australian owned cosmeceutical brands How three family-run Australian brands became global businesses

Lucas 'Papaw, bandamberg, Blackmores.If not household items, these brands are certainly easy to find in pharmacies and supermarkets across Australia.
The three companies are still family businesses.
Their number of employees ranges from 30 to more than 1000, but John McLean, chief executive of the famous ginger beer brewing company Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, said that larger employees do not always mean more
"You will be shocked at what a family business is," Mr McLean said .".
"They are the engine room of our economy: they may not get ASX-often-Bread and butter are available to listed companies, but bread and butter are the family businesses.
How these former Queensland small businesses grew to have an international image.
The red packaging of Lucas \ 'Papaw can be identified immediately.Today, it is most commonly used for chapped lips, but manager Lynette Swinglehurst said the ointment was not originally sold this way.
She said: "This has always been one of the staple foods in our medicine cabinet ...... We used to sell only to chemists .".
Since the great invention of MS swinghurst in the 1900 sgreat-Grandfather Lucas Papa is mainly used for the treatment of rashes, burns and other pain.
Never too much advertising.When her grandmother, may Talbot, ran the business, swinghurst MS said it was sold by the door --to-door -This product became very popular after another ointment was found.
"It was used about 15 years ago --I remember that call.used by a make-"Play an artist in McLeod's daughter," she said .".
"She called me and said it was good to keep the eyebrows in place and the gloss of the lips.
MS Swinglehurst said she was "blown away" by the cosmetic use of the product and how it took off.
"Before we knew it, it became something '."It has a cult follower and then it's crazy," she said .".
"Half of the people who bought it may not realize that it also has this medicinal value.
With Lucas Papa being asked to put in a test tube, the family started the second timehand tube-Filling machine before quickly realizing that this can't keep up with demand.
"At that stage, we only ate at pharmacies," she said .".
"Then someone wanted to sell it to Target, so we had wholesalers for Target and Woolies, and at that time they had to inform us how much they wanted it, so that we can work very hard ...... This is a very small business.
The team that got Lucas \ 'Papaw is still relatively small, and it seems that there are only 30 people producing this product in every major pharmacy, supermarket and department store.
"We now have about 30 people working here, three lines at a time, two tubes --Filling machine and a jar-The filling machine can make up about 90,000 tubes a day if we want.
This is far from helping grandma do it in a small wooden shed next to her home in St. Lucia.
"On the day of returning to the first cabin, all were relatives," she said ."."Now we have 17 people cutting papaws.
John McLean described himself as a "muggle" of the family business, a drink brewed by Bundaberg.
Mr McLean, who used to be a teacher, said he did not want to join his wife's family business, but his persuasive father --in-Cliff finally convinced him and gave himPrior to putting him as CEO 10 years ago, he had extensive business experience.
"I don't think he will ever let me fail," Mr McLean said .".
"(But) the way we run our business today is very different from the way we did it at the time.
The company was originally an Electra brewery, bought by Neville and Gladys Fleming and their son Cliff and daughter in the 1960 s --in-Lee Fleming
Original brewing and non-brewingMr McLean said that at the age of 1990, the family had decided to focus on one thing that they had done very well --Brew ginger beer with that familiar stubby bottle.
"In 97, we decided to withdraw from all brands of soft drinks, focusing only on drinks brewed in Bundaberg and selling them exclusively --Control our own destiny, "he said.
While that means the company's revenue has fallen from $15 million to $12 million, McLin said, it has quickly resumed growth.
"Once we take the time and don't have to talk about other people's brands, we can really focus and deliver the results," he said. "we can develop our brands, push our business further. ".
Soon after Mr McLean joined the company, the change took place, saying that the company had grown from hiring 43 people in Bundaberg to hiring about 250 in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
"This is a completely different organization," he said ."
From a management point of view, some things have changed.They stopped discussing business in detail at lunch on Sunday.But McLin says the situation is the same in other ways.
"We work with 250 families, and that's what we think of as a family business.
Blackmores is now an international health supplement company with more than 1000 employees, established in Brisbane in 1938 by Morris Blackmore, with a natural therapy health food store and health clinic.
