The founders of Mama Mio invite Director into their skincare brand's vibrant headquarters in London
We founded Mama Mio in 2005 alongside our fourth founder, Jill Dunk, who is based in the US. We always say Mama Mio is the most selfish skincare brand you'll ever meet because we create each product to solve the skincare issues that we want to overcome.
Starting out with maternity skincare, our product range has grown to include formulations for firming, cellulite, dry skin, anti-ageing, and now face care. We have 25 staff in London and the US. Our products are sold in 2,000 stores and 300 spas worldwide as well as online. Turnover is £8m.
Ten staff work in our London head office at Clerkenwell Workshops. We looked for a place that had a good feeling, a lot of light and wasn't too expensive. When we first moved in it was supposed to be for three months. Four years later, we're still here – we love it. There are 75 other small companies based here. It's a real community with a great vibe. We've met other businesses that have helped us with video production and web design.
Our office is open plan, which improves communication flow. We can eavesdrop on anyone's conversation and know what's going on – it lowers the amount of information you have to assimilate later. A flimsy partition wall is a physical and mental barrier for people. Open plan also reduces hierarchy and politics. We've created a sense of belonging so that everyone feels they contribute to the highs and lows of the business.
When people come to work here they tend to stay with us – even the sales force out on the road. It's very gratifying to us that the kind of warm energy we have created in our office environment is strong enough that it permeates out to the sales team because that's quite a lonely job being out there.
Financially, 2011 was surprisingly good for us. We're growing at 150 per cent year on year, and with the launch of face care we anticipate substantial growth in the next couple of years. We're very optimistic for 2012 – our product line-up is strong and who we are as a brand is spot on.
Now we just need more people to know about the company. For us, this year is going to be about getting a megaphone out in lots of different ways. Now we just have to figure out how best to do that.
