Learning to embrace and highlight your culture as a business owner is a deeply personal and beautiful choice—but it takes courage. As the daughter of immigrant parents (my mother is from Jamaica), I’ve seen how assimilating into white American culture can be a form of protection for many people of color, and this expands into entrepreneurship as well. 

For this reason, some founders may feel the need to hide their culture when it comes to their businesses because of the once true idea that people only go with what they know or, in this case, purchase items and patronize businesses that are familiar to them. 

Times are changing, though, and people from nations around the world are making the choice to share aspects of their culture through entrepreneurship, believing that the right community will find them. There’s beauty, joy, knowledge, and power in remembering where you came from and sharing with others, which is exactly what Helen Yin did to grow Inoki Bathhouse, a company that makes tea baths curated around the experience of bathing in different natural environs. For example, Yin says her Mountain Fog Bathhouse is based on what bathing in soft, white fog on a mountain covered by wildflowers would smell like.

Like so many first-time entrepreneurs, Yin never planned on becoming a business owner. Her mother owned a convenience store in Canada when she was growing up, and the long hours (15-plus, seven days a week), lack of established family time, and constant self-sacrificing she witnessed her mother do for the sake of her business gave Yin a distaste for being her own boss. 

“I watched her work tirelessly for 25 years running that convenience store,” says Yin. “She rarely shut the store down—even when she was sick—she never prioritized her well-being; she only worked. I, unfortunately, adopted a similar work style when I graduated [from college and got a job]. There would be weeks where I didn’t even step outside. This became amplified in the pandemic when I never had a reason to leave my house or stop working. This was when I started experiencing insomnia and bouts of depression.”

During those dark times, Yin says she found herself holding onto a specific memory of her grandfather to get through.

“When I was at my lowest emotional and mental state, I decided to take a bath for the first time in weeks,” she says. “I decided to boil a large pot of fragrant jasmine pearls tea and pour it in my bath because it reminded me of my childhood with my grandpa who constantly drank this tea. It was completely different from any bath experience I’ve ever had. The bath didn’t smell artificial like a bath bomb or soap-based product, the sweet scent of tea unfolded over time—it was more and more enjoyable the longer I stayed—and my skin felt soft and nourished after. Best of all, it brought me a sense of peace I hadn’t had in a long time.” 

It was Yin’s first time bathing in tea, but she says she knew she didn’t want it to be her last. “After searching the web and not being able to find any tea-based bath products, I decided at that moment I wanted to start a company bringing imaginative bathhouse experiences to people using intentional ingredients,” she says. 

The concept behind Inoki Bathhouse

“I would have never thought to put tea in my bath if I hadn’t grown up surrounded by the sweet, fragrant scent of tea because of my grandfather,” Yin says. “He loved tea and helped me appreciate it as a young girl. It wasn’t until I was older, after he passed away, that I was able to understand and explore China’s tea culture.” 

During her early 20s, Yin took solo backpacking trips to bathhouses and teahouses across Asia (Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, specifically). Though she didn’t realize it at the time, those sojourns would become the building blocks for what would eventually become her business concept. 

Inoki Bathhouse is a celebration of bath cultures across the world, starting with China’s medicinal herbal baths to Japan’s onsens, Korea’s jjimjilbangs, Morroco’s hammams, and many more. In China, medicinal baths started as an ancient tradition for the wealthy and royalty. They were used for two main purposes: To target specific needs, such as colds, fevers, skin infections, appetite issues, beauty treatment, etc., as well as for deep relaxation. 

The philosophy was that the herbal blend could be absorbed through the individual’s skin and respiratory system. Both systems worked together to activate the healing properties inside the body and the individual would be left feeling healthier and more rested. 

Bridging one generation to the next

Sometimes, when the appreciation of someone’s culture meets their professional aspirations, their business can become a love letter to a specific person (or group of people). 

For Helen, Inoki Bathhouse is a love letter to her future children. “It’s to remind them to put their mental well-being first,” she says. “I hope to show them how beautiful it is to slow down and enjoy life, to savor the moments, and to take time for ourselves. This is my mission with Inoki Bathhouse.”

— Shayna Condé