Women With GRITT: Saya McDermott On Turning A Passion Into A Business And Connecting With Your Community
“For a few years I was hand-making skincare and creating formulations in my parent’s kitchen. This allowed me to test my market and keep control of production, which was key for our organic growth. I started selling my products at our local market where I met the owner of my first wholesale account.”
Welcome to Women with GRITT: a series where we interview the resilient, hardworking women who have kicked in the glass ceiling and inspire us to do the same.
Setting yourself apart from the multitude of other brands can be a very difficult plight for a beauty business. But what will always resonate with consumers is authenticity. And Saya Skincare is an A-grade example of a beauty brand with the customer at its heart.
Created by Saya McDermott over 20 years ago, the brand has gone from strength to strength. Originally born in McDermott’s kitchen and sold at local markets in Australia’s sleepy beachside town of Noosa, the brand can now be found in beauty cupboards nationwide and is one of the best natural skincare options on offer.
Focussing on formulating with her customer and the environment top of mind, McDermott has endured such lasting success for one very important reason: her unwavering passion for formulating. You only have to spend five minutes with her to understand how important creating products that find solutions to her customers’s problems is to her. It is truly inspiring.
In this interview, McDermott speaks to Gritty Pretty about cultivating a loyal community, turning a passion into a business and why her parents are the ultimate entrepreneurial inspirations.
Hi Saya! Before we jump into your incredible business success, we want to take it back to your childhood. How did your fondest childhood memories shape the woman you are today?
Growing up, Dad worked very hard and long days building his business and was away often. Mum would be solo with four kids during these times. Now being a mum of two young kids, it is hard to imagine how she ever coped and I really admire her for it. Our family holidays were such fond memories as we were able to spend quality time together. These memories also paved the way for how I do business and life. It has showed me that you do have to make sacrifices to achieve great things but also that family is priority and that you need to have a balance to make it work.
Sounds like you had some incredible entrepreneurial role models growing up–but your business came about almost by happy accident. You created your own skincare concoctions in your kitchen and would sell them at local markets. What inspired you to create your own skincare formulas at such a young age?
It’s hard to believe that it started 20 years ago! Like a lot of teenagers, I suffered from problematic skin. I had bad breakouts and eczema. I tried so many products to help my skin but nothing worked. I felt like I was getting nowhere and my confidence was taking a massive blow. My ‘bad skin’ would be the first thing I would think about when I woke up in the morning. As I wasn’t getting results, it made me question the ingredients within the products I was using. That’s really what got me more interested in the benefits of natural ingredients.
At the time, what I was looking for wasn’t available on the market. So, I found a local homoeopath who taught me the basics of making skincare which allowed me to create my own formulations using botanical ingredients to help relieve my problem skin. I was finally starting to see the results I always wanted from skincare.
Well, your business has certainly grown in the last two decades. What was the growth process like for you? How did you ensure you didn’t grew to maintain the core ethos of Saya Skincare?
I started small. For a few years I was hand-making skincare and creating formulations in my parent’s kitchen. This allowed me to test my market and keep control of production, which was key for our organic growth. I started selling my products at our local market where I met the owner of my first wholesale account. Back then, there was no social media so the markets were a great outlet as I was able to form relationships with my customers and engage directly, face-to-face.
The business continued to grow and I got to a point where I was struggling to keep up with making my products by hand. I got to a point where I had to make a decision, either continue to operate on a small-scale or expand and employ a contract manufacturer. I wanted to keep everything local and I was lucky enough to find a manufacturer literally down the road from me who started to assist with manufacturing. This really allowed me to focus on expanding the business.
What do you believe sets Saya Skincare apart from other natural skincare brands on the market?
We have been formulating skincare for the past 20 years and have been at the forefront of using Australian natives and actives like bakuchiol and peptides with clinical studies backing their performance. We were one of the first skincare brands in Australia to use bakuchiol. Formulating an incredibly unique and diverse range of products that are not just botanical but also highly effective, multi-correctional and multi-functional is what sets us apart.
Obviously you’ve learnt a lot about formulations over the last 20 years. So, how do you go about perfecting and revisiting formulas to ensure they are the best they can be?
We are constantly looking for new or better ways of doing things and this includes improving formulations with newly discovered ingredients. I work closely with my chemist who is at the forefront of all new ingredients that come to the cosmetic and skincare market. We are highly selective with the new ingredients and how we can blend them into our current formulation. When choosing any new ingredient it must align with our high standards and brand values.
Where does your inspiration for new products come from?
My passion in life is to create. Formulating skincare products is all about creativity and using the best ingredients out there to create luxurious, efficacious products. Each and every product in our range has extensive research, technical preparation and intention behind it. So, the ingredients that go into each formula serve a specific purpose and function. The key to effective skincare is not necessarily one ingredient but a combination of ingredients that work in synergy. Listening to my customers has been the key to the growth of my brand and has greatly influenced what my range offers.
Now for the fun part! What does your personal beauty routine look like?
I don’t have a lot of time for myself in the mornings with two little ones at my feet. However, I do understand the importance of self-care and a skincare routine. I jump in the shower after a sweaty 5am training session at the gym and use my Saya Body Wash and Saya Cleansing Balm for my face. It is so nourishing but also makes my skin feel super cleansed! I will then exfoliate my body a couple of times a week in the mornings using my Saya Body Polish. This product is great for exfoliating and moisturising the skin all in one.
