A series of unfortunate events decimated Melbourne-based makeup brand – Kester Black – in the beginning 2020.
The founder, Anna Ross, said that due to the Black Summer Bushfires in January, it was inappropriate to promote the business.
Their situation worsened when COVID-19 hit afterwards.
The 33-year-old recalled losing up to 90 per cent of her wholesalers overnight.
THE ‘LIPSTICK EFFECT’ SILVER LINING
Thankfully, the ‘Lipstick Effect’ saved Kester Black.
During an economic crisis, the effect shows that desperate shoppers turn to small luxury items like lipstick and nail polish, instead of bigger purchases, due to financial uncertainty.
Ross’ business benefitted greatly from this trend.
Her customers increased from 10,000 to 17,500 and raked in a total of $1.2 million in sales in the 2020-2021 financial year.
Ross noted that lipsticks and nail polishes make up a huge portion of her revenue.
She attributes it to her consumers “wanting to feel special”
“Most of the salons were closed most of the year, so people used that opportunity to start doing manicures at home,” she said.
Overall, the entire business grew by 53 per cent during the pandemic; with the brand’s e-commerce sales growing by up to 127 per cent in 2020.
As Melbourne goes back into lockdown, Ross has noticed new interest in her wares.
She even said that August 2021 has been her best month to date.
Ross is now in the process of drumming up interest in a new crowd-funding initiative, where customers are able to dip into $2.5 million in shares to help scale up the business.
BUILDING KESTER BLACK FROM THE GROUND UP
The beauty founder started the business by initially buying $50 in jewellery and selling it on.
She wanted to start her own fashion label and asked her mother for $30,000 to get it off the ground. However, her mother refused.
She decided to move to Melbourne to work at a jewellery supply store
“They pretty much told me everything I needed to know to start my own business,” she said.
Making an advertisement on Gumtree, she sought a chemist to help her develop her own nail polish.
She wanted to create her own ethical line of “clean”, vegan-friendly beauty products.
She vows never to use animals or animal by-product as ingredients.
Ross spent a year developing an initial range of six colours and soon realised that nail polish was a more lucrative than silver jewellery.
“We tripled our turnover in three months, so I knew we were onto a winner,” she recalled.