‘Queues of people were waiting to buy it’ ‘My toothpaste tubes won’t go to landfill’
Faye Wilson, 44, launched her own toothpaste brand, Happier Beauty, in 2019. She lives in Chatham, Kent, with her husband, Keith, 45, and their two children.
THE IDEA
I was working full-time for the John Lewis Partnership in a senior marketing role when I started the business, after discovering 1.5 billion single-use plastic toothpaste tubes go to landfill every year. I was so shocked. Every plastic toothpaste tube ever made still exists in a landfill – or worse, in the ocean.
So my idea was for a toothpaste in an aluminium-based tube that can go into the recycling bin.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
I spent two years of product development, collaborating with dentists and chemists to create my Happier Beauty toothpaste formula. Its ingredients include papaya, stevia and vitamin E. I was still working full-time so I created the Happier Beauty brand and built my website on the train while commuting. I took annual leave so I could visit suppliers around the country before launching the product in 2019.
BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT
Soon after launching Happier Beauty, I ran a stall at Pebble Sustainable Market in September 2019, and crowds of people were queueing to buy
Happier Beauty toothpaste. It’s not often people get excited about toothpaste, so I knew I was on to something.
STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE
Learning all about the rigorous testing and regulations toothpaste must pass before it can be sold – they’re far more stringent than for other health products.
WHERE I AM NOW
COVID has been hard. I got it pretty badly in March 2020 before lockdown and have struggled with long COVID ever since, so I’ve had to balance my health needs with running a business. Now I’m trying to grow an online business against the headwind of people wanting to go back to shopping in person.
TOP TIP Just keep going. Running a start-up has amazing highs and unbelievable lows, so enjoy the highs and get through the lows. I suffer from huge self-doubt when the lows happen, but I tell myself I’ve succeeded before and I’ll also succeed with this current issue.