A solid beauty investment

Equity crowd-funding is usually all about raising much needed cash, but for start-up hair and beauty products business Sorbet, the primary focus is giving loyal customers a way to become part of the business.

28-year-old Sorbet founder Brianne West announced she will launch a Pledgeme investment campaign on 10 June. Up to 16 percent of the company is being offered for a maximum of $200,000.

With a tagline of ‘sensational solids’, Sorbet is understood to be the world’s first 100 percent solid skin and hair care range.

West established the company in late 2012 while studying chemistry and biology at University of Canterbury, and says countless fans of her unique product range have contacted her wanting to get involved.

“Web-based channels such as Pledgeme are ideally suited to businesses such as Sorbet. Almost 90 percent of sales are through our online store so we’re already connected to 6000 customers, and our Facebook page has more than 8000 ‘likes’,” says West.

“The campaign is all about offering the people who have already backed Sorbet by purchasing our products an opportunity to get on board. But of course it will be an amazing bonus if the process introduces us to even more people who are passionate about what Sorbet stands for.”

While details of Sorbet’s business plan will be released in the investment memorandum West confirms the business is highly scalable with significant opportunities for product line extension. Expansion into international markets is on the cards, particularly leading environmentally aware countries such as Singapore and Japan, with expansion into Europe a more long-term goal. Plans to further increase market share in Australasia are underway.

The Sorbet product list includes shampoos, conditioners, cleansers and scrubs, moisturisers, serums and self-tanning bars that, due to being in solid form, are free from the preservatives, formaldehyde, sodium laureth sulphate and other undesirable ingredients manufacturers have to add to liquid products so they don’t deteriorate.

And no liquids also means no plastic bottles. West says up to 85 percent of shampoo is made of water, meaning the bulk of the packaging is unnecessary, and cites research that shows cosmetics make up to 20 percent of some consumers’ unrecyclable rubbish.

Instead, she utilises water-soluble paper wrappers that quite literally dissolve in the shower – a new concept for the beauty industry and one that Brianne has pioneered and understands to be a world first. Meanwhile oil-based products in the Sorbet range are packaged in reusable, recyclable boxes made from post-consumer waste. As a result, Sorbet has so far prevented the manufacture and disposal of nearly 33,000 plastic containers.

West is a tertiary qualified biologist who will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in July 2015, providing her with the knowledge and unique skill set to formulate and produce her own natural products. She currently produces more than 100 beauty bars a day at her boutique manufacturing facility in Christchurch.

Sorbet bars are made from high-quality ingredients ensuring they last for several months and produce excellent results. West is equally passionate about ensuring the Sorbet brand is founded on strong environmental principles, including a commitment to being certified climate-neutral, so her ultimate goal personally is to make products that are ‘better for you and better for the planet’.

“They’re safer for our customers to use and meet the growing consumer demand for products with fewer additives.  Everything in the Sorbet range is also certified vegan, cruelty-free and made from ethically-sourced ingredients.”

West believes Sorbet has the potential to become the market leader in high quality, solid face and body bars made from natural ingredients and using minimal packaging.

“I’m really excited about this crowd-funding process because it’s not only about making sure we’re ‘first to market’ in this category and building the brand professionally, I’ll quite literally be working together with my customers to develop more amazing-smelling, seriously bubbly new products.”

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