Today, on International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the power, resilience, and achievements of women everywhere. At The Beauty Crop, we’re proud to be a female-founded brand, built on the values of empowerment, creativity, and inclusivity.
To mark this special occasion, we sat down with our inspiring founder Ning to talk all things business and beauty. From the challenges of entrepreneurship to the future of beauty, she shares her journey, advice, and vision for a more inclusive industry.
As part of our commitment to supporting women, we’re donating 5% of today’s sales to Ella’s, a charity dedicated to helping survivors of trafficking, slavery and exploitation rebuild their lives.
Chats with Ning
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What advice would you give women starting a business?
I would say go for it! Life is too short to think of what could be or couldn’t be. Saying that though, here are the top 3 things I would consider (especially if its a consumer goods business):
Being clear on your brand promise:
What is your unique offering? And what problem are you trying to solve for your customer that does not exist already? For The Beauty Crop, as an eczema sufferer and being a chemistry nerd, I was very clear at the outset that I wanted to bring better formulas with skin loving ingredients to cosmetics and more specifically colour cosmetics and at affordable price points. While there are many prestige / Sephora brands out there with clean formula ethos - I really wanted to fill the gap for the affordable price point range
Crunch the numbers:
Make sure you’re really clear on your margins and the company’s financial goals. Gone are the days of venture funded growth at all cost - companies with high revenue growth rate but have no path to profitability is not sustainable. Given, I’ve bootstrapped the business since day 1, being profitable with good cashflow management means that I didn’t need to sell my shares but instead can get competitive bank funding. Setting your financial targets right at the start of the financial year so you have a plan of what you need to spend to get to where you want to get to.
Hire the right people:
Hiring the right people is essential for startups due to their limited resources. Startups need a motivated, adaptable team with diverse skills to drive growth. Bringing in people with different skillsets that you have is really important - for example, I don’t know a lot on digital marketing, so bringing in a strong team who can unlock growth there is really important. My job as the founder is to create a culture of a strong team and a positive work environment, that fosters innovation, and builds a foundation for future success and talent
Also if you haven’t gotten all things figured out, start the business as a side hustle so you won’t lose your main income.
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What has been your proudest moment?
My proudest moment so far is seeing The Beauty Crop products in Boots. We launched last year in July 2024 and its great to see the brand in real life where our consumers can shop it in the flesh.
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What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is that business is about relationships with people. Whether it is building a community with your customers or suppliers. Building relationships is crucial in business as they serve as the foundation for trust, collaboration, and mutual success.
Strong relationships with customers foster loyalty, repeat business, and positive word-of-mouth referrals. Partnerships with suppliers and vendors can ensure a reliable supply chain and access to resources. Moreover, having a network of colleagues and mentors provides valuable insights, support, and potential opportunities for growth. By actively cultivating and nurturing relationships, businesses can create a supportive ecosystem that drives innovation, resilience, and long-term prosperity.
- What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
International Women's Day is a worldwide celebration of women and everything they've achieved! It's a day to think about how far we've come in fighting for equality, but also to remember that there's still a lot of work to do. We need to challenge those old-fashioned ideas that hold women back. International Women's Day is all about celebrating women from all walks of life and the amazing things they do every day. By shining a light on gender inequality and shouting about women's accomplishments, we can create a fairer and more inclusive world for everyone.
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How does The Beauty Crop celebrate and support women?
By offering ingredient-first beauty at approachable pricing that cater to self-care rituals everyday. We want to empower women to embrace their natural beauty and cultivate a sense of inner peace and self-acceptance. Highlighting the importance of self-care as a form of self-love and empowerment can inspire women to embrace their unique qualities and make self-care a central part of their lives.
In addition, we are proud to be supporting Ella's House since 2022, a local charity to us at The Beauty Crop. Ella’s is a London-based organisation working with women who have survived trafficking, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence. Ella’s are passionate about providing the best care for as many survivors as they can, ensuring they have all they need to recover and build lives that are safe & free.
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What women inspire you, and why?
Women who can juggle a career and motherhood are seriously impressive. They're super resilient, great at managing their time, and know how to prioritize like a pro. It's amazing to see their dedication to both their families and their work goals. These women often face unique challenges, like societal expectations, not enough support, and the pressure to be amazing at everything. But they keep going, showing everyone it's totally possible to have a fulfilling career and a happy family. They remind us that women can achieve anything they set their minds to.
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What’s next for The Beauty Crop?
World domination! I’m looking forward to seeing The Beauty Crop being sold in more countries outside the UK.
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How do you see the beauty industry evolving in the next five years?
In the next five years, we can expect to see a continued focus on sustainability, with brands increasingly using eco-friendly packaging and sourcing ingredients from sustainable sources. We will also see a rise in personalization, with products and recommendations tailored to individual skin types and concerns. Additionally, technology will play an increasingly important role in the beauty industry, with augmented reality and virtual reality being used to create immersive shopping experiences and provide personalized product recommendations. Overall, the future of the beauty industry looks bright, with brands innovating to create products and services that meet the needs of a diverse and demanding consumer base.
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What’s your approach to sustainability and ethical beauty?
I think its important we all play our part in reducing our carbon footprint, we are continuously looking for ways to bring in refillable and recyclable packaging. All our cleansing balms and our new face serums are refillable and we are looking at ways to add more to this roster. We are also constantly sourcing sustainable ingredients for example, we use upcycled cherry extract in some of our Oui Cherie range. In general we want to do more.
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What’s your go-to beauty hack?
I like applying powder blush on top of cream blush, it allows me to set my cream blush, making it last longer throughout the day while also potentially adding depth and dimension to the blush color especially if the powder blush is a shimmery one. It effectively helps "lock in" the cream blush and can create a more polished look.
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What beauty products are always in your bag?
Our new Peptide Calm Melting Lip Balm. Our new Peptide Calm Melting Lip Balm. It's so creamy and moistrusing with the most perfect tinted shades!
