June 16, 2024 • 19 mins
Emma Lewisham is name now known across the world, with their products being sold by stores like Net-A-Porter and Onda Beauty. But the brand started simply, with Emma noticing there weren't any all-natural, sustainable skincare products on the market.
On this episode, Toni talks with Emma Lewisham, the founder of the all-natural skincare company of the same name about the importance of understanding what you're really putting on your skin.
They also discuss balancing founding a business and being a mother, how going against the grain can make your business stand out, and being approached by big names such as Naomi Watts and Gwyneth Patrow to sell her products.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We need to talk conversations on wellness with coastfm's Tony Street.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hello, welcome to We need to talk. Having beautiful skin
is something that we all desire and often it's not
until our skin goes bad that you truly appreciate having
a flawless complexion. The decision on what skincare to use
is a tough one, but once upon a time, having
a New Zealand made brand wasn't an option. But Emma
Lewisham is a key we skincare founder that now sells
(00:26):
her products globally in places like Harrod's and Meta Porter
in the UK and Goop and ont Beauty in the States.
Emma saw a gap in the market for natural skincare
and pounced on it. Emma, it's lovely to have you
here and I must say your skin is glowing.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Thank you so much, Tony It. I appreciate you having
me today.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It must be crazy for you sitting here and you're
still young to have succeeded in this business that is
so huge globally and I know we're really proud to
have you as an ambassador for New Zealand, but it
has grown hugely in the last five years.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
It really has.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
It's been quite the world, to be honest. And we're
talking earlier.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
About how I had a child at the same time.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So she terms five on Friday and the business soon
to be five, and it feels like a big milestone
that were growing up. You know that we've put in
so much hard work on both fronts and just blood,
sweat and literal tears, but have really got momentum and
truly have broken through in such a competitive industry.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Why do you think you have managed to break through
in an industry that has been around for decades and
just when you thought it was all exhausted, you pop
through and managed to make people take notice.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Gosh, so so many factors, but I think you know
first and foremost that there truly was a gap and
that I never set out to launch a beauty brand.
It was very much about solving problems and seeing opportunities
and wanting to find solutions, and that was in the
natural skincare space, wanting something that still worked and was
(02:01):
super luxurious, and in the sustainability space, seeing that there
was an opportunity to do things better. That there was
a huge elephant in the room, which was packaging. That
majority of one hundred and twenty billion units of it
going to landfall of being burnt every year, and thinking
that doesn't make sense. We need to rethink this model.
So it was those two problems that set out to achieve,
(02:23):
and then from there it was about building like the
very best people around us, because anyone can have an idea,
but it's so much in the execution, and in order
to execute you need the very best people. And I've
been very fortunate to have that.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
The refillables are amazing, and I remember because I use
your stuff, and I remember when it was suggested that
you could have refillable skin care. I thought to myself,
why has this not been a thing before? It hadn't
really dawned on me. And it does feel good to
know that you are doing a little bit to try
and help the planet. But what about your background, you know,
(03:00):
did you always think when you're studying at Otiger University
that skincare would be the thing you'd get into.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Absolutely not. No, I really didn't know what I was
going to get into. She started studying science and they
weren't went more down a business path.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
And one thing.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
That was really clear though in the early days at
university even as a child, was that I am someone
that I'm inquisitive, I asked questions, and I remember my
parents reciting the story to me about them picking me
up from Brownies one night and being asked not to
potentially bring me back because I was too challenging and
(03:38):
asking way too many questions and just wouldn't accept sort
of how things were done. And I think that has
been very much me and right through the university, I
absolutely loved getting involved and local businesses and around Otago
and helping them, and that always come to me, going
(03:58):
we have this problem. Maybe it's we're not marketing ourselves
well enough, and I'd always find that actually that wasn't
the problem. There was something else that needed or resolving.
So I've always loved digging into things and being inquisitive
and solving problems.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Speaking of the marketing, I feel like what you have
done with the packaging is genius, because if you don't know.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It, it's bright purple.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And actually I was in Mecca the other day with
my daughters because they now all love Mecca at a
very young age, and they saw the purple packaging and
I said, I'm interviewing Emma Lewisham and they loved it too,
and it stands out on the shelves. How did you
decide on the purple?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
From the get go, we knew that we wanted something
that was that was bold and striking. Everything in the
industry had started going really like beige and neutral and
a down a certain direction, and what.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Is it with the beige everything? At the moment, it's
refreshing that these are say.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
So, I think so.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
And we wanted some personality and emotion, and so we
knew I wanted to old color. The other thing that
we knew is that we wanted to be a mecca.