"My father is a very professional person and he doesn't think the profession is professional and needs to be professional, so he has two nursing sisters wearing white hats as before, Marcus Blackmore said: "They are the first contact person for the patient. ".
Mr. Blackmore, who took over his father's business in 1975, said his father struggled to make natural therapy a recognized practice in Queensland.
"He is called a scammer," said Blackmore ." He added that he also defended natural drugs.
And conflict with the state government.In the state of the practice that Kun physiotherapy tried to restrict in 1955,xa0Medical amendmentxa0-There are also many internal conflicts, says Blackmore.
After he started working for his father around the age of 18, Blackmore said he had been fired many times.
"He fired me about three times," he said .".
The first time he left, he went to work at a shipyard, and the second time Mr Blackmore said he had found a job at Queensland priest supplies.
"The third time, shortly after that, I was called up to do six-"After a one-month visit to Vietnam, he resumed his business," he said .".
"In order to debate the design of the toothpaste tube, I was fired again.
Mr. Blackmore said he remembered the battle: he was in his early 20 s and still lived at home, arguing with his father in the "little" bathroom.
"I said, 'if you don't listen, drive me away. '.
His father did the same at breakfast.
"Not only did I lose my job, I was kicked out of the house.
Mr. Blackmore said,This has left him unemployed for a while.He is a better manager in the long run.
"Unemployment time has had a considerable impact on my life, which is why Blackmores now has a reputation for caring for employees than most companies," he said .".
ASX listed company Blackmores reported sales of $2016 in fiscal 717.2 million;According to their last annual report, they have grown for 14 consecutive years.
Most Blackmores sales-69 per cent -From Australia, sales in Asia are 18.
But as Chinese buyers in Australia sell Blackmores products overseas, half of the company's sales come from the Asian market, the report said.
Swinghurst said the Asian market is also interested in Lucas Papa due to the inspiration of online shopping. MS.
"We 've never been to berzerkand, and we haven't been able to keep up, the only time we realize what's going on here is about two years ago when e-"Business is coming and people can order personal items from all over the world, which is in demand for China," she said .".
"Since e-commerce, the Asian market has entered it.Business has started and it's crazy.
When all the Chinese are starting to like it, people just try to accept it and we have to let all our wholesalers know where you have to know it will go.
Mr. McLean said that the drinks brewed by Bundaberg had changed from the days when everyone lived in less than an hour's drive from the factory.
"When I joined in 1995, there were 43 people."Today we have about 250 people who are employed in Australia, New Zealand and the United States," he said .".
"As we grow, our biggest employees are in New York state.
Although the company is not listed, it has more than $100 million in annual sales.
McLin said that the future is "more the same" for the company, but they also have a great innovation department that will make adjustments when needed.
"We have been looking at how to maintain relevance to consumers or change recipes when needed," he said .".
"We just released a tropical mango drink and our feedback was fantastic.
Blackmore said the company's success has a lot to do with employee management.
"My best advice for the manager is to take the time to find the person who is doing the right thing, not the person who is doing the wrong thing," he said .".
"People think that my job is to find people making mistakes, and if you find that people are doing the right thing, it's like taking a pat on the back.
MS Swinglehurst said that the most important advice she can give others in a family business is not to take on too much at a time.
"That's how we run this place;We never saw it too far..."We never bite more than we chew," she said .".
"My dad's motto has been 'slow, slow, 'since I worked with him '.
According to McLean, the philosophy of Bundaberg's self-brewed drink is not to constantly redefine its business, but to stick to its best practices.
"One thing we want to make sure is that we don't want to sit on the beach and smell the roses, and we want to be loyal to our business," he said .".
"We just did one thing that we could work very hard on, and it helped us achieve sustainable development...We just did what we could.
The next generation of Mr McLean and swinghurst MS has worked with them.
"It's good, I really appreciate being a part of it, having been in our house for so long, my son is working here now and it's huge to see it stay at home, my husband also works here, "said MS swinhurst.
Mr. McLean says he likes his daughter to work in the company, but he doesn't force them to live their own lives.
"They like it, but there is a daughter who wants to be a school teacher," he said .".
"We will encourage them to be their own people.