Inspiration can strike at the oddest of times, as Kareen Holland found.
Back in 2002 the veteran makeup artist was working on the television show The Strip, a job that required her to use copious amounts of oil on the topless male actors.“But the actors started to complain that the chemicals in the oil were really harsh on their skin.”
It was a comment she was hearing repeatedly, not only from actors, but also the politicians and musicians who entered her professional orbit on a daily basis.“I found people were getting sick of the toxic overload of some products. That led me to seek out natural alternatives to the products I’d been using as a makeup artist for 23 years.”
So she experimented with ingredients such as Manuka honey and kawakawa at her kitchen sink – and came across a woman in Rotorua who sold her some of her natural recipes.Kareen said she spent a long time tweaking those formulations and developing a range of skin moisturizers, toners and cleansers, personal lubricant, lip balm, soothing antiseptic balm, and body scrubs.
She called her company Earth 174° - to signify New Zealand’s longitude. “The branding and essence of the company totally fits with New Zealand’s natural and clean image.”
Kareen started selling the products online in earlier this year and initially had the supermarket industry on her radar. “But we didn’t have the capital behind us to provide the volume the supermarkets wanted, so we changed tack and decided to explore the retail space.”
In late 2009, she opened her first store in Victoria Street and says the feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive”. “We haven’t advertised but we made money in our very first week in business! It’s the kind of product that customers are very happy to tell their friends about.”
Thanks to the healing and soothing properties of such natural ingredients as 16+ UMF Manuka honey, Kareen says the Earth 174° range is being used to address everything from Eczema and acne to burns, nappy rash and scars.“I’ve been surprised at the number of customers who’ve asked me to custom-make products to address their issues. And the feedback is that it really does work.”
Along with a plan to open stores across New Zealand (“We want to be the Body Shop of New Zealand”), Kareen is turning her attention to developing a range of sunblock and deodorants. And to taking her products initially to the Asian market and then to the US, thanks to her connection with Kiwi actress Lucy Lawless.“I worked as a makeup artist on Zena Princess Warrior and always talked to Lucy about getting into the natural cosmetics industry. She took some of my products back to LA recently and hopefully we can extend our reach into that market.”
Kareen attended Grow Wellington’s Activate course in mid 2008 and says it helped her reach the next level.“Rewa and the team were really helpful and we’ve been able to leverage off Activate’s resources and expertise - for example, when our strategy to push into supermarkets was no longer an option, they helped us look at our options and change direction into retailing ourselves. They’ve been fantastic…”