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PiperWai began in 2014 with two childhood friends who turned their personal passions for better-for-you products into a full-time, global brand. Several years ago, Sarah Ribner and Jess Edelstein were both purging their bathroom cabinets of conventional toxic products, formulating many of their own personal care items using pure, nourishing, natural ingredients. The goal was a complete overhaul, but antiperspirant was especially challenging for either of them to replace, despite their determination not to use chemical ingredients. Always motivated by a good challenge, Jess was determined and didn’t stop until she formulated a deodorant that worked for both of them. It took over a hundred test batches and almost a year as her own deodorant guinea pig until she had one that was good enough for Sarah to try. To test it out, Sarah took it on a trip to Central and South America where it held up while she trekked through the hot, humid weather. With a sharp eye for great business opportunities, Sarah declared that this product should be brought to the masses to fill a real need for truly effective natural deodorant. And so they banded together, launching PiperWai. The duo handcrafted every batch in a community kitchen, traveled door to door convincing retailers to sell their product and eventually built a small yet passionate community of customers who never imagined they could finally find an effective natural deodorant until they tried PiperWai. They decided to go global through a successful crowdfunding campaign and an appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2015, creating unprecedented demand in the market for charcoal deodorant.