Longford-based entrepreneur appears on RTE's Nationwide
Janni Sjöstrand, founder of Janni Bars and based in Cloonmacart, Drumlish, featured on the RTE show Nationwide recently in a lengthy segment about inspiring female entrepreneurs
A Swedish born entrepreneur based in Drumlish, Janni Sjöstrand, appeared on Nationwide this week to share the incredible story behind her growing skincare business, Janni Bars, a premium handmade body and hair care brand.
Picture: RTE Nationwide
Janni, who is from an equestrian background, first created natural shampoo bars for her horses, only to then realise there was a high demand for natural products among consumers in general.
Based in Cloonmacart, Drumlish, Jannni told Nationwide of how she divides her time between love of cosmetics and her first love, horses.
As Janni demonstrated using a bar on one of her horses, she said, “What my horses usually get are the leftovers from production. They rarely get a full bar any more, Because they are formulated so gently, it’s perfect for doing the job and it’s gentle on their skin.”
She added, “People always ask me if they (the bars) lather and yes they really do lather up. For the last 10 years I had two white horses in competition and it was a full time job trying to keep them clean!”
The show heard that it was Janni’s love of horses that first brought her to Ireland from Scandanavia.
She explained that she first fell in love with Ireland in 2001 when she came over here for a horse riding trip.
Returning home with a view to obtaining her degree, she achieved her academic goals before then moving to Germany for twelve months.
In 2010, she made the permanent move to Ireland where she has remained ever since.
Her need for such a product for her horses combined with her determination to eliminate plastic in turn created the foundation for what is now Janni Bars.
Such is the current demand for the brand's products, Janni is nearly at the stage of hiring more people.
Demonstrating for Nationwide how she creates her famous bars, Janni also spoke about the eco benefits of her products, explaining that she felt as though she could do a lot of good through her business.
She added that her key aim is to reduce the use of plastic.
Explaining that one of her shampoo bars was the equivalent of two plastic bottles of shampoo, she said, “If I were to gather up all the bottles saved, I’d fill Croke Park to the brim and I’ve only scratched the surface of what I can do!”
You can watch the Nationwide segment with Janni on the RTE Player