Innovative products that help us to look and feel our best
Two women entrepreneurs who identified a gap in the marketplace have both gone on to create phenomenally successful businesses. Judy Naake from St Tropez and Tiny Deol from Curryslim tapped into consumers’ demand for good quality, reliable products that would help other women, and men, to look and feel their best at all times.
They researched their own market, found it wanting, so introduced their own highly specialised products and beat the competition hands down.
They will share with business managers their different approaches in bringing their products to market at the next OnCourse Innovation Masterclass event on September 20th. The free event will take place at Trent Vineyard, Lenton Lane, Nottingham.
"Take one step at a time," is Judy Naake’s business mantra, "and don’t be defeated by the huge challenge. Success comes from eating the elephant in bite-sized chunks."
Having created a huge business empire, Nottingham businesswoman Judy is now the Life Time President of St Tropez, the self tanning range loved by celebrities.
"Use the skills you have and build on what you know," said Judy as she followed her instinct to bring St Tropez over from the States. She took on the UK and European distribution and sold to beauty salons from the back of her car before the brand took off in the late 1990s when it was featured in high fashion magazines. It is now offered in over 6,500 beauty salons across the country and available in most department stores.
Founder and Managing Director Tiny Deol’s inspiration to create Curryslim came from a desire to lose weight following the birth of her children. Finding diet food bland and tasteless, and missing Indian food, Tiny created her own range and experimented on friends and family. Curryslim provides a healthier option for curry lovers who want to keep their waist line in check. Promoted as the world’s first cholesterol free curry range with no added fat, it offers advice, recipes and sauces online (http://www.curryslim.com/) and through the QVC shopping channel.
Above all else, Tiny considers self-belief to be vital to success. "If you do not believe in yourself then no-one else will," she said.
The OnCourse Innovation Masterclass event is part of a three-year series aimed at inspiring the city’s business leaders of tomorrow by putting emerging entrepreneurs into contact with leaders who have succeeded through innovation. The series is run by Nottingham Development Enterprise.