Taneesa Williamson How Australian mother of two turned her clean beauty startup into a sellout success, achieving incredible growth as skincare and beauty product sales surge.
The cosmetics market size has been valued at USD 262.21 billion in 2022, and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% from 2023 to 2030. By 2025, the global skin care market is estimated to be worth $189.3 billion USD and the online sales segment is projected to grow by 7.6% by 2027.
Market trends point to a growing preference for technically advanced skincare and mineral makeup products as growing awareness around the potential harmful presence of chemicals in products leads to demand for clean formulations.
Developed by Queensland mother of two, Stacey Hollands, Lust Minerals quickly became Australia’s favourite clean mineral makeup and natural skincare brand, which has quickly developed a cult following internationally.
Since launching in 2014 from an initial $10,000 investment, Lust Minerals has grown into a budding clean beauty empire, achieving $1 million within the first 18 months and 610% growth in the last two years. On track to hit $10+ million by the end of FY2023, Lust Minerals is proving to be a sellout success, after filling a gap in the market for clean, high performance, mineral makeup & natural skincare products.
Before launching Lust Minerals, Hollands worked as a Skin Therapist in Queensland for eight years. The idea to start the cosmetics company came when her father, David Cook, was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and the role of toxins in bad health became real to her.
“From a humble beginning in a linen closet in Holland’s home in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Lust Minerals has evolved into a global beauty powerhouse that now provides clean beauty products to millions of people worldwide with its best seller the Pro Liquid Foundation sold every two minutes. After losing my Dad to cancer at a young age, it really made me realise we don’t get a second chance and that chemicals can play a part and lead to so many health issues. While there were plenty of natural based products out there, few married “clean” and “high-performance” to deliver real results for women.”
Lust Minerals Founder, Stacey Hollands
Stacey spent over two years working with a product developer to perfect her first mineral foundation. In September 2014, at the age of 25 and just seven months after her father died, Stacey released Lust Minerals with an initial $10,000 investment.
“Growing up I suffered with breakouts which, as a teenage girl, made me self-conscious. Being in the industry I found so many girls were like me, coming into the salon asking for my help with their skin,” she says, “little did they know that using conventional makeup products that didn’t allow the skin to breathe was in fact worsening their skin breakouts.”
In the early stages, Stacey focused on word of mouth within the B2B salon market and reached an impressive 487% growth when moving to D2C after two years of operation.
“I launched into salons as this was an industry I was very familiar with. When I reflect on where we started nine years ago, it was myself running the business as my “side gig” with the product stocked in a linen cupboard in my home. Fast forward to now, we have moved into two different warehouses, an office, and 20-plus staff members who are on this journey with me.”
In 2021, Lust Minerals invested over $300,000 into a rebranding and extension of their product range, having a strong impact on sales.
“Two years ago we rebranded and revealed a fresh new look for Lust Minerals. This allowed us to elevate the branding to ensure it equally matched the potency and efficacy of our product formulations. We also extended our product portfolio to include a small yet powerful range of clean body products.”
Lust Minerals range, which is 100% vegan, paraben free, Australian made and not tested on animals, is developed by Lust Minerals in partnership with an Australian manufacturer to the highest of standards. Stacey says the Lust Minerals point of difference is providing clean, high performing products that are affordable and cost effective. Additionally, being an Australian-made brand was also a non-negotiable.
The range secured a partnership with TerraCycle, where customers are encouraged to return their used full size beauty products to then be collected by TerraCycle, then sent to a processing facility for sorting and recycling. Lust Minerals has also partnered with One Tree Planted, a non-profit environmental charity with a focus on global reforestation, to offset their carbon footprint as of April 2023.
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