One day and so I went into their store and went,
what color is not on their shelves? And the color
that was on their shelf was purple. To sort of
seal the deal, because we formulate from a very different approach,
(05:15):
which is our skin physiology first, so us skin first
versus ingredient first. Under the microscope, the color of skin
is purple and pink. So all of those factors went,
this is the colors and look at the start, people
thought it was wacky and really strange, but I think
to stand out you have to have a point of view.
You have to be bold, you have to be willing
(05:35):
to do things differently and take some risk. And now
people actually love the packaging and it's really grown on
people and been so much. Part of our success is
how recognizable it is.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Yeah, absolutely, I think that was a genius idea in
terms of your formulations. There will be people out there
that say, I can't get the same results with natural products.
What would you say to them?
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I totally disagree.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
I think nature is the world's most powerful bioengineer, and
it's been proven to be so. I just don't think
that we formulated the right way.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
With it before.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And I would also say eight years when we started,
we it was really serendipitous that a lot that was
coming out in natural skincare, space and ingredients was really
cutting edge and that science had started to unlock from
nature ingredients that phenomena and worked. But more so than that,
(06:30):
we from the get go never set out to have
a marketable beauty brand. We set out to solve problems.
The first skin concerned that I had was hyperfigmentation, which
sort of planted the seed for immolution because a doctor
said I couldn't use hydroquinone, which I was using when pregnant,
So we went how do we solve hyper figmentation? And
from the get go we work with physiologists who understand
(06:53):
the skin and the natural laws of it and how
it works. And essentially our formulas mimic the celluo pathways
of your skin. And that's why we use up to
twenty five natural ingredients, not one or two, because the
skin is so complex and works in a really complex way.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So by thinking about the natural.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Laws and nature and then combining really cutting edge ingredients
that deliver the mechanism signals that we require, we are
truly showing in independent testing that our products outperform the
most iconic actually brands in the world.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, which is so great, and it has captured the
attention of the world and increasingly so I can't believe
this has only been happening in the last five years.
But you are in these big places, you know, we
think of Goop, we think of Gwyneth Paltrow. How do
you have those conversations and make your way in to
be housed in places like that?
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (07:44):
It's I think that you know, first of all is
having brilliant products that work and building a community around
the brand where people are talking about it that are
coming back referring to your friends. It really did, and
that's what's built the groundswell of EMMILUSIAM globally are those people.
(08:06):
We're fortunate that our brand got on the radar of
people like Naomi Watts, Gwyneth Paltrow, of course Mecca and
a lot of the times we had the retailers coming
to us, which is an incredible position to be in.
And I think again, if you focus on having phenomenal
products and like doing what you do well and having
(08:27):
a real point of difference, those conversations do come to you.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
What would you say is your best moment in terms
of all those moments where you've had people coming to
you successful moments, has there been one that's been a standout.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Having Jane Goodall endorse us as reflecting the future beauty
was really phenomenal. And meeting her I grew up doing
talks on her at school and being really amazed by her,
so then her endorsed the work that we had done
has been like phenomenal. You know, I've met amazing people
(09:03):
like Margo Robbie who like you know, excited to meet
me when I'm like no, no, you're Margo.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Robbie, Bye bye, you're Bobby.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
But just that she genuinely loves the products and gives
them to her friends. But then there's just the everyday
people that I will meet in the playgrounds around Auckland,
or a time I was walking down the street in
NUSA and fifty year old man with gum boots called
out of you emlosium and want to just thank me
for like creating something that they feel great about using
(09:35):
but also works and is just so.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Much more than just products to them.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
They're really buying into a lifestyle and a movement and sustainability,
and so they're just as special as meeting people like
Jane Goodall and Margo Robbie.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Now that we need to talk with Tony Street.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So you've had a will in five years, and as
you see, you've had your little daughter as well, who's
about to start school. How has that juggle been? Because
I know what it's like when you're full time working
and you've got the kids and you want to give
them as much time as you can, but you also
love your baby that is your work. So how do
you manage that?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Yes, to be honest, it's been incredibly difficult, and one
of the sacrifices that I've had to make in building
a militiam is that I didn't have a maternity leave.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
I miss out on so much with my daughter.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
I was away in the UK for nearly a month
without her, and so it's not like it's not easy.
