Husband and wife develop product, identify domestic distribution partners, roll it out to thousands of medical clinics and department stores across the country and grow a successful national brand in the process.
It’s the next few chapters, written by founders Dr Aaron Atia and Alison Atia, with the support of key partners like Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ), that launched an exporting from Queensland dream to become a central player in the clean beauty revolution.
It’s a dream that now sees their products in Vietnam and India and export success that has grown their international revenue from just $200k a few years ago, to an eight-figure forecast.
Skin O2 was founded in 2005, with a range of doctor-formulated skincare and makeup products designed to address specific skin concerns like ageing, acne and general skin health.
As well as being free of synthetic fragrances and irritating toxic ingredients, the products are vegan, cruelty-free and dermatologically tested.
Navigating the challenges of starting export business
Despite establishing themselves as a leading brand in the Australian domestic market, their export success didn’t come overnight.
A major turning point came when Alison and Aaron reached out to TIQ for help with expanding to Vietnam, specifically via the export grant assistance and subsequent market insights through the Go Global Export Program.
When applying for the program, Skin O2 identified a number of challenges in the Vietnamese market, including the need to adapt their packaging.
“It’s quite different to Australia. Vietnam is very security conscious, so we had to adapt the pack to still be eco-friendly, but have security tagging on it,” Alison explains.
Having the correct export licence was another complexity that TIQ helped to navigate.
'With each country you need to meet the market, so you need to do whatever the regulations are. If you have a support program to go into specific markets, you can really adapt.'
- Alison Atia, Skin02. Founder
Hear more about
Alison's export success story
through Trade and Investment Queensland
A new horizon - exporting to India
Skin O2’s export success in Vietnam opened the door to further opportunities around the world, including the potential to export from Australia to India.
With the continued support of TIQ’s export advisory services, Skin O2 secured a contract with India’s largest luxury brand market leader, Baccarose.
This deal has seen their products rolled out across high-end beauty retail stores in malls and airports throughout India, as well as 750 premium clinics.
“TIQ were really our expert team in India helping us secure that deal right from the beginning, from business matching introductions,”
The India deal has grown the full-time workforce by 40 per cent at Skin O2’s Gold Coast facility.
About Trade and Investment Queensland
If your business is ready to unlock global markets, you can learn more about your future export success through TIQ.
Whether you are an experienced exporter looking to expand your global footprint or a new exporter starting your journey, TIQ can help you scale your business internationally.
Is your business ready to unlock global markets? Learn more about your future export success through TIQ.
Whether you are an experienced exporter looking to expand your global footprint or a new exporter starting your journey, TIQ can help you scale your business internationally.