In 1993, like most 20-year-olds, I only ever bought my make-up and skincare from one brand. It was almost always Clinique. On rare occasions, Lancôme. The only temptation to ever sway my loyalty: a gift-with-purchase bribe.
However, it’s the beauty and wellness world where the serial entrepreneur holds her most impressive track records when it comes to founding and leading start-ups, scaling several impressive blockbuster heights. Most of this took place in the 2010s; an era that proved a golden age for independents.But now, after a three-year break with that world, Horwood’s back in the game.
Horwood’s team include farmers and a business partner, former Fortescue chief executive Nev Power. The brand was born from a feasibility study that was done for the growers. Horwood left in 2005 and went on to revolutionise the sunscreen sector with her first products being a high SPF sun-care range – Invisible Zinc – which used micronised particles of zinc to block UV rays, rather than the chemical-laden filters other sunscreens were using.
In 2013, the wellness boom kicked off with everyone obsessing over kale, barre classes, Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar program, vegan diets, and gut health. Horwood departed as chief executive of WelleCo in 2019 after a share dispute that has since been resolved, but witnessing this demand for radical transparency – as well as sustainability – stayed with her.