Here at The Women’s Organisation, we have spoken to a lot of
women, we have interviewed a lot of businesses and we have heard a lot of
stories, but none of them perhaps as excitable and cheery as Bean Burst who we
had the pleasure of meeting a few months back! Jill Dermott, Sarah McGuiness
and Samantha Walters are the women who make up Bean Burst Ltd. and it was a joy
to get to chat to them and find out about their business, their journey and
their plans for the future!
Bean Burst is an all-natural coffee scrub, created by Jill,
Sarah and Samantha and was inspired by what they say was; ‘A Mother’s Curiosity’ after Jill’s son Fin developed eczema which
was becoming more and more inflamed and agitated through use of the modern
medications that were being prescribed.
Jill says; ‘I began researching articles surrounding natural remedies for eczema.
Himalayan salt was widely being used in scrubs, but the surprising ingredient
being used more and more in treatments for eczema was coffee. Research showed
that coffee, which is full of antioxidants can help to reduce the inflammation
by constricting the cells beneath the skin, however anyone with eczema knows
that the main frustration is with the dry angry, agitated skin, therefore I
needed to add an element of moisture to the formula to help rehydrate Fin’s
skin. It was at this point that I started making my own coffee scrub with
coconut oil & pink Himalayan salt. His skin started to improve so I used it
on myself and my skin seriously felt amazing – I cant explain how soft it felt!'
Once Sarah and Samantha saw the improvements in Fin’s skin
and the softness of Jill’s, they began to use it too and it was at that point
they knew that they wanted to start making their own scrubs and turn this idea
into a business reality. Jill says; ‘There
was really nothing out there like this and we thought it could be a good
business venture for us. The benefits of coffee on the skin were just starting
to be known at that point, so it was the right time to do it. We worked hard
together to formulate a coffee scrub that contained only the finest ingredients
- ingredients that would benefit the skin’
Bean Burst is the product of much experimenting. The team
are proud to say that this product contains NO preservatives and is 100%
natural. They now have their three signature blends of coffee scrub; Sweet
Orange, Peppermint and Grapefruit and The Women’s Organisation can tell you
that they smell…Incredible!
Jill, Sarah and Samantha, all close friends and now business
partners blend perfectly as a team too with each individual bringing a
different skill and unique take on the business to the mixture. Jill is a
doting mum of 2 little boys and also a fully qualified physiotherapist with a
background in chemistry and biology. Therefore researching and formulating the
products came natural and easy to her. ‘Since
having children I have become interested in both researching and sourcing
natural products which are free from toxins / nasty chemicals, I’m a believer
that nature can cure all’
Whereas on the other side of the coin, Sarah is a trained actress
and lives in London, Sarah now splits her time between there and Liverpool and
is having a great time experiencing being a business woman as well as
continuing to act. ‘I feel really proud
of what we’ve created, It’s a fun brand and you can see bits of all of us in it.’
And Samantha considers herself to be more business minded,
having 5 years field Sales and Account Management experience, her most recent
role working in Medical Device Sales as a Territory Manager. Her interest in
Health and Fitness developed after her First Class Honours Degree in Sports
Development and Physical Education. Samantha is able to bring acumen to both
the team and Bean Burst Ltd. Sam’s passion for travelling has opened her eyes
to the difficulties in ethical trading, she is now interested in helping to
ethically source the majority of Bean Burst’s ingredients, ensuring Bean Burst
use only fair traded goods where possible.
The Bean Burst Team were informed about The Women’s Organisation after
going to open the business bank account. Jill, Sarah and Samantha then went for a meeting at The Women’s Organisation and were paired with with Senior Business Adviser,
Huda Mamoun who they say is ‘an angel in disguise’. When The Women’s
Organisation interview Bean Burst, it is clear that it was a match made in
heaven because they have nothing but praise to pile on Huda. Samantha says; ‘She has been absolutely phenomenal since
our first encounter.’ And they’ve had a great time with Training
Co-Ordinator Bernie Cox taking part in all our courses including ‘Building a Social Media Strategy’ and ‘Understanding Tax and National Insurance’.
Jill says Huda has helped them countless times and to understand
things that otherwise, they would just not have known about. ‘It was little things like getting our
trademark sorted out. We had no clue how to do it. We thought you had to go
through a solicitor because that’s the route it takes you through on the
website. We were getting quoted thousands of pounds. But we went to Huda and
she gave us a link which saved us £1500! It was that kind of thing, because
it’s been a massive learning curve for all of us, we are learning as we go
along.’
Bean Burst Ltd is now up, running and raring to go with an
incredible website courtesy of the super talented guys at Deerhound creative.
The girls have found the perfect words to sum up what they hope the future will
hold for them…
‘This is just the
start, we are passionate and committed to continually evolve, through research
and development, to bring you new and exciting natural products that will
#BringYourSkinToLife’
A big thank you to the Bean Burst team for bringing a burst
of joy into our day, to find out more about Jill, Samantha and Sarah and their
fantastic product, use the contact details below! If you have a business idea
that you would like help with, then get in touch with The Women’s Organisation
by emailing us on hello@thewo.org.uk or
ringing 0151 706 8111
Bean Burst Contact Details
Email: info@beanburst.com
Phone: 07793018799
