EP 42 - Keeping Your Powder Dry - Disrupting the Beauty Industry with Gaelle Thieme

Welcome to Episode 42 of the Sustainable Ecommerce Podcast!

https://sustainable-ecom.com/ep42

 

My guest this week is Gaelle Thieme, founder of Dust & Glow, an innovative beauty start up.  I say innovative, because she’s shaking things up in not just one but two dimensions of sustainability. Firstly, she’s helping consumers avoid single use plastics by providing infinitely recyclable aluminium keep bottles and home compostable refill sachets.  But she’s also formulated her hair and skincare range to powder-based, thus saving water, and removing a significant carbon footprint from the logistics part of the supply chain.  Now, we’ve seen similar models used by brands like Resparkle & Baresop, but as you’ll see the way Gaelle’s products work is slightly different again, bring a whole new set of compelling functional benefits into the mix.  I haven’t seen anyone else in the Beauty space doing what’s Gaelle’s doing.

She generously takes us through her journey to date, from setting up a kind of chemistry lab in her kitchen during lockdown, through the trials of finding a manufacturer that would even try to work with her, and then forward to today with a full year of brand activations and expansion to the UK well under way.  

For me this was a fascinating behind the scenes look at a young purpose-driven brand totally rethinking an industry, and I hope you enjoy it.