Four local students have turned a business idea into a thriving Windsor-Essex business.
The students, from Windsor's Maranatha Christian Academy, participated in a program sponsored by the University of Windsor that is designed to teach secondary school students financial literacy and responsibility.
Alisa Preston, Owen Turner, Bethany Liem, and David Moloce created YQG Essence as their project. Alisa and Owen told Windsor's Country morning show host Morgan Ryan that the university had been in their corner from the very beginning.
"They send in two mentors to schools around Windsor," said Alisa. "They kind of help you to create a small business, and it's really cool. They'll come in twice a week and just teach us, and just kind of give us any advice or help that we need, and it's been great."
The group came up with three fragrances that represented places around Windsor, Cedar Rouge, Riviere Blue, and Park de Fleurs, and making them sustainable. Owen said that actually recreating the scent of those places was a real challenge.
"We went through a lot of research," said Owen. "We used online articles, YouTube videos, and lots of other resources, and finally settled on a mix of essential oils and a carrier oil that ties it all together, and then we had to make those smell like Windsor places, which also took a lot of research."
Riviere Blue was inspired by the riverfront and consists of an aquatic scent. Jackson Park was the inspiration behind the Park de Fleurs variety, and Ojibway Park was the woodsy idea behind Cedar Rouge. Each perfume is totally vegan-certified with the packaging made of at least 50 per cent recycled materials while being fully recyclable itself.
The group of four students was part of the school's Grade 12 business class, which participated in the U of W event, known as You Thrive.
Complete information on the perfumes can be found on the group's website.