KRISTINE Andaya (40) from General Santos City is no stranger to juggling multiple responsibilities. Aside from being a mother of four, she runs her family’s brick-and-mortar pharmacy and grocery store while also operating her own eCommerce business, which sells health and beauty products from local and international brands.
“My passion for health and wellness has always been there. Even as a student, I was drawn to supplements,” Kristine said. “This interest, plus my background as a registered nurse, allows me to confidently identify and recommend products – even with my eyes closed! Having a pharmacy in the family further solidified my knowledge.”
With her offline pharmacy, however, Kristine faced limited buying power and staffing issues that often hindered her ability to expand and save money. So, in 2015, she decided to try her hand at eCommerce and launched Kanna Beauty on Lazada.
“It was really something else if you sold on Lazada in 2015. It was the only major eCommerce platform at that time. So in my head, I always thought: ‘I want to be part of Lazada, I want to be a top seller at Lazada,’” Kristine recalled.
Since launching Kanna Beauty, Kristine has succeeded in achieving her goal of becoming a top seller on Lazada. Her FDA-licensed store has even received multiple accolades from the eCommerce platform, including being recognized in its Best in Health Winning Circle in 2020 and 2021, and receiving the Best in Health and the LazBeauty Best in Trendy Beauty awards in 2023.
The perfect partner
Throughout Kristine’s eCommerce journey, Lazada has been a trusted partner offering the resources and support to help her continually grow her business. The eCommerce giant’s robust logistics infrastructure played a particularly crucial role in Kanna Beauty’s success, especially during its early days, when making deliveries from Kristine’s home in the southern Philippines proved to be a major challenge.
“Living far from Metro Manila meant no pick-up or drop-off options nearby. The closest one was a two-hour drive away,” Kristine recalled. “Thankfully, I discovered Fulfilled by Lazada. We simply needed to send our products to a Lazada warehouse, and they handled everything else. This became a game-changer, boosting our confidence to expand our assortment.”
Kristine has since expanded her operations by renting a warehouse in Manila, which in turn has allowed Kanna Beauty to reach new levels of success. And when demand for her store’s health and wellness products skyrocketed during the pandemic, Kristine and her team saw the opportunity to lean on Lazada’s tools to learn how to maximize ads, algorithms, marketing solutions, and campaigns, fueling further growth for their eCommerce business.
Looking ahead, Kristine wants to be able to offer an even wider assortment of health and beauty products, achieve higher sales volume, and cement Kanna Beauty’s status as a trusted and reliable seller on Lazada.
“If you really see yourself online selling, and you want to keep generating income even while you’re asleep, start now because if you start tomorrow or the next day, it will already be different,” Kristine said.
Working together
Even though juggling motherhood and running her offline as well as online businesses can be a challenge at times, Kristine said she can’t imagine having it any other way.
“You have to be persistent … My mindset is to really not be discouraged. This is part of the process. Everything is a learning experience,” Kristine said, explaining how she stays motivated and passionate about her work.
It helps, of course, that she has the best support system an entrepreneur could ask for. “My family really supports me. They’ve always been there to help fulfill orders, making it a true team effort,” Kristine said.
A particularly memorable moment for her was when she and her family worked together to pack products and deliver them to a major warehouse in Cabuyao. “It wasn’t just work; it became a bonding experience, a chance for a mini family vacation,” she said. And just like a team that works together, Kristine and her family also make sure to celebrate Kanna Beauty’s success together. This sense of unity has become a big source of pride for Kristine, who shared: “Whenever Lazada recognizes and awards my business, the entire family celebrates as if we’d all won together.” PR