I then use a few drops of my Saya Glow Serum. This is a powerful, vitamin C-rich, antioxidant serum that brightens and hydrates the skin. After the Glow Serum, I layer a few drops of my Saya Super Serum which has niacinamide, peptides and hyaluronic acid. Because I suffer from hyperpigmentation, this is amazing at improving my skin tone and overall boosting the skin’s appearance. I then moisturise using Saya Balance Moisture mixed with a few drops of Saya Renew Serum. This facial oil is made from bakuchiol and 15 precious botanical oils. I love facial oils but I prefer to add them to my moisturiser for the day and then apply an SPF.
There’s also nothing worse than dry legs. So, to complete my skincare routine, I use my Saya Rich Body Cream. This is an ultra rich, non-greasy body cream that leaves the skin glowing!
Amazing! Thank you so much for speaking to us, Saya.
Hi Saya! Before we jump into your incredible business success, we want to take it back to your childhood. How did your fondest childhood memories shape the woman you are today?
Growing up, Dad worked very hard and long days building his business and was away often. Mum would be solo with four kids during these times. Now being a mum of two young kids, it is hard to imagine how she ever coped and I really admire her for it. Our family holidays were such fond memories as we were able to spend quality time together. These memories also paved the way for how I do business and life. It has showed me that you do have to make sacrifices to achieve great things but also that family is priority and that you need to have a balance to make it work.
Sounds like you had some incredible entrepreneurial role models growing up–but your business came about almost by happy accident. You created your own skincare concoctions in your kitchen and would sell them at local markets. What inspired you to create your own skincare formulas at such a young age?
It’s hard to believe that it started 20 years ago! Like a lot of teenagers, I suffered from problematic skin. I had bad breakouts and eczema. I tried so many products to help my skin but nothing worked. I felt like I was getting nowhere and my confidence was taking a massive blow. My ‘bad skin’ would be the first thing I would think about when I woke up in the morning. As I wasn’t getting results, it made me question the ingredients within the products I was using. That’s really what got me more interested in the benefits of natural ingredients.
At the time, what I was looking for wasn’t available on the market. So, I found a local homoeopath who taught me the basics of making skincare which allowed me to create my own formulations using botanical ingredients to help relieve my problem skin. I was finally starting to see the results I always wanted from skincare.
Well, your business has certainly grown in the last two decades. What was the growth process like for you? How did you ensure you didn’t grew to maintain the core ethos of Saya Skincare?
I started small. For a few years I was hand-making skincare and creating formulations in my parent’s kitchen. This allowed me to test my market and keep control of production, which was key for our organic growth. I started selling my products at our local market where I met the owner of my first wholesale account. Back then, there was no social media so the markets were a great outlet as I was able to form relationships with my customers and engage directly, face-to-face.
The business continued to grow and I got to a point where I was struggling to keep up with making my products by hand. I got to a point where I had to make a decision, either continue to operate on a small-scale or expand and employ a contract manufacturer. I wanted to keep everything local and I was lucky enough to find a manufacturer literally down the road from me who started to assist with manufacturing. This really allowed me to focus on expanding the business.
What do you believe sets Saya Skincare apart from other natural skincare brands on the market?
We have been formulating skincare for the past 20 years and have been at the forefront of using Australian natives and actives like bakuchiol and peptides with clinical studies backing their performance. We were one of the first skincare brands in Australia to use bakuchiol. Formulating an incredibly unique and diverse range of products that are not just botanical but also highly effective, multi-correctional and multi-functional is what sets us apart.
Obviously you’ve learnt a lot about formulations over the last 20 years. So, how do you go about perfecting and revisiting formulas to ensure they are the best they can be?
We are constantly looking for new or better ways of doing things and this includes improving formulations with newly discovered ingredients. I work closely with my chemist who is at the forefront of all new ingredients that come to the cosmetic and skincare market. We are highly selective with the new ingredients and how we can blend them into our current formulation. When choosing any new ingredient it must align with our high standards and brand values.
Where does your inspiration for new products come from?
My passion in life is to create. Formulating skincare products is all about creativity and using the best ingredients out there to create luxurious, efficacious products. Each and every product in our range has extensive research, technical preparation and intention behind it. So, the ingredients that go into each formula serve a specific purpose and function. The key to effective skincare is not necessarily one ingredient but a combination of ingredients that work in synergy. Listening to my customers has been the key to the growth of my brand and has greatly influenced what my range offers.
Now for the fun part! What does your personal beauty routine look like?
I don’t have a lot of time for myself in the mornings with two little ones at my feet. However, I do understand the importance of self-care and a skincare routine. I jump in the shower after a sweaty 5am training session at the gym and use my Saya Body Wash and Saya Cleansing Balm for my face. It is so nourishing but also makes my skin feel super cleansed! I will then exfoliate my body a couple of times a week in the mornings using my Saya Body Polish. This product is great for exfoliating and moisturising the skin all in one.
I then use a few drops of my Saya Glow Serum. This is a powerful, vitamin C-rich, antioxidant serum that brightens and hydrates the skin. After the Glow Serum, I layer a few drops of my Saya Super Serum which has niacinamide, peptides and hyaluronic acid. Because I suffer from hyperpigmentation, this is amazing at improving my skin tone and overall boosting the skin’s appearance. I then moisturise using Saya Balance Moisture mixed with a few drops of Saya Renew Serum. This facial oil is made from bakuchiol and 15 precious botanical oils. I love facial oils but I prefer to add them to my moisturiser for the day and then apply an SPF.
There’s also nothing worse than dry legs. So, to complete my skincare routine, I use my Saya Rich Body Cream. This is an ultra rich, non-greasy body cream that leaves the skin glowing!
Amazing! Thank you so much for speaking to us, Saya.
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