Get to Know Our Founders
Caroll L. Santiago López — Vision & Purpose (†)
A first-generation entrepreneur, Caroll is the foundational soul of the brand. Her sensitivity to holistic well-being and nature gave rise to the idea of holistic cleaning: honest and respectful formulas for the skin and the environment but with a real intention behind the products. Caroll championed the standard of wholesale manufacturing and distribution with a focus on quality, transparency and focus on the essential. From the start, Caroll had a clear vision: to create truly clean products that would not alter or compromise the genetics or health of those who use them.
Her purpose has always been to center natural ingredients, plants, and organic elements with medicinal properties.While this vision was taking shape, a recurrence of cancer profoundly marked the path. That moment planted an unbreakable conviction that today guides every decision: to exclude colorants, clays, palm oil, and any ingredient that, directly or indirectly, could affect health or alter genetic integrity, prioritizing only what is necessary to offer reliable cosmetic benefits. This conviction applies to all our formulations, past, present, and future. Her legacy lives in the purpose of educating, caring for, and building community around more conscious consumption. Furthermore, she had a conviction: The client’s comfort and experience comes first. She greatly prioritized customers and consumers and provided education to the team on how to deliver excellent customer service and keeps in mind how the consumer would feel with the product experience and with the brand.
«El Nigeriano has no competition, because El Nigeriano is the competition.»
— Caroll Santiago
Omar M. Abdelhadi Fernández — Operations & Quality
A fourth-generation entrepreneur, Omar comes from the background of a family of entrepreneurs in agriculture, pastry and bakery and legal service. With all this knowledge, he is the architect of the “how.» Aligned with Caroll’s vision, he transformed manufacturing by integrating knowledge of quality certifications like GMP, FSMA and many others into the processes, ensuring consistency without losing the warmth of the handmade. Omar’s operational discipline sustains product safety, batch standardization, and continuous improvement. Omar defends clarity in technical claims and regulatory compliance.
Furthermore, he promotes and inspects materials and suppliers aligned with sustainability and our conviction of clean raw material, which includes packaging. His daily mission: that every product meets the promised and agreed-upon quality, transparency, and value for retailers and consumers.
«Reading is knowledge. Knowledge is power, and power is freedom.»
— Omar AbdelHadi
Joanne L. Santiago Santiago — Product & Community
A founder from the very beginning, Joanne is the second-generation entrepreneur behind C.O El Nigeriano J.J. Having been involved in the business from a young age, she has hands-on experience in every area: manufacturing, sales, analysis, supplier relations, and administration. She assumed leadership after the passing of Caroll, becoming the guardian of her legacy.
Joanne strengthened the brand’s ingredient policy and reinforced the “less is more” philosophy. She works closely with customers and retail partners, amplifying the value proposition and expanding the reach of C.O El Nigeriano J.J. and Holistic by El Nigeriano (2023), accelerating their adoption. Her unwavering north star is clear: to offer a high-quality product, rooted in real intention and accessible to all—guided by a deep commitment to customer service and a steadfast drive to elevate the family legacy to unimaginable heights. This vision is grounded in the values instilled by her parents, Caroll and Omar: respect, integrity, humility, and character, which continue to guide and empower her every step of the way
«Cut off the negative. Cut off what doesn’t serve you, and keep moving forward.»
— Joanne Santiago
C.O El Nigeriano J.J is more than just a business name
It is a living testament to a family legacy that unites generations, convictions, and purpose.
Behind each letter tells a story:
C stands for Caroll, the root and visionary behind it all.
O stands for Omar, the architect of quality and execution.
El Nigeriano is the soul of the business: a brand with its own identity, deeply connected to the holistic, the ancestral, and the natural.
J stands for Joanne, the new generation honoring the legacy while projecting it into the future.
J also stands for Juntos (Together), because this story only makes sense when walked in unity—as a family, as a team, and as a community.
From its origin, the brand was born with a clear commitment: to create truly clean products, guided by real intention and respect for human health, the environment, and the cultural heritage that inspires it.
Caroll, with her sensitivity to holistic well-being, shaped the vision. Omar, with his entrepreneurial experience, transformed that vision into a robust, certified system. And Joanne, deeply connected to both, represents continuity, closeness to the consumer, and the generational drive that allows the seed to grow.
Every product, every decision, every scent and formula carries a story: one of a business built by hand—with science, heart, and conviction.
C.O El Nigeriano J.J is more than a brand.
It is a collective purpose. A living legacy. A family.
