world. On January 2016, with her core concept, water conservation, Pinch of Colour was launched.
Pinch of Colour wants to be part of a society that builds awareness and teaches the importance of conserving water. The water crisis in South Africa, where millions of people don’t have water to drink, is building awareness about the issue so that everyone can contribute their little part.
The main innovation for Pinch of Colour is water conservation through beauty products. Each Pinch of Colour product is made without water because Linda has been deeply affected by the devastating consequences of water shortage through her “globe-trotting journeys and personal experiences”. She was shocked by the evidence of water crisis around the world and had herself experienced water deficiency as a child. Hence, she decided that water should be best used as a vital resource that people need to survive, came up with her innovation, and put her ideas into a business. In the process of creating the product, Linda formed this idea and developed all those sustainable formulas in South Korean factories that “use soothing botanicals, nourishing natural oils, and skin-loving fruit butter in place of water”. The waterless technology results in non-toxic, hydrating formulas that enhance skin’s luminosity, self-adjusting pigments that blend seamlessly, and long-wearing, concentrated color, unlike anything that usually in the market now.” The whole mission around this movement is water conservation, and each time through its net proceeds, Pinch of Colour gives back to communities around the world in need of clean drinking water, hygiene, and sanitation. Pinch of Colour aim is to be the leading brand for water conservation in the beauty industry.
“I have looked at my jobs and my path as a way of figuring out what do I lack in my experiences and where do I need to go.” Linda used all of her experiences as a way to invest in learning so that one day she could open her own business. After working with many small to large corporations, she gained experiences that inspired her to start her own business. In 2015, Linda decided to embrace her first entrepreneurial and philanthropic venture. Her mission was to bring awareness to the global water crisis, inspire people through her work, and ultimately create a social change. Linda spoke about how she and her husband would help different people on a personal level. Every time they went back to their home country, Albania, they were touched by the lives and struggles of many. They’ve helped children go to school by buying them school supplies or a bag of clothes, and have bought insulin for people with diabetes. These small but significant gestures have made an impact on their lives and made them feel better. “I knew that I wanted to have my own business, but I didn’t want just to have another beauty company.” Linda then merged two ideas: having a profitable business and taking a portion of that money to help a charity organization. Linda then started a philanthropic organization with the name Pinch of Colour. The mission of Pinch of Colour is water conservation.
Pinch of Colour is the first and only waterless beauty brand on the market. The impact is huge on business and society because no one has used water conservation in beauty products before. Linda’s love for makeup coupled with a passion for philanthropy, inspired the genesis of beauty with a cause: waterless products created to conserve a precious natural resource and donate to those in need. At the same time, she is involved in different charity projects and continually gives back to society by helping different non-profit organizations defend water crisis.
Considering Pinch of Colour is the only beauty company with waterless products out in the market, they have a significant competitive advantage. Many consumers are turning to more environmentally friendly and sustainable products, and this is precisely what Pinch of Colour portrays. They have a head start in the ecologically friendly community attracting a growing customer base. Also, the company’s proceeds go to multiple organizations and customers like helping a cause while fulfilling their daily beauty routine. With sustainability becoming so crucial to any business, they have seen a new approach to doing business that thinks about impact everywhere across the supply chain from raw material cultivation to product disposal once consumers are done with it. Being sustainable meets customer demand but also makes a company have reasonable moral foundations. Pinch of Colour leads the beauty industry by taking the first step in water conservation!
Albania has major sanitation problems, and Linda connects well to this issue. She realized how the water crisis profoundly affects millions of people, and how the declining water quality is an acute problem around the world due to agricultural runoff, industrial wastewater, improper disposal of human waste, and other issues. Climate change is also affecting the hydrologic cycle, leading to more frequent extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods. Being so deeply affected by the consequences of water shortage and sanitation and having 18 years of experience in beauty products’ formulation, Linda realized she wanted to do more than just a business and contribute in a better way to society. Water is best used as a vital resource, so Linda decided to use other natural ingredients for her products. She is proud to say that Pinch of Colour products are made without water, and they are the first and only Waterless Beauty brand on the market. They believe that looking beautiful should never come at the expense of others on our shared planet. The brand’s proceeds go back to communities around the world in need of clean drinking water and hygiene. They sponsored three initiatives: “Clean Water for Children” in India where they built a well; “Healing Waters Organization” in the Dominican Republic; and a rain catchment system and a water tank in Ekenywa. Linda says “We believe in beauty with a cause; we believe that water is an essential resource that should be saved and conserved.”
Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Linda Treska, Founder & CEO
Pinch of Colour innovation involves the importance of water conservation. Each Pinch of Colour product is made without water. They believe in using water as a vital resource. Part of the proceeds of Pinch of Colour is donated to support water charities and raise funds to improve access to safe clean drinking water in developing countries.