What a week!

Midwife turned businesswoman, Anna Schmidt is on a crusade to promote the use of natural body care products

Interview by Zillah Bugeja

It was 10 degrees in Austria last week! Before going to the airport to come here, I had to drive my children to school so that made it a big rush.

It took me a long time to get used to driving on highways, I wouldn’t bring myself to do it, but now I realise that all you have to cope with is the speed – no oncoming traffic.

As soon as I’m on the plane here I get the feeling of being in Malta. I’ve got used to the cabin staff too. I was greeted by a friend who’s getting married, and a big bouquet of flowers! I was supposed to be her witness, but it will coincide with my daughters’ last day at school, and I want to be there when they are presented with their school report.

I have a place in Qawra, because I love the sea. I appreciate Malta a lot now that I’ve been living abroad: our heritage and the people too. If I had the combination of this and the system and discipline of Austria, I wouldn’t leave here.

The idea of making natural cosmetic products came out of my job as a midwife. I looked after babies and mothers in the critical time after delivery, and always desired to ease their discomfort from minor disorders.

A friend of mine, Laura Rosawatz, was already making natural cosmetics and I started to promote them. It was my idea to bring them to my homeland Malta and also produce them here, under Austrian supervision.

Natural products can go down to the root of the problem, so that healing happens at a deep level. Our company Med Herb Garden have creams that maintain the skin’s PH, and encourage our body to regenerate and heal. Softening the skin is not enough if healing of cracked skin also needs to take place.

For example, one active ingredient is propolis, obtained from pollen collected by bees, similar to royal jelly, greatly enhances the immune system. Of course, the health department in Germany has tested all of our products – you have to. The EU has meant that we constantly need to update them, and that’s fine.

We do a range of eleven products, for babies, pregnant women and those losing weight, and body and skin care. Then there are the healing creams, like the antiseptic tea tree gel, Chinese linament oil for aching muscles and joints, or the inhalation cream. The leg and footcare treatment cream is really popular here because it removes edema (swelling) and prevents the formation of varicose veins, which come on quicker than you think.

In April we launched Med Herb Garden at selected outlets and we’re getting a good response from salons too. I have two committed women as my sales reps. Sometimes I make the initial contact for them. We are currently working on a day cream, night cream and masks specifically for Maltese women, who do not need such a oily products in this hot, damp climate.

When I get here I have my programme ready, knowing who I have to contact and meet. In the evening I might have an appointment with Joe D’Emmanuele who takes care of the advertising side of things.

Right now I’m doing interviews and planning the TV slots I’ll be doing on Super One and Max Plus. I also give demonstrations and talks: that’s where my experience as midwife comes in, and it’s something I feel very strongly about. Any advice I can give, I do, wholeheartedly.

I had a meeting with Sue Rossi who will use the Med Herb Garden range during the Miss Malta beauty contest on 14 July. Most of her beauticians are already using them. She’s a woman I really enjoy working with, full of ideas and so creative. I felt we clicked, and we’ve got one thing in common: creating something and working to see it to fruition.

The natural way of living is all-pervasive. I’ve used my own creams on my children. My eldest daughter, who is now 13, has never been given any antibiotics. She was breastfed for one year three months, and when she was sick, my father-in-law would brew some herbal tea. If she had fever, I’d use tepid sponging, cooling the water by half a degree each time, to bring her temperature down.

About five years ago, I was doing so much reading about the advantages of eating natural foods that I didn’t need to make any effort to stop eating sweets. My daughters Isabelle and Vanessa have never been given sweets. But I don’t emphasise the fact, I don’t forbid them, just do a lot of psychological work. The little one’s biggest punishment is no ice cream – she offers to opt for a week of not seeing TV instead.

I used to spend Lm3 every day on the sweetest sweets and chocolates while studying, okay I’d share them… and giving them up didn’t happen overnight, but now I feel better, having done so. I did lose a little extra weight too. If ever I feel extremely tired I’ll take a bit of sugar with my coffee. I don’t eat meat either, it just happened, though I do et a lot of fish, especially shellfish.

I’m happy that people will benefit from my creams. I especially wanted the range to be produced here. It hurts that people look down on a product that’s locally made. I’d have gained more if I’d introduced it as an Austrian product.

I think I’ll achieve what I want through the educational programmes. It’s still challenging and I haven’t lost my interest.

We planted a herb garden about a year ago in Madliena. Our plan is to open it to the public in the near future, so that it can be enjoyed and so that they can see which herbs actually go into the products. Right now we are busy planting olive and citrus trees.

The initial concept of a herb garden was my Austrian husband’s, who is a great support in all respects. We then travelled extensively in France, Italy and the UK to learn about herb gardens. My husband is a restauranteur, with two Italian restaurants in Austria, one called la Valletta and the other on a lake, called La Strega.

The Austrians are nice people, very down to earth and you’ll have a friend for life. But it’s not acceptable to be even five minutes late!

They say that they can tell the British were here for so long – we bring it across that we are British oriented. They like Malta, thinking it’s beautiful and the fact that we are ‘mixed’, in people’s looks, our temperament, even our flair. Yet they can’t wait to get back to Austria to their own food, coffee and wine.

I like the fact that I can connect what I’m able to learn in Austria and bring it here.

One thing I never miss is my walk down to Qawra Point. And before I leave Malta. I go to Paradise Bay, at 6am on the day of the flight. Once I was there at 10pm and I was quite frightened. I collect my thoughts there, it’s a peaceful place. On the way back, if the shop is open I’ll pick up a coffee and go home. Even when I’m back in Austria, I go back to Paradise Bay in my thoughts. It’s my personal soul-searching place.

In the beginning it was difficult to leave my family behind, now it’s fine with all of us. I keep a balance between being a good mother and being a businesswoman. Now they’re proud of mummy selling natural creams. They sit with me while I’m writing and hand me relevant books. When I’m there I can give them my full attention.

I once told myself, that when I’m 70, I want to look back and feel I’ve had a purpose in life, not just doing an ordinary job. I’m trying to make it that way. So far I haven’t earned much, although the investment has been great.