Elisa Gera of Acca Kappa: A scentimental modern woman (Conclusion)

TREVISO, Italy — A small city near Venice with Medieval buildings, churches and canals crisscrossing cobblestoned streets, Treviso is home to the clothing chain Benetton, the appliance brand DeLonghi and the 142-year-old brush and body care line Acca Kappa.

A city with an old soul and a vibrant future, it is the perfect cocoon for a scentimental modern woman like Elisa Gera, owner and president of the multi-national Acca Kappa brand.

A hands-on manager in her office and factory, which churns up over 200 kinds of hairbrushes (even toothbrushes and shaving brushes) and over 150 fragrances, Elisa reserves late afternoons and evenings for her family, husband architect Massimo Favaro, daughter Virginia, 10, and son Federico, three. She breastfed Federico even after she had gone back to work — taking breaks in her busy schedule to store her milk before heading for home in the outskirts of Treviso. Home is a villa spruced up and surrounded by lush gardens abloom with roses, lavender and other flowers and olive trees (for home-made olive oil).

“We try to take inspiration from our own gardens,” points out the tall and dusky Elisa, the great-granddaughter of the Acca Kappa’s founder H. Krull (his initials are pronounced Acca Kappa in Italian). “We like to source our fragrances from Italian-grown flowers. Not all of the time, but that is where we want to be in the future with our products. We also try to be as natural as possible. We try to take away the parabens, make our products gluten-free. We try to be as healthy as possible. At the same time, we want to be elegant.”

Acca Kappa’s Green Mandarin line.

In the Philippines, several socialites and celebrities (including Kris Aquino and Martin Nievera) are said to wear Acca Kappa fragrances, which are known for their light, refreshing but distinctive scents. Acca Kappa’s first fragrance, White Moss, was inspired by Elisa’s visit to Cyprus some 12 years ago, where unforgettable scents of lavender and juniper tailed her. Green Mandarin is Acca Kappa’s newest scent. The Green Mandarin has a fresh citrus scent inspired by Elisa’s gardens.

Adding fragrances and other lifestyle products to the tried and tested Acca Kappa line of hairbrushes was a bold stroke for Elisa, the only descendant of H. Krull to go into the family business. It was a calculated risk, for Acca Kappa was (still is) the leading brush manufacturer in Europe, used by England’s Queen Elizabeth and her family. Would the success of Acca Kappa’s brushes be diluted by fragrances?

Elisa proved that her fragrance line perfumed, not diluted, the success of Acca Kappa hairbrushes, which are made from only the finest materials — natural rubber, wood, vegetable fibers and Mediterranean sponges — and are all produced and hand-finished in Italy. The use of first-rate materials combined with workmanship techniques passed down through the years guarantee the quality of Acca Kappa brushes.

“For the fragrances, we are a niche brand with a history behind us. We’re not just a niche brand that developed five years ago. We have been here for more than 140 years. For the hairbrushes, I would say we are a leading worldwide company. Most of the leading brush companies that were in Europe have gone to China to produce their products there. We don’t produce anything in China.”

The “Made-in-Italy” tag is a definite come-on, as it is synonymous with fine craftsmanship, quality and an unmistakable snob appeal. Acca Kappa products are doing very well in Rustan’s, which carries the line exclusively. Elisa says she likes doing business with the Tantoco family, whom she has known for over a decade now.

“They are very nice so I always work with them. I think it’s very great working with them,” she shares.

Elisa thinks Filipinos like using Acca Kappa products because Filipinos are very much like the Italians — artistic, passionate, with a zest for living and the good things in life. In fact, some people say Filipinos are the “Italians of Asia.”

Acca Kappa’s Blue Lavender scent.

“I’ve been to other countries in Asia, but the Philippines, it’s really another country. It’s not like being in Asia. It’s more like Europe. The people are more relaxed, they’re more happy in general. Even if you have poor people, still, they all smile,” she points out.

“And they like our taste,” adds Elisa, who came to our interview in the original Acca Kappa factory in Treviso wearing a strand of pearls that she bought in Greenhills during a business trip to the Philippines some years ago. “They really like what we do in Italy.”

Despite her frequent business trips all over the world and her daily work schedule, Elisa has managed to keep the home fires burning.

“Sometimes it’s not so easy because I am tired at the end of the day. I have to give the most of myself at work and also to my family. I start working at 8:30 or 9 a.m. I work every day, I don’t stay at home one single working day, but I like to be home by 5 p.m. and spend my life with my family.” Her husband Massimo, a modern-day family man, helps her out with the children, she says with a grateful smile. An Italian maid takes care of them when both husband and wife are at work.

She hopes her daughter Virginia will succeed her someday, but promises to give her the freedom to chart the direction of her life.

“I hope one day she would like working in the factory but I want her to decide by herself what she wants to do in life. I wasn’t pushed at all by my own parents to join the family business. I decided to, and I think that’s the right way. If one day my daughter wants to work here, that’s fine. But otherwise, it’s fine, too.”

The secret ingredients to her success are not as tightly guarded as those in her fragrance labs.

“I don’t think there’s a secret. I really love my work so I think that’s really the secret and I do it with passion and I hope that this passion you can feel in Acca Kappa products. All the products we have are really well thought of, invested in. I bring my work home. At the end of the day, it’s not just numbers that count. It’s passion.”

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