There is a compromise and a trade off that I
make and sometimes, you know, I think, oh my gosh,
I blinked, and you know, I have missed a lot
of her childhood and that's really hard, and I think
(10:52):
it's it's good to be honest about that. I don't
have it all figured out. It hasn't been easy on
both frants. It's a job goal and all you can
do is do your your best in the situation that
you have, and when you have moments together, make the
most of them and enjoy them and be present. And like,
outside of work, she's my priority and that's what I
(11:15):
spend my weekends and evening doings.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
It's spent with her.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I totally can relate to that because when I first
started hosting breakfast television, I was offered the job on
my due date of my first daughter, who's now eleven,
and it is a bit of a double edged sort
because you don't know how it's going to go for
you in motherhood, but it's an opportunity that you've worked
so hard for. It's just unfortunate. It always seems to
happen right.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
When you're about to have your kids right the time.
Never great, it's never great. It just isn't great. And
so you have to go with that.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
And we've had this amazing opportunity and wanted to go
with that as well. And so yep, it's you know,
it's trying to juggle both. It's just trying to do
the best with the tools that I have. And I've
been fortunate that I have amazing husband who we really
share the role of like parenting. It's very very like
(12:06):
fifty to fifty. He also works in the business, and
we're just a team and really divide and conquer on
both both fronts.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, what I will say is someone that's about six
years past you in terms of kids age, so my
eleven year old, I think the older they get, the
more they actually do need you. And I got told that,
I said, don't worry in those early years. They're sleeping
a lot of the time anyway, and the older they get,
the more you want to be part of things that
they do, like their activity. So you've got you've got
(12:35):
time on your side, is what it say. But will
the business keep ramping up? I mean, what is next? Fish?
Speaker 4 (12:42):
I know?
Speaker 3 (12:42):
So you know, And the idea is to put in
like the hard yhuds now and the hard work now
so that we can then as a family like reap
the rewards. But you're right, every year it does get
busier and bigger, and more opportunities come with us, come
to us. So the key thing for me and the
business to enable that is to have really great people.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
In the business, which we do.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
You can't achieve this level of growth or any growth
in a business without having exceptional people and people that
help you build it. So it's just ensuring that we
bringing the right people, that we have the support so
that we can have that balance to life and soak
in our team.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
One of the things that I think can make it
hard when you're a mom is the travel side of things.
And I know that I've got friends in the media
that have to travel for their job, and it's a
big decision. Do you take your five or six year
old out of school to go with you on the strip.
Do you leave them at home with perhaps their dad
or their mum, whoever is traveling. Have you thought about
what you will do in that space, because you inevitably
(13:46):
do have to travel a bit, right.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yes, last year we were in the UK for two
and a half months setting up a massive retail partnership
for us over there, and my husband and daughter did
come in the middle of it, which was fantastic and
amazing experience for her. Most of the time I go
because by myself because the trips are so full on.
