The brand began as an parent’s mission to protect their daughters skin – but now Nala’s baby has grow into a huge success helping parents across the country find a safe brand to use for their children.”
Nala’s Baby is one of the fastest-growing skincare brands in the UK since their launch in 2020, but unlike most businesses their product wasn’t formed in a boardroom – it started at home, out of necessity.
The brand was created by British rapper Casyo Johnson, known as Krept, and his former partner Sasha Ellese Gilbert. As the then couple prepared for the birth of their first daughter Nala, Sasha became cautious about the products she used on her body, and after analysing ingredients in baby skincare brands, they didn’t feel comfortable with their future daughter using them either.
“There were no baby ranges that rated excellent. Every product was rated zero on Think Dirty, excellent on Yuka,” Krept told The Mirror.
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“The idea never stemmed from us thinking about making a business, it came out of a necessity that we felt was needed in the market,” he said. “That’s what sparked the idea. The general concern for our own child sparked the idea for everybody else’s children, so the brand was created from a place of love.”
That’s when the couple began searching for a manufacturer who could help them create a product safe for all children, but it was also important that it was affordable.
“We need it to be the most natural, dermatologically approved, paediatrician approved, cruelty-free, vegan [product], so if it goes in their eyes, it doesn’t burn them,” he said. “Everything that a parent would look for, every checklist.”
“But everything that’s good for you is always expensive,” Krept said. “We wanted to make something that’s good, natural, clean but also at an accessible price point.”
After a year and a half of formulating the perfect product, they pitched it to Boots. When the retailer agreed, the pair realised the scale of what they’d created – thousands of bottles, 400 stores, and a huge opportunity to do something different.
To meet demand, Nala’s Baby secured investments from numerous high-profile figures, including Krept’s rap partner Konan, boxer Anthony Joshua, model Jourdan Dunn, rapper K-Trap, GRM Daily founder Posty and, more recently, Manchester United stars Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, alongside Marcus’s mother.
As soon as the brand hit the shelves, it began to excel, attracting people across the UK and beyond. “I’ve had someone ask for it everywhere – Europe, America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean – they always ask me, ‘when are you going to bring it over here?’” Krept told us.
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But the response from parents in the UK has reminded Krept why he started the brand to begin with. “Parents come to us and they say my child has had to be on steroid creams my whole life, and this is the first time my child smelled like a baby,” Krept said.
“I’m changing a parent’s life experience with their child and that’s really important to me. It’s really important that we’re making something parents can trust and everything that we put in here is made from love – the love from our daughter.”
When he finally saw the products on store shelves, Krept says it still didn’t feel real. “That feeling was crazy. You know, something you’ve been working on for two years – it still doesn’t get old. Every time I walk into any shop, I have to see it on the shelf, like wow, we really did that.”
Now five years old, Nala may not yet understand the impact her name has made, but she recognises the connection.
“She doesn’t understand the magnitude of the brand,” Krept said. “She knows Nala’s Baby and she knows it’s named after her. But she doesn’t understand how much of a big deal that is. When she goes into a shop, she always wants to see the Nala’s Baby section. She’s super proud of it.”
But for Krept, the mission extends far beyond family pride. “When we first launched, a lot of people would ask, ‘Can my child use it or is it just for Black children?’” he said. “That was quite difficult to deal with making people know that it’s for everyone.”
But challenging those assumptions drove Krept to made sure the brand’s imagery reflected its inclusivity.
“We made sure that there’s Black children, mixed children, white children, Asian children to be as diverse as possible so people can actually see this brand is for all babies,” he said. “It took a bit of time, but people see that now.”
Even with its rapid growth, Krept says the purpose hasn’t changed – even as Sasha recently decided to step down in September 2025.
“It’s always been about Nala. We’ve always shared the same vision,” he said. “The business is growing with our daughter – hence why we brought out Nala’s Kids now. The alignment of the purpose of the brand is never going to change now that she’s decided to step down.”
With plan to expand the product line and push distribution further into Europe and America, Krept acknowledges that Nala’s Baby has helped him find a new kind of narrative – one rooted in legacy.
“There was a stage where we didn’t have nothing,” he said. “We were arguing over the last piece of chicken. I never would have imagined a day where I’ve got a national brand, selling millions of bottles.”
“It’s about leading by example and showing people that you can go into anything. A couple years ago, you wouldn’t have associated me with skincare,” he added. “It just shows that anything’s possible, we can do anything we put our mind to as long as we work hard enough and put enough thought behind it.”
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