Brianne West is a New Zealand entrepreneur and founder of Ethique, the world's first zero-waste beauty brand. In 2016 she was named a "Global Thinker" by Foreign Policy magazine.
Biography
Brianne West founded her first company, a pet detective agency, at age eight. She started her first natural cosmetics business as a high-school leaver at the age of 19, and ran it for five years before starting a confectionery company. West is a trained biologist and received her Bachelor of Science degree in 2013 from the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand. West founded Ethique in 2012, a company that produces beauty products in concentrated solid bar form, while completing her second year at the university. She first began creating products in her kitchen as a hobby before forming Ethique. The company initially traded as Sorbet, and in 2015 re-branded as Ethique. She used the knowledge from her degree to formulate products from natural ingredients from ethical and sustainable sources. The products are not tested on animals, and are sold in biodegradable and compostable packaging. The range includes solid shampoos, conditioners, body wash, face creams and moisturisers, deodorants, self-tanning bars, household cleaning products and pet wash. In 2013, West entered a business entrepreneurship competition at her university called "entré". As a result of becoming a finalist she secured a business mentor. In 2015, West launched an online crowdfunding campaign through PledgeMe, which raised NZD$200,000, and attracted the largest number of female investors in the site's history. The funds were used to build a customised laboratory for developing and manufacturing products, and to expand the company to global markets. In 2017, West launched a second crowdfunding campaign and reached PledgeMe’s daily limit of NZD$500,000 in 90 minutes. In 2016, Brianne and Ethique attracted social media attention from international celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, Sarah Wilson and Jamie McDell, after featuring in renowned publications such as Forbes, Huffington post and 1 Million Women. Since then, Brianne has featured in publications across the globe including O, The Oprah Magazine, Kia Ora, Business Insider, Daily Mail, andPopSugar, among others.