They are just back to back with meetings and then
(14:09):
catching up at the end of the day with work
back in Australasia, So sort of go really like focus
on hone on what we're doing, and then like come
back and have that like quality time, a sort of
the approach that I take.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah, what is the.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Reaction being from your family and friends? I know that
you lost your mum, but they must be incredibly proud
to see you, you know, being so big now on
the world stage. Do they give you feedback on people
that perhaps you grew up with or you were to
university with.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
I think everyone's like we thought you were You're so
driven and motivated like they do something, but they're just
very down to earth people and don't really make much
of a deal out of it, to be honest, and
neither do I.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
You know, it's just my work.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
It just happens to be more public than their's, but
no more important. But no, I think they are really proud,
and I know that my mom would be incredibly proud
and just like love following on, following the journey and things.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
So what an incredible way for you to continue her
legacy to have this, you know, I'm sure she would
be so so proud. It must be hard, must be
a bittersweet for you.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
It is. It is a bitter sweet you.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Yeah, you never like lose that feeling of grief and
missing someone. It just gets I guess easier and softer
over time, and as you will, you will know and
you have those private moments where you reflect on things
in the guy.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
You know, I think that they.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Would love to be part of this, or like me,
be able to call them and tell tell her about
something that we've achieved and secured. So I still play
those moments out and I think I get that strength
knowing that she, my mom would be proud and it
like keeps me, keeps me going and motivates me.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yeah. Do you think that you are a reflection of
the way that you were raised? You talk about being
incredibly driven. That just doesn't come from nowhere. Who do
you take after?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
My parents were always such hard, hard workers and always
modeled that to us children, and also were not above
doing any type of work. My dad did a lot
of share like milking when we were young, and I
would go out with him when we lived in the
White cutto and in the evenings when our children were younger,
(16:38):
my mom would like clean banks. And so that hard
work and not being above anything has really been instilled
with me and just to keep humble. And then I
had my grandparents who were incredibly driven. My grandmother was
one of the first female CEOs in New Zealand and
a really hard worker, really disciplined, really high standards. So
(17:02):
I learned a lot from her, and I just think
that that general view that no one is going to
give you anything a life, you have to go out
and get it for you was instilled in me. And
that's why I have that drive, knowing I'm the person
that will determine my life's path and be responsible for
what it looks like and have always believed in like
(17:24):
having a daring adventure and giving it you're all, you know,
being in the arena and just throwing everything at life
and being able to look back knowing that I really
tested myself and have learned so much about myself and
the process and what I'm capable of.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
And you're capable of a lot, as it turns out,
which is so fabulous to see. If you could give
us one recommendation on what your favorite product is, because
I know people mist see to us will go Okay,
if I'm going to go at to make here today,
what would be the product you think is the best?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Our Skimmer's at Saram was our very first product, and
that was about like hyper figmentation and brightening. But with
all of our products, because we use up to twenty
five ingredients, you genuinely get like five products in one.
They are really dense and for the price of them,
like good value in terms of how long they last.
And I guess it's that quality of a quantity. Not
(18:19):
buying five sounds just buying one and that will last
you a really long time and deliver multiple benefits to
the skin. So that one I know that people would
see truly visible results and absolutely love using and last
a really long time.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Fantastic Emma, thank you so much for today.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I love to hear your backstory and you're just nailing it.
I mean, in five years you've just done remarkable things.
A great ambassador for New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Thank you, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
We need to talk with Coast FMS Tony Street. If
you enjoyed the podcast, click to share with family or friends.
To get in touch, email we need to talk at
Coast online, dot co dot mz
We need to talk conversations on wellness with coastfm's Tony Street.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hello, welcome to We need to talk. Having beautiful skin
is something that we all desire and often it's not
until our skin goes bad that you truly appreciate having
a flawless complexion. The decision on what skincare to use
is a tough one, but once upon a time, having
a New Zealand made brand wasn't an option. But Emma
Lewisham is a key we skincare founder that now sells
(00:26):
her products globally in places like Harrod's and Meta Porter
in the UK and Goop and ont Beauty in the States.
Emma saw a gap in the market for natural skincare
and pounced on it. Emma, it's lovely to have you
here and I must say your skin is glowing.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Thank you so much, Tony It. I appreciate you having
me today.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It must be crazy for you sitting here and you're
still young to have succeeded in this business that is
so huge globally and I know we're really proud to
have you as an ambassador for New Zealand, but it
has grown hugely in the last five years.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
It really has.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
It's been quite the world, to be honest. And we're
talking earlier.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
About how I had a child at the same time.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So she terms five on Friday and the business soon
to be five, and it feels like a big milestone
that were growing up. You know that we've put in
so much hard work on both fronts and just blood,
sweat and literal tears, but have really got momentum and
truly have broken through in such a competitive industry.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Why do you think you have managed to break through
in an industry that has been around for decades and
just when you thought it was all exhausted, you pop
through and managed to make people take notice.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Gosh, so so many factors, but I think you know
first and foremost that there truly was a gap and
that I never set out to launch a beauty brand.
It was very much about solving problems and seeing opportunities
and wanting to find solutions, and that was in the
natural skincare space, wanting something that still worked and was
(02:01):
super luxurious, and in the sustainability space, seeing that there
was an opportunity to do things better. That there was
a huge elephant in the room, which was packaging. That
majority of one hundred and twenty billion units of it
going to landfall of being burnt every year, and thinking
that doesn't make sense. We need to rethink this model.
