Pick the odd one out: cookies, ice cream, lipstick.
You don’t eat lipstick, right? Wrong.
When food scientist/nutritionist/health guru-turned-businesswoman Cindy Luken was searching for her next product to market, she Googled lipstick ingredients. And there was her answer.
The chemical cocktail that appeared on screen was so astounding, she knew instantly she was onto something.
“I could not read the ingredients statements.
“I thought: ‘Why is it so different from food? What goes on our lips, we eat.’ I just went: ‘Why can’t I make lipstick from food?”
And that’s exactly what she did.
Cindy knew from the start that corporate life was not for her.
While she was developing ice cream and sticky date pudding ranges for food and beverage company Sara Lee, her self-employed husband was also putting in the hard yards – but only for nine months of the year.
“For the other three months he’d do sailing regattas, climb mountains. He was so in control of his life. In a corporation you’re controlled by that business – it’s what most of us think life is.”
A long-desired offer to join a high calibre team at a major food manufacturer coincided with the sudden realisation that it wasn’t what she wanted.
“My husband said: ‘What would you want to do that for? You’ll be on call 24/7.”
Opting to stay instead with Sarah Lee, she went instead into marketing, meeting future business partner Sally May. The pair formed Luken and May caterers-turned premier biscuit manufacturer. Cindy bought out her partner and brought in investors, increased revenue to $7m, then sold to Stewart Alexander.
A break was in order after the pressure of heading a fast-growing start-up; babies ensued.
In the midst of stay-at-home mum life, the buzz of company creation again beckoned. Continued >>>
Beauty remastered
For Cindy Luken, building a successful enterprise was a long-held ambition. Showing a keen eye for opportunity, she did just that, then she sold, took a break and did it all over again. She shared her insights with Ingrid Green.
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