Inside beauty empires: Sskin, MooGoo, James Cosmetics, Alpha-H, Eco Tan, Esmi Skin Minerals, Evohe, Cedar and Stone, Cannabella and Ryder Wolfe
Gold Coasters are spending almost $1000 a year to look good and feel even better – and they are going to companies in their own neighbourhood to do so. SEE WHO >>
Lifestyle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Gold Coasters are spending almost $1000 a year to look good and feel even better – and they are going to companies in their own neighbourhood to do so.
The Australian beauty and personal care market was worth more than $4bn in 2020 and is forecast to explode past $6.7bn within the next three years.
A number of Gold Coast companies, scattered from Burleigh and Bundall to the hinterland, have become multimillion-dollar meccas on the back of it.
Here is a look at the city’s beauty empires, how they got started, and the people behind them.
Moo Goo
MooGoo was created to help treat different skin and scalp problems throughout the world.
But it was a “happy accident”.
“In 2005, our founder Craig Jones noticed his mother was using a white paste, intended for use on cow’s udders, to help with her psoriasis,” MooGoo CEO Melody Livingstone says.
“It seemed to be working well, but the cream was thick and hard to apply.
“So, he reformulated it into a moisturiser which became our very first product, the Skin Milk Udder Cream.”
She says MooGoo, with revenue over $22.6m, has more than 40 products that can help people with irritable skin, itchy scalps, natural sun care and they also have a baby range.
Ms Livingstone says most of their success has come off the back of word of mouth endorsements.
She says MooGoo chose Burleigh Heads as its base because of the lifestyle on the Coast.
“We value work-life balance and wanted to be close to the beach so we and all our wonderful staff can work and hit the surf in the afternoon.
“The community of start-up businesses located here makes for a great culture that fosters creativity and innovation.”
She says MooGoo is scheduled to launch a new 2.5l refill pouches for its best-selling products.
“We are also implementing our new free recycling program to stockists around the nation.
“We plan to continue to develop our product range and focus on international growth.”
Sskin
At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Amy and Emilee Hembrow opened a beauty therapy studio in Bundall.
Sskin’s six experts perform skin, cosmetics, infusion, booster and naturopath treatments, including rose quartz facials, microdermabrasions and injectables.
They also sell a range of skin care products from VIDA GLOW, Mesoestetic and Medik8.
“We are a representation of the clients. During the pandemic we had to learn to pivot in a time when people in the industry were craving human contact and couldn’t get it.”
Amy says March was their most successful month since opening.
“We are constantly changing and learning from what doesn’t work.
“I can’t say we wouldn’t do anything differently because now we have an understanding of what we want.”
Amy encouraged entrepreneurs not to wait for the right time and just to “start with what you have”.
“Don’t wait for more money or the right time. If you’re always chipping away or doing something towards your goal of starting a business you will make it.”
PART I: TOP 75 DANCERS ON THE COAST
James Cosmetics
Sam Mangan founded James Cosmetics in 2017 to deliver “simple and powerful skincare which delivers a real result”.
“There’s no doubt that the primary reason we’ve continued to grow is our customers see the results, come back for more, but even more importantly tell their friends,” he says.
“Most people think it all comes down to marketing, but the truth is marketing and advertising is expensive.
“The difference comes down to a great product.
“For every dollar we spend to try and acquire a customer, I want to make sure they come back over and over to repurchase and try new products.”
Mr Mangan says he chose to build the James Cosmetics brand on the Gold Coast because of the city’s lifestyle.
“I grew up here and I love it.
“More than that though, we have amazing people.
“Our team is proof that you don’t need to be in Melbourne or Sydney. We have amazing talent here, you just need to have the right company to attract them.”
Bundall-based James Cosmetics is well known for its face masks and 24k gold and collagen crystal eye masks.
They also offer pregnancy-safe products, serums, décolletage and liquid masks.
Cedar and Stone
Plant-based and cruelty free skincare company Cedar and Stone was founded in 2014 and opened its first store on the Coast in 2019.
Owner Amy Dempsey said she wanted to introduce a skincare brand that was completely natural.
“The goal of Cedar and Stone was to provide affordable and natural plant-based skincare and body care,” she said.
“We didn’t like walking into an organic store or shop and seeing items on the shelf claiming to be natural, when really they aren’t.”
Ms Dempsey says there had been a shift in clientele buying more environmentally friendly products.
“People research brands and products before purchasing and, for us, being Australian-made, family owned and kind to the environment has definitely helped.”
Ms Dempsey says Cedar and Stone recently released two hand washes, body washes and palm oil-free body bars into Coles supermarkets.