So it was those two problems that set out to achieve,
(02:23):
and then from there it was about building like the
very best people around us, because anyone can have an idea,
but it's so much in the execution, and in order
to execute you need the very best people. And I've
been very fortunate to have that.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
The refillables are amazing, and I remember because I use
your stuff, and I remember when it was suggested that
you could have refillable skin care. I thought to myself,
why has this not been a thing before? It hadn't
really dawned on me. And it does feel good to
know that you are doing a little bit to try
and help the planet. But what about your background, you know,
(03:00):
did you always think when you're studying at Otiger University
that skincare would be the thing you'd get into.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Absolutely not. No, I really didn't know what I was
going to get into. She started studying science and they
weren't went more down a business path.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
And one thing.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
That was really clear though in the early days at
university even as a child, was that I am someone
that I'm inquisitive, I asked questions, and I remember my
parents reciting the story to me about them picking me
up from Brownies one night and being asked not to
potentially bring me back because I was too challenging and
(03:38):
asking way too many questions and just wouldn't accept sort
of how things were done. And I think that has
been very much me and right through the university, I
absolutely loved getting involved and local businesses and around Otago
and helping them, and that always come to me, going
(03:58):
we have this problem. Maybe it's we're not marketing ourselves
well enough, and I'd always find that actually that wasn't
the problem. There was something else that needed or resolving.
So I've always loved digging into things and being inquisitive
and solving problems.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Speaking of the marketing, I feel like what you have
done with the packaging is genius, because if you don't know.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It, it's bright purple.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And actually I was in Mecca the other day with
my daughters because they now all love Mecca at a
very young age, and they saw the purple packaging and
I said, I'm interviewing Emma Lewisham and they loved it too,
and it stands out on the shelves. How did you
decide on the purple?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
From the get go, we knew that we wanted something
that was that was bold and striking. Everything in the
industry had started going really like beige and neutral and
a down a certain direction, and what.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Is it with the beige everything? At the moment, it's
refreshing that these are say.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
So, I think so.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
And we wanted some personality and emotion, and so we
knew I wanted to old color. The other thing that
we knew is that we wanted to be a mecca.
One day and so I went into their store and went,
what color is not on their shelves? And the color
that was on their shelf was purple. To sort of
seal the deal, because we formulate from a very different approach,
(05:15):
which is our skin physiology first, so us skin first
versus ingredient first. Under the microscope, the color of skin
is purple and pink. So all of those factors went,
this is the colors and look at the start, people
thought it was wacky and really strange, but I think
to stand out you have to have a point of view.
You have to be bold, you have to be willing
(05:35):
to do things differently and take some risk. And now
people actually love the packaging and it's really grown on
people and been so much. Part of our success is
how recognizable it is.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Yeah, absolutely, I think that was a genius idea in
terms of your formulations. There will be people out there
that say, I can't get the same results with natural products.
What would you say to them?
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I totally disagree.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
I think nature is the world's most powerful bioengineer, and
it's been proven to be so. I just don't think
that we formulated the right way.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
With it before.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And I would also say eight years when we started,
we it was really serendipitous that a lot that was
coming out in natural skincare, space and ingredients was really
cutting edge and that science had started to unlock from
nature ingredients that phenomena and worked. But more so than that,
(06:30):
we from the get go never set out to have
a marketable beauty brand. We set out to solve problems.
The first skin concerned that I had was hyperfigmentation, which
sort of planted the seed for immolution because a doctor
said I couldn't use hydroquinone, which I was using when pregnant,
So we went how do we solve hyper figmentation? And
from the get go we work with physiologists who understand
(06:53):
the skin and the natural laws of it and how
it works. And essentially our formulas mimic the celluo pathways
of your skin. And that's why we use up to
twenty five natural ingredients, not one or two, because the
skin is so complex and works in a really complex way.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So by thinking about the natural.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Laws and nature and then combining really cutting edge ingredients
that deliver the mechanism signals that we require, we are
truly showing in independent testing that our products outperform the
most iconic actually brands in the world.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Yeah, which is so great, and it has captured the
attention of the world and increasingly so I can't believe
this has only been happening in the last five years.
But you are in these big places, you know, we
think of Goop, we think of Gwyneth Paltrow. How do
you have those conversations and make your way in to
be housed in places like that?
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Wow?
