BRAND NEW DIRECTIONS
By spotting gaps in the market, these women have created thriving enterprises that embrace sustainability
‘As a chemist, I created my own beauty products’
Jo Chidley, 50, is the founder of Beauty Kitchen, creating sustainable products for face and body. Jo, a former HR manager, lives in Wishaw, near Glasgow, with her husband, Stuart, 47, and her two children.
THE IDEA
I love beauty products, especially skincare, but I was finding it hard to come by truly effective items that used sustainable ingredients and packaging. I’d studied chemistry at Strathclyde, so I knew how to create products – and decided to take matters into my own hands.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
Between 2010 and 2014, while working full-time, I researched the market to find out if Beauty Kitchen could fill a gap. I was acting as a lone ranger and doing everything, from sourcing ingredients to developing products. I noticed Holland & Barrett, the health and wellbeing shop, was stocking more beauty products, so eventually I targeted it.
BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT
Holland & Barrett decided to stock £100,000 worth of our products in its stores across the UK. It was a huge order, so I used personal savings, credit cards and loans to finance it. Thankfully the orders sold out, and Beauty Kitchen was established. These days, I have a team of 15, who share my passion for the business.
STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE
Our products worked well and they were sustainable, but our packaging wasn’t yet eco-friendly. That changed in 2018, when we launched our reusable packaging system, which allows customers to return the packaging direct to us, or to the store where it was bought, so that we can clean, refill and return it.
WHERE I AM NOW
Beauty Kitchen products are now stocked in e-tailers such as Feel Unique and retailers such as Boots and Sainsbury’s, as well as Holland & Barrett.
Lockdown was a challenge, as retail partners halted large orders. But this gave us a chance to sell directly to consumers, and we launched new products, including haircare. When the Scottish Government asked if we could help with critical supplies for the NHS, we worked double time to create 50,000 units of refillable hand sanitiser, as part of our Reusable Packaging programme. That was a complete first for the NHS.
‘Tanzanian tradition inspired my sugar wax’
Rosie Khandwala, 63, is the creator of Sugar Coated, a chemical-free product that removes body hair.
