How we helped to take Hothouse Beauty from Yorkshire to New York

Almost two decades ago, Mel Brownlow founded Hothouse Beauty. While this small-town English business may not be a name you recognise, its popular self-tan product, St Moriz, is a favourite among both consumers and celebrities.

Mel says: “We started in a small Huddersfield office as a lifestyle business, with manufacturing in Eastbourne and a warehouse in Barnsley. In 2018, we consolidated everything to what it is now in Sheffield.”

After capturing the hearts of shoppers in the UK, Mel and her team decided to take Hothouse Beauty’s products international. “We started off in Europe, then we went into Australia, and onto the USA. We’re proud to say we have a listing on CVS and Walgreens, as well as Target and Amazon.”

This certainly came with its own set of challenges, not least understanding consumers in new markets and getting to grips with regulations. “It is a big thing when you're a small SME to actually start going into different countries and finding the right people to work with,” says Mel.

That’s where we came in.

Our head of international subsidiary banking UK, Cora McLaren joined Mel and other clients on a trip to Saudi Arabia where the business’ individuality really shone through.

“The Middle East was a more adventurous opportunity for Mel. It wasn't something she'd necessarily thought about, so we were being quite provocative and challenging in our thinking around what the opportunity might be.”

Partnering with a bank that has a strong international network was key for Mel when expanding. “Cora’s knowledge and reputation internationally is second to none. You could see she was highly respected. She made me feel very comfortable as a woman in business and it was nice to have that support.

“HSBCnet means my team in the UK can run our business from here and have a presence in Australia or America. It is very important to have a trusted partner like HSBC. They're an international bank and can help us if we need a partner in a certain country.”

Utilising our network meant that Mel was able to scale up production, meet new people on the ground and get a clear insight into local and cultural norms that would help her products be a success in new locations.

Mel credits HSBC relationship director Lee Manterfield for being pivotal to the business’ international growth. “Lee has worked very hard for us in terms of introducing us to people in senior positions within HSBC, but also people from other companies that can help us with our ambitions”.

Lee says: “I was introduced to Mel and the wider stakeholders at Hothouse Beauty in 2018. To build that relationship over a period of time helped increase the trust and enabled us to have open conversations.”

Reflecting on Hothouse Beauty’s period of growth has had Mel look to where next to take her business. “We've got an amazing site, a great business, and I'm most proud of the people that I get to work with.

“We have our own R&D and manufacturing facility which is great because it means we can launch a new product or brand within 12 months, whereas bigger companies can take two years.”

Cora is adamant that the strong partnership between HSBC and Hothouse Beauty will continue as it expands into new markets and product categories: “As an entrepreneur sometimes, it can be quite lonely. So, creating strong business networks and having trusted partners becomes increasingly important as businesses go through significant change.”