Speaker 3 (07:44):
It's I think that you know, first of all is
having brilliant products that work and building a community around
the brand where people are talking about it that are
coming back referring to your friends. It really did, and
that's what's built the groundswell of EMMILUSIAM globally are those people.
(08:06):
We're fortunate that our brand got on the radar of
people like Naomi Watts, Gwyneth Paltrow, of course Mecca and
a lot of the times we had the retailers coming
to us, which is an incredible position to be in.
And I think again, if you focus on having phenomenal
products and like doing what you do well and having
(08:27):
a real point of difference, those conversations do come to you.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
What would you say is your best moment in terms
of all those moments where you've had people coming to
you successful moments, has there been one that's been a standout.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Having Jane Goodall endorse us as reflecting the future beauty
was really phenomenal. And meeting her I grew up doing
talks on her at school and being really amazed by her,
so then her endorsed the work that we had done
has been like phenomenal. You know, I've met amazing people
(09:03):
like Margo Robbie who like you know, excited to meet
me when I'm like no, no, you're Margo.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Robbie, Bye bye, you're Bobby.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
But just that she genuinely loves the products and gives
them to her friends. But then there's just the everyday
people that I will meet in the playgrounds around Auckland,
or a time I was walking down the street in
NUSA and fifty year old man with gum boots called
out of you emlosium and want to just thank me
for like creating something that they feel great about using
(09:35):
but also works and is just so.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Much more than just products to them.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
They're really buying into a lifestyle and a movement and sustainability,
and so they're just as special as meeting people like
Jane Goodall and Margo Robbie.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Now that we need to talk with Tony Street.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
So you've had a will in five years, and as
you see, you've had your little daughter as well, who's
about to start school. How has that juggle been? Because
I know what it's like when you're full time working
and you've got the kids and you want to give
them as much time as you can, but you also
love your baby that is your work. So how do
you manage that?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Yes, to be honest, it's been incredibly difficult, and one
of the sacrifices that I've had to make in building
a militiam is that I didn't have a maternity leave.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
I miss out on so much with my daughter.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
I was away in the UK for nearly a month
without her, and so it's not like it's not easy.
There is a compromise and a trade off that I
make and sometimes, you know, I think, oh my gosh,
I blinked, and you know, I have missed a lot
of her childhood and that's really hard, and I think
(10:52):
it's it's good to be honest about that. I don't
have it all figured out. It hasn't been easy on
both frants. It's a job goal and all you can
do is do your your best in the situation that
you have, and when you have moments together, make the
most of them and enjoy them and be present. And like,
outside of work, she's my priority and that's what I
(11:15):
spend my weekends and evening doings.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
It's spent with her.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I totally can relate to that because when I first
started hosting breakfast television, I was offered the job on
my due date of my first daughter, who's now eleven,
and it is a bit of a double edged sort
because you don't know how it's going to go for
you in motherhood, but it's an opportunity that you've worked
so hard for. It's just unfortunate. It always seems to
happen right.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
When you're about to have your kids right the time.
Never great, it's never great. It just isn't great. And
so you have to go with that.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
And we've had this amazing opportunity and wanted to go
with that as well. And so yep, it's you know,
it's trying to juggle both. It's just trying to do
the best with the tools that I have. And I've
been fortunate that I have amazing husband who we really
share the role of like parenting. It's very very like
(12:06):
fifty to fifty. He also works in the business, and
we're just a team and really divide and conquer on
both both fronts.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yeah, what I will say is someone that's about six
years past you in terms of kids age, so my
eleven year old, I think the older they get, the
more they actually do need you. And I got told that,
I said, don't worry in those early years. They're sleeping
a lot of the time anyway, and the older they get,
the more you want to be part of things that
they do, like their activity. So you've got you've got
(12:35):
time on your side, is what it say. But will
the business keep ramping up? I mean, what is next? Fish?
Speaker 4 (12:42):
I know?
Speaker 3 (12:42):
So you know, And the idea is to put in
like the hard yhuds now and the hard work now
so that we can then as a family like reap
the rewards. But you're right, every year it does get
busier and bigger, and more opportunities come with us, come
to us. So the key thing for me and the
business to enable that is to have really great people.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
In the business, which we do.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
You can't achieve this level of growth or any growth
in a business without having exceptional people and people that
help you build it. So it's just ensuring that we
bringing the right people, that we have the support so
that we can have that balance to life and soak
in our team.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
One of the things that I think can make it
hard when you're a mom is the travel side of things.
