Associate Editor Aileen Mack joined Dockwalk in July 2018. She is a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. If she’s not at a concert or coffee shop, she is lost in a book, movie or a YouTube rabbit hole. Email Aileen at aileen@dockwalk.com.
After 11 years in the yachting industry with eight as a chief stewardess, Sharyline Bansi had noticed how difficult it can be to find bathroom products and accessories with the same branding or logo to use on board. So she created toiletry line SB Essentials, which includes everything needed in a yacht bathroom in one cohesive brand. As with many things over the last few years, COVID caused delays for Bansi. After working on the company since 2020, she officially launched the brand on October 20, 2022, with an event at Masa & More restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.
While working on board yachts, it was evident to her when the guests were a little unimpressed by the lack of cohesiveness in the bathroom.
While getting ready for a charter season, her idea of the company began to form as she struggled to locate items in the Caribbean such as shower caps, sanitary bags, loofahs, etc. to last for the entire season. After a few years of working on the idea, she was motivated to pursue it to have a plan to transition ashore, retire, and start a family but remain a part the yachting world.
From an introduction by her mother who had experience working with the company, Bansi began to work with a manufacturing company to craft her line’s scent and packaging, sending samples back and forth during the pandemic to get everything just right.
“While Amazon is great for all these items, there are many different brands, different packaging, making any bathroom look unorganized, incohesive, and not pleasing to the eye,” she says. “I am a very detail-orientated person and have worked on many yachts of high standards and elegant designs. Thus, leading to my vision and idea of a brand with everything needed but [a] cohesive design that any yacht of any budget can afford.”
She notes how the packaging and items can make a bathroom stand out, whether positively or negatively. While working on board yachts, it was evident to her when the guests were a little unimpressed by the lack of cohesiveness in the bathroom. So she designed her logo and packaging for SB Essentials to be simple, elegant, and classy.
“While Amazon is great for all these items, there are many different brands, different packaging, making any bathroom look unorganized, incohesive, and not pleasing to the eye,” she says.
Bansi considered all the products needed that she had previously purchased before each charter to make a complete collection for all bathrooms. Most toiletry brands have the basics, such as a shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and soap. SB Essentials includes all these products, plus a bamboo toothbrush, shaving kit, shower cap, loofah, lip balm, and sanitary bags.
The bottling of her collection is in English and Croatian, which is a personal touch as her husband is Croatian and she now calls Croatia home. The toiletries are currently available in 40 milliliter bottles, but in 2023, she plans to release a middle size of approximately 70 to 80 milliliters, along with one-liter bottles.
“This is an exciting journey for me, but with all new brands/companies comes a lot of hard work and marketing to stand apart or even stand in with the current brands,” Bansi says. “I have plans to introduce different size bottles, bring into the collection: liquid hand soap and new scents, and I am currently working on sunscreen samples and options.”
The company is Florida registered as it’s where her yachting career began, but she plans to branch out to Europe because it’s now her home and the second largest home to yachts. She hopes to have a successful line of toiletries accessible not only to yachts but also hotels and Airbnbs.
For pricing, samples, or ordering, contact Bansi at sbtessentials@gmail.com or text +1 954 200 4604.