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1. Written by David Sellers
University of Hawaii at Hilo
COM 344 Sustainability & Communication
Jungle Glow’s Secret Ingredient for Success
Behind the Scenes of this Organic Skin Care Company
Photo courtesy of Britni Schock

2. David Sellers 1
Preface
It is a great opportunity for me to share with all of you an exclusive behind the scenes
story of Britni Schock, a former classmate of mine at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Since Fall
of 2014, she and I have become good friends and have learned so much about each other. One of
the first conversations we had that sparked our friendship was on the topic of her own line of
organic skin care products. We share a deep love for healthy living styles and supporting local
businesses. Therefore, a big reason I focused my project on Jungle Glow was to promote one
aspect of healthy living, the use of organic skin care products as opposed to chemically enhanced
ones. Ultimately, I hope this paper will leave you with new knowledge about the use of organic
skin care products as well as the communication skills it took for Britni to run her business.

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Jungle Glow’s Secret Ingredient for Success:
Behind the Scenes of this Organic Skin Care Company
As a young girl growing up in the countryside of Canada, Britni Schock was combining
natural ingredients from her home garden to make skin care products and realized then that that
was her calling in life. At age seventeen Schock moved to Vancouver, where she spent the next
five years in the city. Never fully adapting to the city lifestyle, Schock made the conscious
decision to return to nature, only this time, across the Pacific Ocean to the Big Island of Hawaii.
Moving to Hawaii rekindled her spirit with nature and her deep rooted love for assembling
household essentials, particularly skincare products. One sunny afternoon a friend of Schocks
complimented her craft and expressed the idea of launching her own business. Attracted to the
possibilities of offering others ways of living a more sustainable lifestyle, she decided to take
action, thus, the birth of Jungle Glow.
Jungle Glow started out as a small line of face and body scrubs. Within less than a year,
Schock’s business has expanded with a line of other skin care products from face and hair oils,
deodorants, roll­ons, toners, lip balms, and body balms. The problem with most manufactured,
in­store skin care products is the difficulties of avoiding unknown, long lists of chemicals and
ingredients. A majority of what Jungle Glow products consist of are a number of locally grown
produce including Maui cane sugar, a major ingredient found in Jungle Glow’s sugar scrubs, and
Hawaiian sandalwood, grown in Kona. Other ingredients commonly used in Hawaii as well as in
Jungle Glow’s line of skincare products are ​kukui​ nut and coconut oils. Schock’s first love was
coconuts and all of its useful properties for both within and outside of the body, which is why

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coconut is found on the ingredients list of most Jungle Glow products. One main difference
between Schock’s line of skin care products and the in­store products is the rawness of it. Jungle
Glow products are made up of mostly organic ingredients rather than chemically enriched
ingredients. In Schock’s words, “The less processed, the better.” The beauty of using organic
products is it nullifies the consumer’s fear of having bodily contact with pesticides and possible
reactions or negative side effects because of them.
When asked what her favorite product on the line was it boiled down to her original
products, the scrubs. The simple combination of ingredients that make up a scrub are limitless
but the benefits of them are consistent through all. One, scrubs cleanse the skin, two, exfoliate
the skin, and three, leave the skin feeling amply moisturized. In addition to having new and
improved skin, scrubs also are infused with the capabilities of aromatherapy, allowing your mind
and body to feel good on the inside. As far as having a least favorite product, Schock does not
have one, however, in terms of difficulty, Jungle Glow’s rub on deodorant has been the most
difficult to create for several reasons. Living in a warm climate, the heat will separate the
ingredients that Schock uses for this special armpit product. Similar to honey, all that is needed is
a few stirs and the deodorant is good as new. Another problem Schock ran into after using her
homemade deodorants was breaking out in a rash on her armpits. According to an article by Dr.
Danny Siegenthaler, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, a radical alteration of the skin
reflects a sudden change of a human’s natural PH level. Dr. Siegenthaler (2003), who has had 40
years of experience working with his own line of natural skin care products, explains that
ordinary, commercial products usually have higher ranges of alkaline which, after usage, in turn
raises the PH levels of a person’s skin. An abnormally higher level PH will put a person’s skin at

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risk of dryness and bacterial infection. When people use supermarket brand soaps and products,
most forget to use follow up toners and moisturizers that prevent moisture loss and excessive
bacterial growth. In order to prevent sudden shifts in PH levels, Dr. Siegenthaler knows the
importance of using natural skin care products that remove dead skin and leaves the skin’s PH
levels staying as it meant to be. In Schock’s deodorant product, perhaps her skin type and very
well for others cannot handle the current alkaline enriched ingredients that raise their PH levels
that cause dryness and irregular breakouts. Schock does understand the functional purpose of
sweating so she is not so worried about it being an antiperspirant deodorant. The hardest part for
her has been trying to come up with the perfect recipe that is nonreactive to her skin and body,
which could very well be related to its PH level.
While Schock is not in her home laboratory solving the problem with her deodorant line,
she endeavors on promotional and sales opportunities within her community. Jungle Glow has
reached places far and wide from the weekly tourist attractions such as the local farmers market
to its latest venue, the annual Merrie Monarch festival in Hilo. Jungle Glow products will soon
be, if not already, available for purchase at the Hilo Bens Franklin Arts and Craft store. Local
businesses are difficult to maintain but Schock has been a strong and dedicated entrepreneur,
making continuous efforts to spread the knowledge. Besides face­to­face interaction with people
that come and go, literally, Schock saw the need to expand the visibility of her company.
Therefore, Jungle Glow can now be searched for on an online, social media application called
Instagram. On this visual medium, Schock is able to display her line of homemade skin care
products through photographs and videos, giving her the outreach she needs to launch her
business. In fact, several case studies prove the correlation to success by using Instagram. Recent

