The founder of Conserving Beauty on building a startup rooted in purpose

Since its launch, Conserving Beauty has made a stamp on the Australian beauty landscape with its dedication to innovation and sustainability.

The post The founder of Conserving Beauty on building a startup rooted in purpose appeared first on Inside Retail Australia.

Natassia Nicolao Grace founded Conserving Beauty with the mission to create a beauty brand that centres water conversation. 

Since its founding in 2021, Grace has landed investors, stocked her brand on the shelves of Mecca, made the Forbes’ 30 under 30 list, launched internationally in the UK and took home the Business of Fashion Global Beauty Award.

Inside Retail spoke with Grace to find out what motivates her to continue innovating efficacious beauty products, the single piece of advice that keeps her solution-focussed as an entrepreneur and why hiring an effective team is essential to disrupt an industry.

Inside Retail: How did you get your start within the beauty industry? 

Natassia Nicolao Grace: Growing up, I was passionate and involved in social causes and volunteer work. After school, I studied biochemistry at university. Whilst I loved impact and science, I also loved beauty products as a self-proclaimed Mecca beauty junkie. I didn’t know that science, impact and beauty could intersect at the time. I realised I could bring my passion for all three together when I started working at some of Australia’s leading beauty and wellness companies. Reflecting on my career journey, it makes sense that I eventually created a business that is half an impact company and half a beauty brand. 

IR: What was the series of events that led you to founding Conserving Beauty? 

NNG: When I started working in supply chain and product development, I knew I wanted to merge impact with beauty products. After seeing so much greenwashing and no solutions that could be equally great for our skin and planet, I decided to map a product’s lifecycle from start to finish to find ways to reduce our environmental footprint.

I realised that the beauty industry relies heavily on water at every stage of the product life cycle. Most products are filled with 70-90 per cent water. Water conservation should be a focus for all of us. With guidance from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the declared Water Action Decade, we reimagined a standard beauty product’s lifecycle to conserve our most precious resource – water. The final concept was to develop innovative products that helped our skin and saved water while reducing carbon emissions and preventing waste from entering landfills. 

From my initial idea, it took me almost two years to formulate, build a supply chain, start our water research project, lock in impact partners, and write a business plan.

During these two years, I had a full-time 9-to-5 job. This period of my life was equally chaotic and exciting. I was working seven days round the clock to make my side hustle my main job and ended up quitting my 9-to-5 shortly after we launched. 

The first two years of the business were admittedly very lonely as it was only me. Fast-forward to now, I have had the most incredible journey hiring my brilliant team. We are a small team of five people, four external board members, and five investors.

IR: What have been your proudest accomplishments since launching Conserving Beauty?

NNG: There are four that come to mind. 

The first is building a startup rooted in purpose, which helped me attract the most talented team who joined the journey with me. Startup life can have negative connotations, such as burnout and exhaustion. I’m proud that my team has a wonderful work-life and doesn’t have to sacrifice their personal life, mental health, or physical health in the process.

Because of our work in impact and innovation, Conserving Beauty is the first beauty brand globally to have environmental impact funds as investors. This is an incredibly proud moment because it validates our work to build a traceable supply chain and help conserve water, carbon and waste. 

Within the first eight months of launch, we were in Mecca stores across Australia and New Zealand and have expanded globally into the UK with Cult Beauty and SpaceNK. Every time I go into a store and see our innovation on shelves, I still get goosebumps, especially when so many people told me it would never happen so early in our journey.

We recently won the Business of Fashion Global Beauty Award. As an entrepreneur in the beauty space, The Business of Fashion has always been my go-to for global industry news, inspiration, and innovation. So, seeing our Australian brand celebrated worldwide by some of the industry’s most accomplished business leaders leaves me speechless. This is a remarkable milestone for our Australian innovation and the ultimate validation that we are making a difference within the industry and carving the way for other like-minded brands

IR: At the end of the day, what do you think it is about beauty that keeps you inspired to keep innovating new products?

NNG: Hands down, my favourite part about what I do and what keeps me motivated is developing skincare that works for people and seeing the results. Customer reviews and messages informing us that our skincare products have transformed their skin inspire me to keep going. When people have great skin, they feel their best and have better self-confidence, so it is wonderful that we can make that kind of impact on people. 

IR: Being a founder and entrepreneur is a juggling act. So what is your approach to a work-life balance? 

NNG: I used to put a lot of pressure on myself for not having enough balance because friends and family tend to point it out when they feel neglected. But I realised that it’s an unrealistic ideal and not a healthy way to look at my life because it implies I’m not doing either right and is wrong for me to be a workaholic.

I love my job, I love my business, and of course, it consumes the majority of my thoughts and hours in my day, and I changed my mindset that there is nothing wrong with that. The minute I stopped putting pressure on myself to seek ‘balance’, I started to enjoy life more. I still see my family and friends without the unnecessary guilt and expectations others tried to project onto me.

IR: Are there any specific tools you use to help you accomplish that?

NNG: That said, looking after myself is essential! This is an area that I try to improve on because I tend to put the business needs before my own, which could be better. Instead of trying to have heaps of wellness goals, I focus on one, which is sleep. When I’m well-rested, my decisions are better, my mood and mindset are better, and even my skin is better, so ultimately, this will positively impact my team and business.

Outside of this, I like to work out with my team a few days a week and drink 2-3 litres of water each day. 

IR: What is the most unique piece of advice you’ve been given throughout your career so far?

NNG: A mentor once told me not to let the problem overtake my life. This applies to both personal and professional life challenges. Things go wrong more than they do right in business, and especially the more responsibility you take on, the more problems you’re fixing. It can be easy to let it consume you, which negatively impacts your personal life because you’re not looking after yourself or sleeping over it, and that has a flow-on effect on your mental health and happiness.

It’s important to remember in these times that there is always a solution, that you don’t have to solve it on your own, and that instead of wasting time worrying about it or dwelling on what went wrong, just focus that energy on how you can move through it and get past it. Work is necessary but not at the cost of your mental health and personal life. 

IR: What is a piece of advice you would give to somebody who wants to disrupt an industry like you have with Conserving Beauty?

NNG: When thinking about creating a beauty product, I recommend making sure it has a true point of difference and a purpose. It’s a lot easier to get through hard days when you can remember that what you’re creating is ultimately having a positive impact on people and the planet. Purpose is what drives you and all your business decisions, so it’s important to know what that is.  

On the flip side, I’ve also learned that having unique disruptive products and a legitimate impact is not enough if no one knows about them or our messaging and marketing aren’t resonating and connecting with people. So, it’s also equally important to hire the right people who will be able to communicate and market your product effectively. I’m lucky to have hired the best people who help me do this.  

IR: To end things off on a fun note, what is your favourite Conserving Beauty product right now?

NNG: This may be frustrating, but it’s actually an unreleased product… My team and I have been trialling a new product for the past few months, and I have already run out. I can’t spill too much, but what I can say is that my skin has never been more hydrated and clearer! I’m very excited to share this product with those with acne-prone skin and for those who are looking for ultra hydration.

The post The founder of Conserving Beauty on building a startup rooted in purpose appeared first on Inside Retail Australia.