Of Jess SharpMoney reporter

It’s an unlikely collaboration – a baby skincare line founded by a rapper and backed by Premier League footballers – but you can’t argue with a multi-million pound valuation.

Krept, one half of the four-time MOBO Award-winning hip hop duo Krept & Konan and host of his own TV show, is on a mission to make Nala’s Baby as household a name as he is.

Founded just four years ago, the company – whose name is inspired by his daughter – is today valued at around £20m. It landed in 400s Boots stores in 2022 and has since launched in Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug and Ocado to name a few.

It’s been a journey, Krept, real name Casyo Johnson, tells the Money blog.

“It sounds crazy when I say it like that,” he laughs. “When I look back, I remember sitting in a car, Konan was homeless, we had no money and we were fighting.

“Literally fighting over the last piece of chicken because we couldn’t afford more… I’ll just never forget that. Fast forward and here I am, selling baby products in almost every retailer in the country.”

Nala’s Baby began as a project for Krept, 34, and co-founder and ex-girlfriend Sasha Ellese while she was pregnant with their daughter. The pair still own 75% between them, while the other 25% went to investors including footballers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

During her pregnancy, Sasha became “very concerned” about getting her skin on, Krept says: “I was getting a lot of gifts from baby showers…but none of the products were completely clean.”

They used an ingredient-rating app called Think Dirty, which ranks each product from 0, the cleanest, to 10, the dirtiest—but there was no “zero-rated natural clean product,” Krept says.

“We saw this as an opportunity to say, why don’t we create our own? Clearly, there was a void for that.”

After two years of product refinement, Nala’s Baby was born – becoming one of the first UK-made baby skincare ranges to receive a Think Dirty zero rating.

All its items are 99% natural, ethically sourced, vegan and made in the UK.

“Our strategy was just to put our trust in people”

Products start from around £5.55 – Krept wants to keep them affordable by keeping profit margins down.

Unlike brands that “want the best margins and focus on profitability,” he says, Nala’s Baby chose to “appreciate our margins because we really feel this is a product for the people.”

“We thought if we make the most natural product and the price is lower than many of our competitors, we’re not giving people a reason not to buy it,” he says.

“That was our strategy … to put our trust in the people and trust that they would see what we were doing.”

He has plans to expand, saying there are still toys, clothing and food to look at: “We just want to be a brand that parents can trust, in any way.”

Lessons learned from a failed business

Krept’s journey was not always smooth and not all of his businesses were profitable.

In 2018, he and Konan opened a restaurant in Croydon, south London, called Crepes & Cones, with celebrity customers including TV presenter Maja Jama, rapper Stefflon Don, musician Dave and Top Boy star Noel Clarke.

A few days before the launch, their business partner died and they were left without a mentor. It was then forced to close its doors in 2020 when the pandemic hit and never recovered.

“It’s a very difficult business, but what I’ve learned from it is that your team and who you hire is so important,” says Krept.

“I was in the restaurant and I was serving everyone. People thought we were doing it for PR purposes, but we weren’t, we had to be there.

“I was there doing the payroll, the accounts, sorting the staff, and it really affected the business because I’m not a professional in this field.

“No matter how much you can come up with a great idea, you always need great people to help you carry it out.”

Nor was his fame always a business asset.

“Obviously I’m a musician first and people know me because I’m a rapper, so when I say I have baby skin care products, they ask me what I know about that,” he says.

“The pro is that I can let the world know what I’m doing and put it out there for people to see how honest and sincere I am about it.”

He doesn’t remember exactly how many businesses he’s been involved in now, but guesses there are around 10, including an event management firm and a marketing agency.

“If you use your time, you’ll be surprised what you can do in a day,” he says.

Balancing business with music

Krept applied the lessons he learned in business to his music career—which hasn’t slowed down. The duo is releasing a new album, Young Kingz II, next year, which they produced.

“This final piece of art that you put out into the world is the same as business, you need the right team, the right people to run it. You need the right staff, it goes hand in hand and I learned all of that. to make my restaurant”, he says.

Asked what fans can expect from the new album, he says “deep songs” are a big feature.

“I wrote a letter to my daughter as something she can play if I’m not here anymore, but we’ll have the vibe,” he laughs.

“This is my passion, I love making music and the creative process, so it’s always going to be something that started out of love.”

“It’s only in my moral compass to give back”

Giving back to the community is another Krept mission.

“Having a tough upbringing and not having many opportunities in certain areas, I’ve always had support from the community, so the least I can do is give back to those people,” he says.

He runs an organization called the PD Foundation which aims to get kids off the streets by giving them opportunities in the creative industries and recently teamed up with Samsung as an ambassador for their Solve the Tomorrow competition.

The initiative is designed to give 16-25 year olds in the UK the skills and confidence to create future technology solutions.

It comes as new research from the tech firm found that 39% of 13-19-year-olds believe there are too few resources for young people to make a difference in society through technology.

“It’s just in my moral compass to always give back, and there are so many people you can help,” says Krept.

“These young people are going to be the future of the world and if I can have any kind of input or say in that, then I like to do it.”

Registration for Tomorrow’s Solve is open Here until January 12, 2025.