KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — After years of working in the entertainment industry, entrepreneur Fadz Subari was burnt out.
His talent agency crumbled and he was forced to shut it down, leaving him feeling like he had lost everything.
In 2019, Fadz went on a journey of healing, and reconnected with the smells of traditional Javanese herbs used in beauty practices at his hometown in Tanjung Karang.
That's where he found his passion for aromatherapy and its reported healing benefits.
Today, he is the founder and chief executive officer of Eartheories, an award-winning proudly local aromatherapy brand that has three outlets in Malaysia.
The brand creates essential oils, balms, and various beauty and therapy related products made from uniquely Malaysian ingredients like lemongrass and kaffir lime sourced from local farmers.
It supplies its products to Malaysia Airlines planes and lounges and is used by high profile clientele with stores in Publika, Gurney Plaza, and JBCC.
In 2023, the brand was awarded Best Aromatherapy for Health and Wellness by Beauty Insider and the Best Pure Essential Oil at the Natural Health & 健康时尚 Readers Choice Awards.
Fadz spoke with Malay Mail on breaking through from burnout and how anyone can find self and success through pursuing their passions.
Battling burnout
The 43-year-old found his way into the entertainment business ‘by chance’ through working on events, building his network and getting business experience.
He started his own agency in 2013 where he managed celebrities and talents.
The rise of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram made celebrities want to jump in and create their own content and that left his agency struggling to manage and understand the dynamics between influencers, celebrities, and social media users which caused him worry and stress.
In 2019, Fadz left the entertainment industry after closing down his agency, feeling as if he lost himself and fell into depression.
“I found my way to recovery by going to a few alternative treatments, I had to find myself back again,” Fadz said.
“Somehow, I discovered aromatherapy as a way to heal and then I pursued a proper education to understand it better.
“When I discovered more and more about it I realised it was something I could share with other people.”
The founder said that he realised that he had forgotten himself by trying to please others and scents had the power to give him a calm space to reconnect with himself.
He wanted to share his knowledge and journey with others through his brand and products and said that he met more ‘beautiful souls’ by doing so.
The power of aromatherapy
An important part of Fadz’s healing was revisiting the smells of his childhood in his hometown of Tanjong Karang, particularly the smell of lemongrass.
He said that lemongrass is closely tied to Malay culture not only as an ingredient used in the kitchen but for traditional beauty practices as well.
“When I was studying perfumery in Europe, lemongrass was the easiest ingredient to appeal to a fragrance for the Asian market,” the founder said.
“That's when I thought that lemongrass should get better recognition globally in the spirit of growing native ingredients and bringing new value.”
Fadz plans to make local ingredients ‘sexy’ for the global scent market and highlight their unique healing and remedial properties.
He claims that this can increase demand for local farmers to produce more herbs like lemongrass that can be sold for higher prices compared to normal crops.
Overall, he says this will boost the agricultural industry and contribute to the brand's environmental sustainability initiatives.
Lemongrass is now a key ingredient in Eartheories most popular products and Fadz intends to make it the unique selling point of the brand.
“We find that our customers give us great testimonies from our lemongrass products,” he said.
“They have been happily surprised and have told me it has helped them with their mental health and getting better sleep.”
Pushing forward with passion
For future plans, Fadz wants to make Eartheories a global brand.
His desire to help people with aromatherapy has developed into wanting to bring healing to others not just locally but internationally too.
Although his team is small, the founder has big plans to promote his unique products overseas and use new technology to help personalise customers' scent experiences.
He said he wants the brand to be around even when he is long gone, carrying the core ideas of Eartheories for future customers.
When asked what keeps him going and how someone with a similar business idea should take the first step Fadz advised was to ‘keep on going’.
“I think the best way to start is to find your interest and your passion because this (starting a business) isn’t overnight work, it's more like a marathon,” the 43-year-old said.
“If you do something that you love you will keep on going. If you feel tired, don’t stop. Take a rest and slowly continue back later.”
“You must believe in yourself and remember to trust the process and the reason why you started it in the first place, because if you do something you don’t love in life that's when you will begin losing yourself.”
Find out more about Eartheories here.
