Luna Sundara: Digital Tools Help Aromatherapy Business Thrive

Rahway, N.J.

As Sandra Manay got in touch with her spirituality, she noticed the popularity of aromatherapy oils and incense made from palo santo wood, which has medicinal and therapeutic properties. Seeing a niche in the market, Sandra founded Luna Sundara with her partner, Thomas Konik, in 2015. The business sells palo santo incense, oil, and aromatic “smudge sticks,” as well as handcrafted ceramics and unique home decor made by local artisans in Sandra’s native Peru. 

“The hardest part of starting Luna Sundara was figuring everything out,” she said. “We had to build our brand, find customers, and manage our orders, which is why we went with Amazon.”

With millions of people visiting Amazon daily, joining the e-commerce platform made it easier for potential customers to find Sandra’s products. Amazon also uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarize previous reviews of her products. Its AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, can recommend shoppers buy items that go together, like smudge sticks and a ceramic holder. Once her customers place an order, Sandra turns to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA). Instead of packing and shipping individual products from her warehouse, FBA lets Sandra harness Amazon’s worldwide logistics network to deliver her products quickly and reliably. 

“Amazon helped us grow from an idea to a successful small business,” Sandra said. “Every time we make a sale, we satisfy our customers and help support the South American artisans we partner with.”

But Sandra fears that her business’s future — and that of many other small sellers — could be at risk with the FTC’s lawsuit seeking to dismantle Amazon’s integrated services. The lawsuit’s outcome could make Amazon’s business-boosting tools less efficient and burden Sandra with additional costs. She wants regulators to understand that the FTC’s case will have serious unintended consequences for her business. 

“If these tools become harder to use or more expensive, it’s not just my business that suffers — it’s the artisans, their families, and the entire supply chain we’ve built together,” Sandra said. “I hope regulators take the time to understand how we use these helpful services to thrive.”
To learn more about Luna Sundara, visit https://www.lunasundara.com/.