And I know that I've got friends in the media
that have to travel for their job, and it's a
big decision. Do you take your five or six year
old out of school to go with you on the strip.
Do you leave them at home with perhaps their dad
or their mum, whoever is traveling. Have you thought about
what you will do in that space, because you inevitably
(13:46):
do have to travel a bit, right.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yes, last year we were in the UK for two
and a half months setting up a massive retail partnership
for us over there, and my husband and daughter did
come in the middle of it, which was fantastic and
amazing experience for her. Most of the time I go
because by myself because the trips are so full on.
They are just back to back with meetings and then
(14:09):
catching up at the end of the day with work
back in Australasia, So sort of go really like focus
on hone on what we're doing, and then like come
back and have that like quality time, a sort of
the approach that I take.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah, what is the.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Reaction being from your family and friends? I know that
you lost your mum, but they must be incredibly proud
to see you, you know, being so big now on
the world stage. Do they give you feedback on people
that perhaps you grew up with or you were to
university with.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
I think everyone's like we thought you were You're so
driven and motivated like they do something, but they're just
very down to earth people and don't really make much
of a deal out of it, to be honest, and
neither do I.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
You know, it's just my work.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
It just happens to be more public than their's, but
no more important. But no, I think they are really proud,
and I know that my mom would be incredibly proud
and just like love following on, following the journey and things.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
So what an incredible way for you to continue her
legacy to have this, you know, I'm sure she would
be so so proud. It must be hard, must be
a bittersweet for you.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
It is. It is a bitter sweet you.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Yeah, you never like lose that feeling of grief and
missing someone. It just gets I guess easier and softer
over time, and as you will, you will know and
you have those private moments where you reflect on things
in the guy.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
You know, I think that they.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
Would love to be part of this, or like me,
be able to call them and tell tell her about
something that we've achieved and secured. So I still play
those moments out and I think I get that strength
knowing that she, my mom would be proud and it
like keeps me, keeps me going and motivates me.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yeah. Do you think that you are a reflection of
the way that you were raised? You talk about being
incredibly driven. That just doesn't come from nowhere. Who do
you take after?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
My parents were always such hard, hard workers and always
modeled that to us children, and also were not above
doing any type of work. My dad did a lot
of share like milking when we were young, and I
would go out with him when we lived in the
White cutto and in the evenings when our children were younger,
(16:38):
my mom would like clean banks. And so that hard
work and not being above anything has really been instilled
with me and just to keep humble. And then I
had my grandparents who were incredibly driven. My grandmother was
one of the first female CEOs in New Zealand and
a really hard worker, really disciplined, really high standards. So
(17:02):
I learned a lot from her, and I just think
that that general view that no one is going to
give you anything a life, you have to go out
and get it for you was instilled in me. And
that's why I have that drive, knowing I'm the person
that will determine my life's path and be responsible for
what it looks like and have always believed in like
(17:24):
having a daring adventure and giving it you're all, you know,
being in the arena and just throwing everything at life
and being able to look back knowing that I really
tested myself and have learned so much about myself and
the process and what I'm capable of.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
And you're capable of a lot, as it turns out,
which is so fabulous to see. If you could give
us one recommendation on what your favorite product is, because
I know people mist see to us will go Okay,
if I'm going to go at to make here today,
what would be the product you think is the best?
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Our Skimmer's at Saram was our very first product, and
that was about like hyper figmentation and brightening. But with
all of our products, because we use up to twenty
five ingredients, you genuinely get like five products in one.
They are really dense and for the price of them,
like good value in terms of how long they last.
And I guess it's that quality of a quantity. Not
(18:19):
buying five sounds just buying one and that will last
you a really long time and deliver multiple benefits to
the skin. So that one I know that people would
see truly visible results and absolutely love using and last
a really long time.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Fantastic Emma, thank you so much for today.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I love to hear your backstory and you're just nailing it.
I mean, in five years you've just done remarkable things.
A great ambassador for New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Thank you, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
We need to talk with Coast FMS Tony Street. If
you enjoyed the podcast, click to share with family or friends.
To get in touch, email we need to talk at
Coast online, dot co dot mz
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