Kester Black exists to lead change for the better in the global beauty industry. And consumers have voted with their wallets, supporting the company as it steps into a space reserved for a brand that means what it says and does what it means.
It’s hardly surprising that Kester Black has been a hit with consumers. The brand was first to market with vegan-cruelty-free nail polishes, which are 77 percent natural. The nail care is made with certified organic ingredients, while the range of lipsticks are awarded for their long-lasting, waterproof pigment.
Kester Black is recognised as a premium ethical beauty brand loved by its customers. Founded in 2014, the brand manufactures a growing range of luxury cosmetics that are globally awarded and publicly adored.
It is also the first beauty brand in the world to be B Corp certified, and the most ethically accredited – proof that premium, high performing beauty can be clean, ethical and environmentally responsible.
The world’s first beauty brand in the world to be B Corp certified — proof that premium, high performing beauty can be clean, ethical and environmentally responsible.
DRIVEN BY KESTER BLACK FOUNDER ANNA ROSS
Founder Anna Ross was buoyed by the prospect of creating a brand in a greenwashed market about what true sustainability means. She was always creatively-minded, studying design and fashion design, working in administration assistant roles. She also dabbled in jewellery making before exploring her passion for beauty products.
Today, her business generates more than $1 million in online sales across Australia and New Zealand per year, and also boasts a high-end retail presence in Europe and the UK. Revenues also grew by 127 per cent for FY21. In FY22, the Melbourne-based company received a $24 million valuation.
In what was an incredibly open interview, Ross also admitted she was battling supply chain issues as turnaround times on stock manufacturing blew out by months. Kester Black is working to launch 16 new products over the next two years, which equates to around 60 new SKUs.
Ross loves her job and finds it exciting, but it takes a constant focus on tasks such as how to streamline systems internally and pushing for further growth, which comes with an entirely new set of challenges.
Of course, growth costs money, and it was a driver for Ross turning to Birchal to raise capital through crowd-sourced funding in October 2021, where she successfully raised $2.1 million from 1687 investors.
She knew the capital raising process would be a lot of work, revealing that three people worked full-time on nothing else but preparing for the capital raising process for a number of months.
“I don’t know that we could have done it much better, to be honest. You’ve just got to go through the steps. There aren’t any shortcuts you can take,” Ross said.
The success of the raise also brought a new responsibility of spending 1,700 people’s money—something she takes very seriously, and it remains a strong motivating factor in her work.
“That has really affected me. I feel a huge sense of responsibility that I need to do my very best not just for myself, but for 1,700 shareholders. That responsibility that they’ve entrusted me with their money in this way keeps me going,” Ross says.
Kester Black has a strong future, and she has hired new talent to help steer the company into unchartered territory. Warehousing, marketing activities and distribution are all part of the challenges for the growing brand, but spreading the load across other talented staff members has meant the business is in good shape, Ross says.
“We’ve always had a unique point of difference with our B Corp certification, which matters a lot to the customers who purchase from us. They have actively sought us out because of this, because they want to support a brand that has taken sustainability to the next level.
“We were a decade ahead of anyone else when we achieved this. And while other brands now have similar credentials, our product quality is what also sets us apart,” she says.
“We’re branching into skincare, which will mean we’re straddling the two categories moving forward. Our beauty customers already trust us and know that we make the best products, so when we launch skincare it will be an easy foot in the door,” she says.
The skincare sector continues to grow and the pandemic saw sales boom as locked-down Australians looked for ways to treat themselves during a challenging period, she says.
Now, with a looming recession, the ‘lipstick effect’ means that people might be unable to spend money on luxury items like handbags and shoes, so they often opt for smaller luxury items that are more affordable like a lipstick or skin product as a pick-me-up. It all means that Kester Black is well positioned for further growth.
But looking back with all the lessons on board and the privileged position she finds herself in today, her advice for any founders contemplating equity crowdfunding as part of their journey, is to really understand what you’re getting in for.
“We had the benefit of 50,000 people on our email list who already loved our products before we even launched our campaign, which meant they were standing by and looking for ways to support us,” Ross says.
About the Founder
Anna Ross
KESTER BLACK FOUNDER
Growing up on a farm in the lush hinterland of New Zealand, Anna Ross hugged trees as much as she did her mother. Her passion for natural beauty led her to create Australia’s most ethical beauty brand, Kester Black – the first of its kind with B Corp certification (aka the official hat-tip to nice people, doing nicer things for the environment).
Inspired by her natural heritage, with Kester Black Anna is initiating a new code of ethics for cosmetics that other brands can follow – there’s a lot of catch-up to do, yet.
