Author: FSB Insurance Service
Tags: Customer Stories

We love talking with our customers- FSB members can be anything from architects to zoologists and there’s a huge range of businesses in between! We caught up with new FSB Insurance Service policyholder, Pauline Hili, of Nourish London, who have been trading since September 2011 and manufacture vegan and organic skincare.

What prompted you to start your own business?

I wanted to start my own business so that I could have creative freedom. I believe that our customers deserve innovative, excellent products based on in-depth research and I love going into the lab and experimenting with what works best.

What did you do before starting Nourish London?

I have been a scientist for over 30 years, working in food and then cosmetics. I absolutely love working with plants and natural extracts so have been involved in making organic cosmetics for the past 15 years. Having spent many years creating lots of products and setting up research programs it felt like a natural progression. I was then fortunate enough to meet my terrific business partner who had all the skills I did not and the brand was established in 2011.

Tell us more about the journey your business has been on.

The business has been on a tremendous journey. In seven years we have gone from a concept to having over 30 products all developed, made, filled and labelled in our urban factory in Battersea.  From our small factory in London we now make and ship products all around the globe. It’s incredibly gratifying to see how our business has grown and met the market demand.

Formulating is my passion and, when I can, I love to go into the lab and get creative.  After the creative stage, perfecting the product takes time and dedication. Our Argan Skin Renew Moisturiser went through 43 formulations before it was launched! In the end, it was worth it to produce such a great product. Efficacy is very important when I am formulating and this was confirmed by clinical results, showing this moisturiser improves hydration by 25% over 24 hours.  And it was great to have this endorsed when it received its first beauty press award. 

Seeing our team take a product formulation and develop this into a marketable product which the customer can buy and enjoy is extremely satisfying.

Successful businesses aren’t based on an individual, they are made up of a great team of people who work well together. 

We have recently undertaken a year-long partnership to support Walk the Walk, the UK's largest grant making Breast Cancer Charity. As part of the initiative, Nourish London has launched a Limited Edition Radiance Firming Facial Oil, and 10% from each sale will go to Walk the Walk’ with a target of Nourish London raising at least £5,000 for the charity. We both share many similar values and are dedicated to helping people make healthier choices in their everyday lives.

How has FSB helped with the building of your own business?

Since we joined FSB, we have made full use of the available benefits that we can access as part of our membership fee. We use a range of services which have proved invaluable to the success of Nourish- we’ve had HR advice, Legal advice, help with setting up our GDPR policies and of course have also now taken out our business insurance with FSB Insurance Service.

FSB allows small companies with bug ideas to have all the resources and support they need to make those ideas happen, and I would happily recommend FSB Insurance Service to any member. The set-up process was seamless and the savings our business has made by getting the most appropriate coverage with the right insurer has been significant.

You can visit Nourish London’s website here to find out more about the good work they do.