Celebrating 20 years of skincare

Dr Geoffrey Heber reveals his humble beginnings and the inspiration behind his award-winning Ultraceuticals brand.

Congratulations on your 20th anniversary this year – tell us one of your career highlights?

“The forerunner of our current Protective Daily Moisturiser SPF50+ was a product called Antioxidant Daily Moisturiser SPF30+. In the year 2000, the only beauty product awards in the industry were run by the magazine New Woman. That year our Antioxidant Daily Moisturiser SPF30+ won ‘Best Premium Sunscreen’ and ‘Australian Product of the Year’. These were the first of many awards our products have won but it was quite memorable for me.”

What are some of the considerations when you are developing products in the Ultraceuticals range?

“As the skin of many Australians shows signs of living in our harsh environment, we need to make sure that our products are as effective as they can be. This involves the choice of ingredients, the concentrations we use, and the vehicles we use to deliver them into the skin. We then clinically test our products to make sure they deliver the results our clients would expect.

Tell us how you started the company?

“Soon after commencing practice as a cosmetic medicine physician I saw many of my clients buying department store products that were very expensive but without ingredients that were truly effective for improving their skin. The first clinical ranges containing alpha hydroxy acids came out at this time and I began importing them to give clients of cosmetic clinics and salons more effective products at more affordable prices. A few years later I brought out the first Ultraceuticals product, Ultra C10 Serum, as a stable and effective Vitamin C product was not available in Australia, or for me to even import at the time.”

THREE BIGGEST LESSONS I HAVE LEARNT AS CEO

• Hire the best possible people, even if it means waiting until they are available, and treat them well

• Have monthly expert review of the business’ financial position

• Never compromise customer service

Tell us the ethos behind the Ultraceuticals range?

“It has always been “Real Skincare, Real Results”. We produce products that make a visible difference and that others will notice. We support our ethos with in-house medically supervised research and development, recommendation by skin expert therapists, high levels of the most effective ingredients and clinical testing.”

What is one of your best sellers?

“Our Ultra B2 Serum is a product that has a huge cult following. It is a lightweight moisturiser containing a unique combination of different sized hyaluronic acid molecules. It plumps and firms the skin, leaving a dewy lustre.”

TOP FIVE TIPS FOR BUSINESS

• Always be customer focused

• Treat your staff with respect

• Obtain feedback from your customers to ensure they are satisfied, become repeat customers and tell their family and friends about you

• Present your business in a professional and aesthetic way – clients will judge the quality of your services on this

• Product, price and promotion need to be right

With so many products on the market – how have you managed to remain competitive?

“As well as having highly effective and appealing products, we aim to support the best skin expert therapists to use our treatments and support our brand. Our online training program has won an international award for being the best in its breed. We help therapists sell through our products. We work on having highly supportive customer service. Our marketing and promotional programs are second to none.”

How do you support the companies stocking your brand?

WE PRODUCE PRODUCTS THAT MAKE A VISIBLE DIFFERENCE AND THAT OTHERS WILL NOTICE"

“We support our clinics numerous ways. We restrict our supply to skin expert salons and we support having the best clinics in particular areas. Our national sales force is highly trained to support our customers. Our training, both online and face to face, is highly regarded, with our online training having been recognised internationally. Our marketing and promotional programs are unmatched. We hold in-clinic events and try to help grow our customers’ businesses.

The brand is also 100 percent certified Cruelty Free – how important is this?

“Being certified Cruelty Free is very important to us, our salon and clinic partners and their customers. It was a very time consuming process to obtain the rights to license the Cruelty Free rabbit accreditation. We have never tested our finished products on animals.”

What can we expect to see for your birthday celebrations?

“We’re excited to be celebrating with our clinics and salons during our 2018 Business Forums around Australia and NZ. Our forums are so invaluable to our business partners, as not only do we present the upcoming marketing calendar, but provide expert business coaching and sessions to help our accounts continually grow and succeed.

Any expansion plans?

“We believe that there is still plenty of room for growth in Australia. However, we have distributed to Hong Kong and Russia for 10 years. We have connections with potential distributors in several other countries and we will be following these up next year.”

www.ultraceuticals.com