In the past few years, consumers have become increasingly more aware of chemicals in both food and skincare products. There is now a growing appetite for naturally sourced and produced products. One Cork-based firm aims to capitalised on that and has ambitions of become Ireland’s answer to the Body Shop. Cork-based Bia Beauty was set up by last year Tracey Ryan. The company produces its own range of natural cosmetic products made from food. “There are so many chemical based cosmetics out there and I wanted to make something different,” said Ryan. “I researched and found some really effective ingredients, such as seed oils, avocado butter and cocoa butter. People are much more aware of what they are putting on their skin and getting really educated about it. It is a natural progression from caring about what we eat.” Ryan went back as a mature student to study Herbal Science at Cork Institute of Technology. One of the projects on the course involved making a natural product before selling and marketing it. Ryan made natural moisturisers which she sold at farmers markets.
“When the project was over people continued calling me about it and asking where to get them,” said Ryan. “I saw there was a market and decided to keep going with it. It started slow, there was a lot of standing around a farmers markets. It has really picked up in the last few months, we have had shops and websites looking to list us. We also sell online through our own website.” Ryan took part in the PINC programme based at CITs Rubicon Centre, an intensive programme for female entrepreneurs who have a business idea and want to bring it to the next level. Bia Beauty was also one of the two firms that Niall Harbison invested €10,000 in earlier this summer. On the back of Harbison’s investment, Ryan also had two other private backers come on board.
Originally Ryan sold the products locally in stores and at markets, but with the added investment the company launched its range of products at the Rude Health expo in Dublin in September. Bia Beauty has secured a distribution deal in the past few weeks which could lead to the products being sold in health food stores around Ireland. “We want to go nationwide this year and then spread it out internationally,” said Ryan. “We see it as the Irish answer to the Body Shop.” Her advice to anyone starting out – “Look for help. I thought it would be a really cut-throat world but there is a lot of support from other business, enterprise boards and colleges out there.”
4 October 2012 by Philip Connolly Tha Daily Business Post
