Thursday January 30, 2025
Did you know Japanese seaweed (AKA wakame) is one of nature’s most powerful health ingredients? Darcy Recio, Founder of Wakame Girl, harnessed these powers to create tasty wakame salad recipes sold by the jar. Available in Original or Spicy flavors, these jars, packed with goodness and passion, were once delivered in person, by Darcy, on her bike. Today, there are too many orders for her to keep the business moving by bike so she sells her popular products at local markets and through her website powered by Hostinger.
We caught up with Darcy to chat about how the brand was born, her ambitions for the future, and what makes this her most successful business venture yet. We also discover how Hostinger’s products and features, including Hosting for WordPress, are some of the key ingredients in Wakame Girl’s recipe for online success.
How did Wakame Girl come to life?
When I moved out of my parents’ house, I saw this little store that sold wakame, the main ingredient of my salads. I knew I loved it because it’s in Japanese restaurants but it looked a little bit different in its packaging. So, I researched it and I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I can try cooking it’. The first time I tried, it didn’t taste good at all because I didn’t know what I was doing but then I asked my mom, who’s an amazing cook, for advice and I went from there.
At the time it wasn’t really a business idea but I thought, ‘What if I could make this into something?’. The first idea I had was Wakame Girl—not the most creative but I think it speaks to the local markets because it’s very clear and simple. Some people don’t know what wakame is, so I just thought, ‘Okay, let’s make a website’. I’ve made a website before, albeit very very bare, so, let’s just do it. I work in marketing full-time, so I started using what I know and learning a bit about the basics of HTML.
Now, I mostly use wakamegirl.com for sales and marketing. Specifically, I’m using the site to empower an experience with buyers who prefer less contact. I use it to enable credit and debit card payments for those who want more security, and it helps me build a place where I can direct all traffic looking for more info on me and my business—sort of like a portfolio but for wakame.
Why did you decide Wakame Girl needed a website?
I thought having a domain would give Wakame Girl more credibility than others might not have. Startups here in the Philippines don’t really have websites and I thought maybe that could make me stand out and give me more leverage because, at the end of the day, it’s also a skill. There are other platforms I could sell on, like Lazada and Shopee, but right now, I don’t want to spread myself too thin—I just want to focus on social media and my website. That way, I can see everything much easier in terms of process.
A lot of local businesses here don’t have websites. Nobody wants to invest because they don’t believe in the power of a website enough to allocate their funds to it. However, I believe my website brings Wakame Girl more credibility and personality. I’m just barely scratching the surface of my vision for it but already I can showcase an overview of how it all started for me. I can also show return and new buyers that all orders are handled with love and care, food safety and nutrition are respected, and of course, showcase my product.
I’m very proud of my products and sharing them with other wakame-lovers makes me so incredibly happy and grateful. It makes all the product testing, creativity with ads, and even biking to deliver products all worth it. Having a website also allows me to connect with people who also love wakame as a snack or side dish for their poke bowls, grilled food, etc.
Did you build your website yourself?
Yes, I created my website myself. I started with some templates, but then I started making it my own. I didn’t think I’d get sales through the website, to be honest, because when I think about how myself and other people shop here in the Philippines, it’s usually the Amazon equivalent—Lazada and Shopee. I just thought it would be a place where I could document things that are not on my social media.
However, I realized that the website was a place where I could customize the journey of the people visiting. I could create landing pages for specific products. I could give people more insight into the business. When it’s just on my social media, it’s just post after post. The website provides a different kind of engagement. Social media is where we engage more and then the website is more about people who want to learn more. Out of all the business ventures I’ve tried, this is the one that actually has sales, even through the website, so it’s just amazing.
What do you think makes Wakame Girl uniquely successful?
I think it took off because it’s very niche; not a lot of people know what wakame is, so there’s a curiosity there. People are like, ‘What is that? It looks like pickles, but they’re not cucumbers’. So, there’s interest around it and I was able to tap into that. Plus, I’m the only business in the Philippines selling this product cooked, which has led to more momentum and motivation.
So, how did you find Hostinger?
I saw Hostinger on Reddit and on Google. I’m not too unfamiliar with it because I had clients before who had other hosts but I started going down a rabbit hole reading about Hostinger. It seemed like it might be the best option for my needs. So far, I’m happy with it and it’s pretty intuitive. Because I was setting it up on my own, I wanted something that would give me a walk-through without having to talk to anyone. I’m a big introvert, so seeing all the resources already out there on how to do things on the Hostinger platform helped me a lot.
How would you describe your experience with Hostinger?
Setting up my site was genuinely a breeze with Hostinger. I’ve always been somewhat techy but never had any formal training in IT or web development. Hostinger’s different guides helped me understand and want to learn more about the nuances of building a site. How to set up email with a domain, setting up https and DNS, and understanding plugins—I was able to set up all these backend things at the start because of the Hostinger Academy videos, written tutorials, guides, etc.
As for design, I’m not very good with color, and I never knew what padding was before—the small UI/UX nuances were all a mystery to me. I’ve made a website before that failed but with Hostinger’s pricing plan, it was great that I could easily just add a new one when I got the business idea and had proof of concept. To this day, I’m still learning a lot and Hostinger was and still is a huge help to my business throughout the journey.
What does the future hold for Wakame Girl?
There’s so much I want to do with Wakame Girl and I have a lot of vision for my website. I’m talking custom buyer journeys through landing pages connected to ads, testimonials in real time, a comprehensive nutritional guide for wakame flavors, and much more. I see Wakame Girl going nationwide because right now, there’s not really any other competitor. In fact, last time I checked, I’m the only brand in my country that sells wakame.
I want to scale it and come up with a system for the fulfillment and production of the product. My dream is to be able to quit my 9-to-5 job and work 24/7 on my business. I have new flavors in mind but you have to do the research with each product and have people taste it before you release a new type of flavor. Then, if it really takes off, I could venture into different side dishes. So yeah, I have a lot of vision for the future of my business and I wouldn’t be able to achieve it without my website.
Visit wakamegirl.com to learn more about Darcy’s story and her delicious salads. Visit our Hosting for WordPress page to explore how our tools can help you get your own taste of online success.
Steph is a Senior Copywriter with a background in growth marketing, creative campaigns, content marketing and brand voice building. In her spare time, she enjoys writing bar and restaurant reviews for local food and drink platforms.
