Most of you may already be familiar with the powerhouse that is Ella & Jo, a creation by Charlene Flanagan & Niamh Ryan. Ella & Jo is an Irish skincare brand; created, produced, and packaged in Ireland. Now more than ever with people wanting to support homegrown, Ella & Jo offers wonderful skincare whilst also allowing us to support Irish business locally. Ella & Jo brings high-quality home-grown skincare products that rivals international brands, to the Irish market.
The current range of products available from Ella & Jo is an incredible collection of tools to elevate your routine. With hero products like the Hyaluronic mist, to beauty hacks like getting the most out of your products with the squeaky-clean brush cleaner. Already the recipient of multiple accolades, from Hi Style, RSVP, and Stellar Beauty Heroes to name a few, this is only the beginning for Ella & Jo!
Charlene & Niamh give the inside scoop on what makes Ella & Jo so successful, and what we can expect to see from the brand in the future:
1. Tell us about your business, the history, present , team and goals?
Ella & Jo was founded by both Charlene & Niamh in 2017 after Niamh as a skincare expert saw the connection between acne/blemish prone skin & not cleaning makeup brushes regularly. There is more bacteria on your dirty makeup brush than on your toilet seat & 68% of women surveyed don’t clean their brushes as it “Takes too Long” Squeaky Clean Brush Cleanser was born in 2017 as an antibacterial makeup brush spot cleaner that will clean, antibacterialise and have your brushes dry ready to reuse in minutes. Clean Brushes = Clear Skin & Flawless Makeup every time. In 2018 saw the follow up of our innovative Hydrating Mist 3in1 Hyaluronic Skin Mist, 80% of people are dehydrated in their skin causing premature aging, flaky, tight skin, we designed the 3in1 to be used on the go and can be sprayed over makeup to reset refresh and plump dehydrated skin. 99% of women that used the mist over a 3 month period said their skin felt more hydrated as a result. Next in line was our Hydrating Hyaluronic Serum which is a four tiered serum This supercharged serum is formulated with Matrixyl 3000 to help stimulate collagen and elastin, Hyaluronic Acid to deeply moisturise, Niacinamide to rebalance uneven skin tone/reduce redness and Botanical Extracts to help soothe skin. The results & feedback from the serum have been incredible. We have grown the team over the past 3 years. We have travelled internationally to the U.S to seek business ventures, won several beauty related awards and our goal as a brand is to design skincare that helps make women feel better about themselves whilst ourselves still having a work/family life balance. There is lots to come from Ella & Jo in 2021 we are so excited!
2. How do you generate innovative ideas?
Listening to our customers, recognising the problems and gaps in the market, we are an innovative brand that is ingredients focused, Niamh’s background in Skin Therapy & Skin Science as well as both Charlene & Niamh working on the ground helps to listen and learn what we really want as women, not what we think they want.
3. When did you realise that as a business you would need to pivot?
We have always had an online presence and relationship with our customers, 2020 Lockdown allowed us to have the time to re-focus and get tasks and jobs done that were always pushed to the long finger due to day to day business operations. We didn’t necessarily pivot as such, we just adapted to the current climate. As women, that is what we are great at! Adapting!
4. Did the change come from within your business or did external things help?
We are a small but powerful team, we each bring a different set of skillsets to the table, but we are both part of female led entrepreneurship programmes (Niamh Going for Growth & Charlene EmpowerHer) and the support & advice that comes from these women & mentors is invaluable. Our Local Enterprise Office in Mayo has been a huge support to our business as well.
5. What is E&J’s core mission?
Our core mission is “We want women at the end of each day, to look in the mirror and see & feel something beautiful”. We want to create innovative, multitasking skincare saviours that deliver a multitude of benefits. Helping women to feel better about themselves by creating exciting & engaging product experiences that they can look forward to using every day, all while having some fun!
6. What are your plans for the future?
We are currently signing off on New Products to be introduced to the range, we are exporting into international markets and expanding our team. Sing it with us, “Things can only get better…”
Ella & Jo is available from pharmacies Nationwide
www.ellaandjo.ie @ellaandjocosmetis
Love your skin with Ella & Jo. Read more here.
