With a vision to create volumising and hair growth haircare products, Natasha Jay has created an Aussie beauty brand taking on the world.
This Aussie mum has created a hair growth haircare beauty brand selling million of dollars in products all over the world.
Natasha Jay was a Sydney hairdresser and ran an online fashion business, whose constant frustration with thinning hair in women due to hormonal conditions including endometriosis and polysistic ovarian syndrome led her to create her own hair care brand.
She combined her passion for hair solutions and natural haircare with her knowledge of online businesses, and Pump HairCare was born.
“At 19 I was diagnosed and saw a huge change in my hair. It thinned out, was brittle, and was just really bad.
“I wasn’t actually sure if it was the hormones or anaesthetic from the operation (to address endometriosis) but more and more people came to me with the same thing.
In 2016, I started to experiment with products. My clients started asking about products for hair loss, and I didn’t have anything I loved (and could reccommend).
I was looking for something to help with hair growth. The natural products on the market didn’t cut it. All the professional products targeting hair growth had a lot of chemicals.
Instead, I used natural -Jamaican black castor oil. I educated myself with google on what products might work. I then bought it online and tried it and other extracts and have Ben known for years and years.
Once I had researched and tried the natural ingredients, I started working with a formulator because I am not a chemist so needed to know what would work.
I wanted a hair care brand that was sulphate free, and certified organic.My son had eczema, so I was aware of the importance of natural ingredients.
The next step was trying to find a contract manufacturer -the ones that create the bulk product and put it in a bottle. My challenge was to find someone who would do such a small volume.
It was super important to me that the product was made and manufactured in Australia, including the packaging.
I started testing it (samples) on clients without telling them it was mine so I would get honest responses. I knew they would tell me it was good regardless if they knew it was mine.”
Natasha’s’ hairdressing clients gravitated to the new products she was making, and she then knew she was onto something.
“They loved it, both the texture as well as the fragrance, as I was testing it on them behind the basin. From there I said to them I’ve got this product, it’s mine and I saw an improvement in their hair which was exciting.
“It wasn’t feasible for me to continue producing the products myself, as I was losing money. So then I had to scale the volume to get the prices down
“It took off really quickly. I had to make a decision really quickly – am I going to do hairdressing or the business? Within 8 months we expand globally and international sales took off.”
Now 50% of the business revenue is from outside Australia with America and the Middle East leading the way. It is a Professional range with about 40 individual products and packs, sold in over 300 retailers globally.
The brand is also very environmentally friendly.
“We have sustainable -tubes made from sugar cane resin, and zero carbon footprint. Any other plastic we use is made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic.”
A huge point of difference in the business is that Pump don’t have sales reps. Instead they have created a B2B portal. Clients can order directly from the website. They can also access how-to videos for the salons.
Consumers also buy online, and can have their haircare personally reccommended by Natasha if they upload an image.
With an expected revenue of over $20 million in 2021, this Aussie business is one to watch.
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