Cannabella
Organic hemp skincare business Cannabella was founded in 2017 by three brothers.
Owner Matt Stiegler says his family saw the terrible side-effects of chemotherapy first-hand as their mother battled cancer, and searched to alleviate her parched and painful skin.
He says they struggled to find anything to help so researched natural skincare alternatives.
Mr Stiegler says he melted his mum’s skincare products and added hemp oil and botanical extracts. It worked.
After turning his spare bedroom into a lab to experiment with different types of botanical extracts and hemp oil, Cannabella was born.
“From the day we started it’s been all about helping people, it’s a passion for us not a job.”
Mr Stiegler says Burleigh Heads was chosen as the company’s warehouse base because of its entrepreneurial culture.
“We are working on a cleanser and exfoliator which we are pretty excited about.
“We are in talks with expanding into Europe and America and to grow Cannabella in Australia as a leading natural skincare brand.”
PART II: TOP 75 DANCERS ON THE COAST
Eco Tan
Sonya Driver says she stumbled across the idea for Australian made and certified organic tanning, skin care, body care and sun care products after she had to “turn her pain into power”.
She said in 2009 she “was a wife, mum and international flight attendant and almost overnight I became a redundant, divorced, solo mum”.
Ms Driver says she spent two weeks volunteering in East Timor and it changed her mindset and gave her strength.
“Around the same time my younger sister was diagnosed with a melanoma on her arm which required removal, leaving a terrible scar.”
She says she struggled to find natural skincare, tanning and body-care products for her sister, so started to make organic tan from her kitchen in Currumbin.
“I believe the success is due to my determination and drive. I knew no one was coming to save me.”
In 2020 she says she launched a non-for-profit called The Miracle Made Foundation, to create jobs and opportunities for homelessness in Australia.
Evohe
Founder Meghan Kurts says she is proud to say she has made it 15 years on the Coast, even through Covid-19.
Her cruelty-free and vegan skincare brand uses natural and sustainable resources.
“Being a family run, in-house boutique manufacturer, we don’t have to compromise on ingredients or use fillers – this is one of the reasons why I believe we have been successful,” she says.
“Our products do what they say they are going to do and people keep coming back for them after all these years.
“No empty promises or airbrushed dreams here.”
She says Evohe’s skincare range is completely natural, “right down to the preservation system, which means there are no chemicals or synthetics found anywhere in our formulations”.
“Long term, I am passionate about skincare becoming an opportunity for self-care and mental wellbeing.
“After having lost nine people close to me in a period of six years I am very aware of the importance of burnout recovery and resilience.
“I support a number of workplaces with their mental health and wellbeing and this crosses over beautifully with Evohe products.”
Evohe sells essential oils, cleansers, foam washes, lotions and exfoliants.
Esmi Skin Minerals
Founder Evette Hess says throughout her years in the beauty industry she has seen many people applying foundation that “suffocate” their skin.
“When I reached my late 20s, early 30s, my concerns focused around preventive ageing,” she says on her site.
“When I had my babies I noticed a huge change in my skin again.
“Fast forward a few years and our horizon has been enriched, enlightened and expanded by the most beautiful ingredients, formulations and products.”
Esmi Skin Minerals, a vegan, cruelty free and Australian-made skin care brand, offers a range of mineral foundations and skin care.
Alpha-H
Alpha-H has made a vast imprint in the skincare world in the past 25 years.
The sustainably made skincare business has authority in the use of glycolic acid and other accelerating acids.
Alpha-H is best known for the award-winning Liquid Gold, a glycolic acid treatment that exfoliates the skin and revitalises the complexion.
Alpha-H follows “three pillars of skin health” pitched to activate, accelerate and advocate.
This targets solutions for specific skin concerns, whether it is signs of ageing, pigmentation, dullness or blemishes.
PART III: TOP 75 DANCERS ON THE COAST
Ryder Wolfe
The Gold Coast ecological skincare brand says it sources raw ingredients and makes its products in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Ryder Wolfe focuses on producing minimal, botanical, hand-poured products.
It says its treatments focus on holistic teachings, offering a gentle and therapeutic way to treat the skin.
More Coverage
‘Docusoap’: Dawn of Australia’s reality TV juggernaut
The term “reality TV’ didn’t exist 25 years ago when a ‘docusoap’ was announced, spawning Bardot, one of Australia’s biggest bands of the 2000s, and changing TV forever.
‘It’s exhilarating’: Watch 93yo Betty’s leap of faith
The great grandmother of 12 treated herself to a heart-pumping birthday present, jumping out of a plane at 15,000 feet over Kirra Beach. SEE THE VIDEO