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studies showed that Ben & Jerry’s ice­cream company “reached 9.8 million users and saw a 33
percent increase in ad recall” after using Instagram as a platform to increase potential customers.
Moreover, when Ben & Jerry’s posted a picture of their latest ice­cream, ​Scotchy Scotch Scotch​,
“17% [of Instagram users who saw the ad] not only became aware of the new flavor, they also
associated it with Ben & Jerry’s.” Like Ben & Jerry, Schock understands the “online ballgame”
and how it has potential to provide her with the rapid growth she seeks for her company (2015).
As a student, taking eighteen credits and having two other part time jobs, Schock’s greatest
difficulty is, as you might predict, time management. Jungle Glow is run completely on her own,
which requires a majority of her spare time from work and school. Schock’s position has been a
“learning process,” in which being attentive to what her customers are most interested in pays
off. At first, selling her craft at local fairs did not do so well and she began to feel discouraged
and other negative thoughts ran through her mind, but Schock overcame her temptations of
giving up. Her advice to others running their own business would be to, “Keep a positive and
believe that the future will get better.”
When asked where she would see her business within the next five to ten years, Schock
envisions having a shop located in downtown Hilo that supports local businesses in the fields of
arts and crafts. She would like her shop to be a place where people could not only purchase her
line of homemade organic skincare products, but more of a singular building that housed
individual booths that sold other handmade merchandise developed by people from within the
community. Hand­picked, locally grown coffee, handmade bathing suits, and personally
designed and handmade jewelry are just a few ideas Schock has in mind for her future boutique.
Inside this dream shop would also be a cafe that served juices and smoothies made with locally

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grown and organic fruits and vegetables. Overall, Schock’s vision for the future is to “create a
whole experience” for people by offering affordable creations and healthy regimens that support
local farmers, artists, and businesses alike simultaneously.
Hawaii may in fact be the most remote place on the planet but it sure does attract millions
of people, year after year, from all over the world. The great sums of visitors contribute to the
sustenance and growth of Hawaii’s economy. According to Hawaii Tourism Authority (2014),
the leading agency for tourism­related research and other resources, “Hawaii’s tourism industry
generated $14.5 billion in total annual visitor spending [in 2013]” where the Big Island alone
accounted for upwards of $5 million of visitor spending per day in the year 2013. Schock
understands that tourism is the major market for Hawaii. She states, “There is something unique
about [Hawaii] and having tourists here really helps the local people continue on.” Thankfully,
Hawaii will only continue to thrive with tourism, therefore driving local business to create
unique encounters and experiences for visitors.
Within the world of entrepreneurship, the main ability one must master to lead a
successful business is the art of communication. There are obvious areas of communication
exercised throughout the day in the life of Jungle Glow, but three definite skills induce success
for Schock’s business are: first and foremost, ​be conversational​, second, ​be engaging​, and lastly,
embrace social media​. It helps to have an eye catching display with all of one’s products nicely
organized in strategic order that appeals to the audience, but what good does is it without
personal conversational skills? When Schock runs her booth, she greets each visitor and attempts
to hold a simple conversation. After establishing a decent relationship with a potential customer,
she focuses on being as engaging as possible, by asking questions or telling stories about her

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products. Schock’s go to method for engagement is through giving a sample size of her skincare
products for her customer to try on their own skin. Although sample giving may not always
guarantee a sale, the main accomplishment is having had the opportunity for a face­to­face
interaction with a potential customer. Chances of future sales still exist after with failed sales
with visitors. How so? Through Schock’s embrace with social media. All visitors at Jungle Glow
booths will have received a business card containing contact information, including a personal
Instagram account made just for Schock’s small business. As mentioned earlier, Instagram has
been a proven online platform for small businesses to achieve a greater audience. Schock
understands the potential of having her business displayed on social media, for the whole world
to view her products. The ever so helpful concept of word of mouth can only function so quickly,
but online, news can spread instantaneous. Much like community craft fairs, social media is just
another form of space for businesses to display their products.
Overall, the secret ingredient for Jungle Glow remains the same: effective
communication. Through hard work and dedication, Schock continues to expand her business,
physically and financially. Overtime, her message of green living and buying local will have
resonated with more people from the community and, with the help of social media, people from
all over the world. Jungle Glow is currently a locally known small business, but soon enough,
through efficient communication, it has the potential of becoming a household name worldwide.
In the exclusive interview with the visionary behind Jungle Glow, Schock states that it is her
passion that keeps her business moving forward. “When I love something, I love something” she
says. “And that’s how I feel about Hawaii and my business” she goes on to say. Schock’s final
words were, “It is important for people to not only enjoy what they are doing but also make

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something they can be proud of.” From a current entrepreneur, the lesson to be learned is that
passion paired with effective communication can bring ultimate success for one’s business.
References
Ben & Jerry’s. (2015). Using Instagram to Spread the Word about the Joy Its Ice Cream Inspires,
Ben & Jerry’s Reached 9.8 Million Users. Retrieved March 23, 2015, from
http://instagram­static.s3.amazonaws.com/BenAndJerrys_CaseStudy_FINAL.pdf
Hawaii Tourism Authority Organization. (2014, May 01). United States, Hawaii Convention
Center, Hawaii Tourism Authority. ​Hawaii Tourism Authority​. Retrieved March 24,
2015, from www.hawaiitourismauthority.org
Schock, B. (March 22, 2015). Personal Interview.
Siegenthaler, D. (2003). Article: Importance of Skin's pH. Retrieved March 22, 2015 from
http://www.naturalhealthweb.com/articles/Siegenthaler1.html