Keta Burke Williams, Founder of Fragrance Brand, Ourside
Female Entrepreneur, Keta Williams, Develops unique & Luxurious scents designed for self-care & Connection
Photographer: Ourside
Ourside is a fragrance brand started by young BIPOC founder and Harvard Business School graduate Keta Burke-Williams. Launched in January 2023 with 3 tightly edited distinct fragrances; Moon Dust, a citrus bergamot forward earthy/vetiver scent, and Dusk, a fruity fig forward ambery scent. The 3rd new fragrance Nostalgia is a floral, jasmine-forward, woody scent. As a young, female entrepreneur with a Harvard Business degree, Keta has had the good fortune of being selected as one of eight BIPOC brands that are members of Ulta Beauty’s inaugural MUSE Accelerator 2022 program cohort, Tower 28 Clean Beauty Summer School 2020, and being personally mentored by Credo Founder Annie Jackson for Credo for Change 2021.
Cruelty-free, vegan friendly, and made in the US for the clean luxury customer, Ourside fragrances are responsibly made, showing that the $47B category should invite more black voices into its ranks. The intention is to develop scents intended for self-care and connection based on love and community and is inspired by their mother and a recurring story she told of walking in a garden in Tunisia surrounded by night-blooming jasmine. The line will be carried in Credo Beauty starting in March 2023.
Hi Keta! Tell us about your background in business.
My path to founding Ourside is long and winding. After studying Portuguese and religion at Dartmouth College, I went to work for Kraft Heinz, where I learned all things sales and analytics while working on iconic household brands. I then took a leap of faith and joined Carnival Cruise Line in Miami, where I was a manager of marketing and business development and led the relaunch of our Weddings business, tackling everything from our offerings and pricing, to partnering with our vendors, call center and shipboard staff to bring the program to its most successful year in history! I then went on to study at Harvard Business School, which is where I found the confidence to start working on the idea that grew into Ourside.
Photographer: Ourside
What inspired you to start Ourside, and how was the process of turning that inspiration into a reality?
Three key things led to me founding Ourside. First and foremost is my love of scent and fragrance. For me, scent has always been an escape – whether it was sniffing cucumber melon lotion at Bath & Body Works or lighting candles with my mom, scent is part of so many of my memories, and even some of my dreams. Second, is growing up as a multicultural black child in a small town in Ohio. I never felt like I truly fit in or like I belonged, so I’ve always been searching for a “space” where I could be my whole self and that would be welcomed. The final and most important inspiration for creating the brand came from conversations with my sister Kaja, who helped me to work on the brand in our earliest days. She pointed out that she was getting headaches from a lot of traditional fragrances and that while she could find conscious alternatives in skincare, hair care, and cosmetics, they didn’t exist yet in fragrance. So, we took the leap to make our dream a reality and create moments of connection through scent.
What influenced the development of the scents for your fragrance line?
I believe scent is a powerful medium for connection – even one moment of connection allows us to see the humanity in one another. Each of the three scents in our first collection is inspired by a different daydream and hero note. In the development, I created a story that inspired each scent that’s on our website and our packaging because I love that scent can bring us somewhere different without us even leaving our seats. I think the most special thing we did is not to be tied down by what notes traditionally “go” together, so we ended up with three very unique scents. It is super important to me that the scent experience comes first – even though we are a conscious fragrance brand, I didn’t want to lose the complexity of the fragrance. I am the creative director and I partner with our perfumer to bring my vision to life while making sure that the fragrances are safe and manufactured in an FDA-compliant lab.
We also have a super long list of “no” ingredients that we don’t allow in our fragrances, the most notable being phthalates, parabens, and certain nitro musks. Our scents are certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny and they are vegan-friendly as well.
When consumers use your products, what kind of experience can they anticipate?
I’ll disclose some of my favorite feedback so far from people who have experienced our scents. They shared that our perfume smells like nothing they’ve ever smelled at any perfume counter so far, or that they were loyal to a specific designer brand before they tried us – what a compliment! My goal with our scents is that they amplify and celebrate you as you already are. They are crafted to be long-lasting so they smell different at hour 1 than they do at hour 6 – you’ll want to keep sniffing yourself! Getting more into the specifics of our three scents, If you like fresh citrus with a hint of earthiness, Moon Dust is for you because of the bergamot, vetiver, and palo santo. If you like dreamy florals, Nostalgia is for you! It’s jasmine brightened by grapefruit peel, sweetened by ylang-ylang, and rounded out with a warm woody finish. If you like boozy scents, Dusk is the answer! It’s a fig and berry-heavy scent that dries down with amber, so it gives off a smoky sultry vibe! The best way to experience them all is through our Discovery Kits which allow you to try each of them in a small sprayer before you commit to a bigger size.
In what ways was the fragrance line created to encourage self-care?
For me, scent is the ultimate form of self-care! It is the only beauty product that changes how we feel without being focused on changing how we look. Scent is wonderful because there is no right or wrong when it comes to wearing it, and it fits everybody from every walk of life. It’s also strongly tied to memory and emotion so it can have real benefits to our mental well-being as well.
How does Ourside differentiate from other luxury perfume brands?
We are so different from what’s out there today. From our focus on conscious ingredients and packaging to making our perfumes in the heart of the Bronx with a woman-of-color-owned manufacturer, conscious creation is part of our brand DNA. We’re bringing a different perspective based on our unusual background, and it shows through to our bold logo and packaging – we’re here to show that luxury can also mean being full of fun and personality and to show that it can be created in unexpected places. Last but not least, we’re experimenting with unusual scent combinations and so far, I’m excited to say that people are loving them! We’ve already sold out on our website after launch and are arranging a much larger order with our manufacturer for our restocking. I’m so happy that our message and products are resonating.
Article Credits:
Ourside’s Instagram: @ourside.nyc
Ourside’s Twitter: @oursidenyc
Ourside’s Facebook: @ourside.nyc
Ourside’s TikTok: @ourside.nyc
Ourside’s Website: ourside.nyc
Photography Credits:
Photographer: Ourside
