Behind the scenes with Happy Carrot Skincare
The vegan cosmetics market is becoming increasingly saturated and it is difficult to make your company stand out.
Lisa spoke with Victoria at Happy Carrot Skincare (HCS) about how she has created skincare products with a difference to build a successful business.
Happy Carrot Skincare has very personal origins to yourself. How did you go from finding a formula that worked for you to then upscaling that to the blossoming skincare empire that your business is on its way to becoming?
I actually had no intentions of starting a skincare brand – I suppose it found me really! I was working on a simple facial balm with carrot extract (now our Incredible Carrot Hero Balm) to help with my adult acne. After using just this product every day it calmed everything down and my acne cleared up. I had a flash of inspiration and knew I had to share my hero balm to help others have great skin too. Once I had the idea and had the formulas ready it took some hard work and determination – and I managed to launch just 8 months later!
Your products are made mostly from ingredients that would otherwise become food waste. With the vegan cosmetics market becoming so saturated how hard has it been for you to create something that’s unique?
We’re all unique so it’s important to put your own passions and beliefs into your business so it reflects that too. If my passion for the environment has led to products that are effective and look after the planet too, then brilliant! Using upcycled plant oils sourced from Europe is our way of sourcing great quality ingredients that offer fantastic results for your skin as well as reducing our eco footprint. It would be such a waste to throw those gorgeous fruit pips away just because no one wants to eat them! Everything we can do to benefit the planet is another step in the right direction.
Your brand oozes fun and positivity, with Superheroes and Plant Power! Do you see this brand as being a reflection of yourself?
(Victoria laughs) I’d love to say yes to this one! I’m no way as cool as my superheroes are, but I did want to create products with a fun side to them. When buying skincare products I find that you’re faced with overwhelming messages of fear around aging, acne break outs, or of the dangers of certain ingredients. Instead, I prefer to focus on simple positive messages about what our products can do, the power of their plant-based ingredients and the benefits they bring. Life is too short for anything other than positivity!
You use ‘vegan’, ‘plant-based’ and ‘cruelty-free’ upfront. Is there a reason you decided to lead with all three?
I see these three terms as connected yet separate entities. Whilst our products are vegan because they contain no animal products, they are also plant-based in that they are literally full of plant oils, butters, waxes and extracts – there is nothing synthetic in our formulas. Also, if a product is vegan then it should also be cruelty free as it just doesn’t make sense to create a vegan product and then test it on animals, or to be against animal testing yet use animal products. These are two distinct things but it’s always been clear to me that our products must be both (in fact we have the Leaping Bunny certification too!)
You have registered your products with The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark. Why did you choose the certification route rather than just labelling your products as vegan?
When I’m looking at products to buy, I find it so much easier to trust a product with The Vegan Society’s Trademark logo than something that just says “Vegan” or “Vegan Friendly”. It saves all that time of scrolling through the label too! I believe that if you’re going to do something then you should do it properly, and for me getting that trademark was about getting it done properly. There are also so many ingredients and even production methods that can catch you out – you may think they’re vegan, but until you go through this process it’s difficult to be 100% sure.
How has your own vegan ethics contributed to Happy Carrot Skincare?
I was vegetarian for years and I’d been thinking about going vegan for ages. I finally took the plunge around the same time as I had the idea for starting HCS. The two are intrinsically connected somehow! I was vegetarian for the animals but went vegan for the environment, and sustainability is definitely at the core of Happy Carrot, so I don’t think the brand would be the same without my personal vegan ethics.
What new business skills have you had to learn?
About a million! Seriously, I knew nothing about things like accounting and taxes, technical things like maintaining a website, social media, photography, blogging, pinning, and marketing. I’m still learning so much and I love the challenges that having a business brings every day. Luckily, I’m pretty organised and I have loads of support to help with things when I get stuck too!
There are lots of ways to promote a skincare product. Which way has got the best results for you?
In my experience, the only way you can promote anything is with honesty and genuine passion for the products. I love sharing my skincare superheroes with people face to face at vegan events and getting to know my customers. Though the products really speak for themselves! This year I’ve obviously been limited to online events, but connecting with people is part of what I love about running HCS.
What have been the biggest pitfalls that you’ve had to overcome in developing and growing your business?
Really, the biggest pitfall was that I had to get stuck in and learn as I went along! I’ve made some silly mistakes of course, but that’s all part of the experience and they have been things I’ve learnt from. Juggling a job and a business leaves me without as much time as I’d like to dedicate to everything that needs doing. I’m a complete technophobe too so I need a lot of help with all the technical stuff. Covid-19 has put a serious spanner in the works of course – I’m sad to have missed so many events this year and the chance to meet lots of people, but I’m hoping I can make up for it next year!
What does the future hold for Happy Carrot Skincare?
World domination one carrot at a time? No, seriously, I’d love Happy Carrot to grow and leave its mark on the world of vegan skincare. I’d love more than anything to help more people feel positive about their skin and be able to know they are looking after themselves and the planet too. Moving into retail would be an amazing chance to achieve that when we’re ready to grow. For now, we’re just online but there’s plenty more joy to be spread around!
What would your advice or top tips be for someone who is thinking about starting their own vegan business?
Oooh, well now is a great time to be vegan and have a vegan business! We vegans have it lucky with so many options available but we’re growing significantly – so there’s always room for more ethical vegan businesses who can offer something more personal than the giants who offer a vegan alternative. My advice would be to go for it! Get The Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark and get support from the Vegan Business Tribe too of course!
Visit Happy Carrot Skincare’s website at www.happycarrotskincare.com
Lisa Fox says:
Happy Carrot Skincare is a great example of how to make your company stand out in a saturated marketplace. By leading with positivity and fun, and transforming upcycled materials into all-natural skincare, Victoria has created loyal repeat customers who are now her product champions.
