Skin Formulas
Skin Formulas have taken part in three different InterTradeIreland programmes to boost their cross-border competitiveness and increase their innovation capacity.
About Skin Formulas
Nenagh, Co. Tipperary based Skin Formulas was established by Geraldine Jones with one clear goal: make skincare simple! With 20 years’ experience in the skincare industry as an aesthetician working in clinics in Ireland and abroad, Geraldine worked with different products to tackle a wide range of skincare concerns.
Today, Skin Formulas is leading the way for Irish skincare brands utilising active ingredients to treat common skin concerns. Their products are revolutionising skincare by targeting specific skin concerns in an affordable and achievable way.
InterTradIreland helped us develop a very clear roadmap and a plan for growth into new markets. Having strategy behind what we were doing has really helped us to develop a very clear pathway.
Geraldine Jones, Skin Formulas, Founder
How Skin Formulas have worked with InterTradeIreland
Acumen 2023 - 2024
Skin Formulas took part in the Acumen cross-border sales development programme in 2024.
The company had received a number of enquiries from customers in Northern Ireland asking Skin Formulas to supply their clinics and spas, but with their small staff team they weren’t able to take full advantage of the cross-border opportunities.
Skin Formulas approached InterTradeIreland for help to access to the new market in Northern Ireland, increase contacts and prospects and boost sales. The Acumen programme helped Skin Formulas to recruit a sales person with strong cross-border knowledge to help them identify new business opportunities.After one year of the Acumen programme, Skin Formulas reported a 60% increase in sales, new cross-border business opportunities were identified and contacts and prospects increased.
Trade Hub 2024
Skin Formulas also got support from an expert consultant through the InterTradeIreland Trade Hub. They wanted help to understand customs basics worldwide, considering the complex areas of Incoterms, duty and rules of origin.
The consultant was able to give Skin Formulas comprehensive guidance about customs valuation, VAT and claiming preference. As a result the company have all the information needed to stream-line their supply chain and can form a strategy about the most straightforward and cost-effective route to market for supporting their B2B and B2C clients.
The team at InterTradeIreland were incredibly supportive and they were so easy to work with. They really know what it takes to support a business who is trying to grow their company cross-border.
Geraldine Jones, Skin Formulas, Founder
Innovation Boost 2024
Following extensive market research, Geraldine and her colleagues at Skin Formulas identified a common theme in relation to skincare: too many complicated steps, not enough products with the right ingredients. The company saw an opportunity to develop and manufacture a new range of skin care products to complement its existing product range.
They contacted the InterTradeIreland Innovation Boost team and began a project to create novel body care formulations for people with specific skin concerns. Innovation Boost helps fund a high-calibre science, engineering, or technology project manager for a business, and partners them with third-level institutions that have specific expertise. Skin Formulas worked with an academic expert from Ulster University and started to introduce new technical innovation into the company’s formulation strategy.
The project had a secondary objective of breaking a dependency on third-party formulation chemists by bringing these technical skills in-house through the Innovation Boost project manager with the support of the academic from Ulster University.
As part of the Innovation Boost programme Geraldine also completed a post-grad diploma. On graduating she said,
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Skin FormulasThe course was very constructive and provided great insight into how I can grow personally but also channel a more forward focused mindset professionally.
