CINDERELLA - A FAIRY TALE COME TRUE

Entrepreneur Bex Gold says the success of her designer cleaning product range ‘Cinderella’ is a fairy-tale come true.

The former Bond University student developed the innovative range to fill a gap she identified in the household cleaning product market for "great smelling, natural cleaning products" – and the glass slipper fit.

"Cinderella really started as a creative binge over the Christmas break," said Ms Gold. "I never thought it would become this big!"

But with lucrative purchasing arrangements in place with selected COLES supermarkets Australia-wide and plans for international expansion, Cinderella is big, and it’s not slowing down – something that pleases the ambitious Ms Gold.

"It’s a volume business, so I’m definitely looking to grow. I would like to see Cinderella capture 2% of the Australian market. I’m also in the process of expanding into the Japanese and New Zealand markets, and hope to be in the UK next year," she said.

It’s this drive and determination that has seen Ms Gold named as one of three finalists for the Pantene Young Business Women of the Year Awards – having been selected from thousands of nominations from around Australia.

The honour is not the first for Ms Gold, who prior to establishing her own business was an award-winning marketing and communications consultant with an impressive professional profile including Whittakers, The BodyShop, Lush, Napoleon, AMP ad Saatchi & Saatchi.

"I was fortunate in my earlier career to work with some fantastic companies that gave me the freedom to put my creativity into practice.

"After graduating from my Bachelor of Communication and Business at Bond University in 1995, I moved to New Zealand and began working as a freelance marketing and communications consultant.

"With the business skills I learnt at Bond I was so far ahead of other university graduates.

"I was part of the first wave of ambient marketing in New Zealand, and loved it. I launched the BodyShop’s ‘juice it’ range with a body painting display in a main street and staged protests in coffee shops to promote Amnesty International – it was fast-paced, and a heap of fun."

Things got a little more serious for Ms Gold when she moved back to the Gold Coast and began working for her father’s business Managed Investment Schemes (MIS).

"I went from a fast-paced, creative environment, to one which was stringently regulated. I would come up with a good idea for a campaign, and by the time it fought its way through all the red tape and regulators, it would be unrecognisable. It was frustrating, and in the end, I think Cinderella was born out of that frustration," she said.

So why cleaning products?

"I’m a clean freak," laughs Ms Gold. "I move around a lot, so I have a lot of experience cleaning houses. I used to use Lush products, because I loved the smell, but it turns out while they are great for cleaning people, they’re not so great for cleaning houses."

After identifying a gap in the market for cleaning products that smelled more like perfumed skin care products, Ms Gold approached a Gold Coast based chemist who was also behind the formulas for the late Big Kev’s cleaning products range.

"He was fantastic, he delivered everything I wanted – something that was kind on the nose, kind on the environment, kind on children, kind on the home, and kind towards animals.

"I designed packaging that was chic and sexy, so it was something you would want to keep out on display rather than banished under the sink, and the Cinderella range was born."

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. Like most new businesses, there was a bit of tweaking needed to find the successful formula.

"We had a few early production and supply issues, as the Cinderella range deviates so far from standard cleaning products that all components have to sourced especially.

"Initially, the product was also sold only as a premium designer range. While it was successful, and getting great responses from all the right places, at $15 it was relatively expensive for a cleaning product and I wasn’t moving huge quantities.

"So I took the core concept and diversified it into a slightly different offering, which while providing lower margins, allowed me to move more product."

Since then, the Cinderella range has grown from strength to strength, with products such as the ‘coconut fabulously easy bathroom cleaner’ and the ‘zesty passionfruit and orange glass cleaner’ proving a hit with modern Cinderellas everywhere.

And it seems the fun won’t end there, with the entrepreneurial-minded Ms Gold set to extend her range to include dishwashing liquids that will have our plates smelling like cakes and laundry liquids that will eliminate the need to wear perfume.

There is no stopping this 29-year-old go-getter, who seems destined to fulfil her fairy tale and live happily ever after.

"I get my entrepreneurial spirit from my family, and Bond was definitely very supportive of that, teaching me to go after what I want and not to settle for anything less."

To vote for Ms Gold in the Pantene Young Business Women of the Year Awards, visit www.pywya.net, and click on the Business category.

Check out the Cinderella range online at www.cinderella.com.au.