Southland’s a glorious spot to start a business
A couple believe the main reason they were able to launch their natural skincare business was because of the famous southern generosity.
Carly and Michael Bennet’s children are prone to allergies, so for years they have been making their own products such as deodorant, washing powder and sunscreen with natural ingredients.
Last year, being stuck inside due to Covid-19 lockdown, Carly felt like she could actually start her own business from the years of experimenting for their kids.
‘‘I just thought, looking around, a time to slow down and my family were all at home and rushing around, and I just went I’m gonna do it. I wanted to do it, I’ve got an environment degree so . . .,’’ Carly said.
Having been diagnosed with skin cancer in 2019, she had already started to make her own face moisturiser that would not flare up the cancerous scars on her face, Michael said.
The couple moved to Invercargill four years ago when Michael got a job opportunity as an agronomist for Farmlands.
‘‘We would like to stay in Southland. We’ve had such opportunities here that we haven’t had . . . we’ve lived in other places, and we haven’t had the opportunities given to us . . . so we could like to give back,’’ Carly said.
This is why it is very important for the couple to make use of Southland-based producers as much as possible.
When the business was initially launched in March it was under the name Simply Green, but they are now rebranding to Glo¯rmhor, Scottish for glorious.