Rooted In Latin Culture, Sister-Founded Brand Vavica Creates Body Care Products Relatable To All

Every human has a body, and Vavica, a body care brand founded by three Latinx sisters, Valentina, Victoria and Camila Marmol, reveres all their bodies. On the brand’s website, they declare, “Creating a relatable brand is important to us—putting every race, gender, and culture in the spotlight and proudly showing off every scar, roll, and stretch mark. Our promise to you is that this body care brand will be inclusive in every aspect.”

On TikTok, Vavica shares relatable content that underpins its inclusive positioning. The brand has racked up more than 15,000 followers on the platform by featuring its clean body care products, the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, and the personalities and close bond of its sister founders. One video detailing that they quit their full-time jobs to concentrate on Vavica has drawn nearly 403,000 views.

Delving into the journeys behind the brand, Valentina frequently discusses body positivity in Vavica’s content, and Victoria explores topics pertaining to mental health. Victoria says, “Because we are three sisters, we all have our own different experiences when it comes to our body and our skin, and so it’s important for us to all showcase and share our own personal, individual stories while also at the same time sharing our story as a brand.”

The brand story starts with Valentina, Victoria and Camila’s parents, who immigrated to the United States from Argentina and Guatemala. In the U.S., they established a janitorial business, making entrepreneurship the sisters’ legacy. Before Vavica, the trio were on separate, but similar career paths in beauty. Camila gained experience in e-commerce at Dermalogica, where she was previously an associate manager; Victoria immersed herself in digital marketing with past positions at The Honest Co. and Murad; and Valentina was on the creative end as a freelance graphic designer for companies like Ipsy, Cerebelly and Ruggable. Launching a brand together seemed like a natural next step.

“Through our different perspectives working in the industry and working behind the scenes, we realized how much the industry is lacking Latinx representation,” says Camila. “It was also hard for us to find a brand that is relatable and real and inclusive.”

The name Vavica is a portmanteau of the sisters’ given names. The brand premiered in direct-to-consumer distribution a year ago and offers three products $27 Único Body Oil Spray, $25 Único Hand and Body Wash, and $27 Único Hand and Body Lotion. The products combine recognizable skincare ingredients with botanicals commonly used in Latin America such as rosemary, which the sisters’ parents used growing up.

Único Body Oil Spray is the bestselling product among the brand’s primarily 18- to 34-year-old customers. Camila describes it as lightweight and quick drying. Vavica wanted to avoid typical dropper and pump packaging for the product because Camila notes they “tend to very messy and inconvenient to apply.” She explains, “We came out with a spray that was easy to apply. You can control how much you’re putting on your skin, and it really absorbs into your skin without having that sticky, greasy feel.”

The sisters turn to Vavica’s community to glean ideas for new products. Victoria says, “We’re really in tune with what our customers are facing and what they’re dealing with, and we really want to make sure that we take care of those needs.” Valentina adds, “We always to tap into their DMs and ask them what they’re looking for.”

Vavica has been selected to be in a group of 10 brands to participate in Tower 28’s Clean Beauty School. The 2023 class also includes the brands Taylor of Brooklyn, Tecuane Hair, Añuli Skin, House of Foster, 4AM Skincare, Osquo, Soshe, Bessie Nails and Cardon.

Earlier this year, a Latina follow train trend on TikTok gave Vavica’s reach a boost. It involved users putting out a call to support Latinas on the platform by following them. The brand built on the trend and issued a call to Latina and Latinx users interested in creating content with its products, providing them a chance to grow their portfolios. The sisters received over 800 applicants within three days and ended up working with around 50 content creators.

Camila says, “It was an opportunity for us to support our Latinx community, but also have these creators talk about our brand and our products in a very authentic way.”