11 minute read
Q&A: Emma Lewisham Skincare
Emma Lewisham was founded to create evidence-based, natural skincare that works.
Engineered to activate the innate intelligence of the skin, their formulations harness up to 25 pioneering ingredients that deliver synergistic action across multiple skin pathways for superior results.
As the world’s first certified Climate Positive and 100% circular skincare brand, they are leading the transition to a more sustainable beauty industry.
Originally from Morrinsville in the Waikato, we were delighted to pose some of our most pressing questions to Emma and to highlight the remarkable Emma Lewisham and her eponymous skincare brand. Her dedication to innovation and sustainability honours her roots and sets a new benchmark in the beauty industry.
Join us as we delve into how Emma Lewisham’s journey has shaped the brand and gain insights into some of the critical elements that define it.
We are thrilled to showcase the powerhouse business you and your team represent. Your background as someone born and raised in Morrinsville and spending many of your formative years around farms makes you a perfect fit for our community magazine. How does your hometown continue to influence your work and values today?
My father worked in farming and grew up on farms in the Waikato and Whangarei, so I spent a lot of time around that environment growing up.
Morrinsville was a grounding place for me - a community where people value hard work and humility. I loved being around nature and animals during that time of my life, which gave me a deep sense of connection to the land and an appreciation for the simplicity and balance that comes with it.
This connection is reflected in the business I have built, with humility, hard work, and sustainability being core values in everything we do. I am really proud of being born in the Waikato, where the people and way of life instilled strong values in me that continue to shape who I am today.
Could you share the inspiration behind the creation of Emma Lewisham and how long you spent developing ideas behind the scenes before launching your first product to the public? Additionally, what is the typical development time for an Emma Lewisham product?
The inspiration behind the creation of Emma Lewisham stemmed from my personal journey with health & skincare, particularly my struggle with hyperpigmentation.
After a fateful conversation with my doctor, I learned that the product I had been using - one containing the active ingredient hydroquinone - was not recommended during my pregnancy journey. My doctor couldn’t recommend a natural alternative that was effective, which ignited my passion to find a solution.
This led me on a mission to develop a product that could genuinely target hyperpigmentation without compromising on safety or efficacy.
I spent three years working with physiologists and biochemists to, first and foremost, understand how the skin works and how working in harmony with the skin could generate superior results.
The outcome of this was our founding formulation, the Skin Reset Serum. This award-winning product took over 57 iterations and three years of dedicated development. It was designed to work powerfully with the skin’s physiology, targeting five key touch points of the pigmentation process, not only brightening the skin but also preventing further pigmentation from forming.
Five years and 700 five-star reviews later, the Skin Reset Serum remains one of my most loved products. It solidified my belief that nature is the world’s most powerful bioengineer.
Typically, the development time for an Emma Lewisham product can vary, but we commit to an extensive process.
This can take anywhere from a year to several years, depending on the complexity of the formulation and the rigorous third-party testing involved.
The genesis of your product range was built on identifying a gap in the marketplace for a natural, sustainable, yet luxurious offering.
Now, five years on, how competitive is this space, and with consumers increasingly seeking naturalbased products, how do you see the market evolving in terms of innovation, consumer demand, and sustainability practices?
Consumers are becoming much more conscious about what they’re putting on their skin and the impact those choices have on the planet. As this awareness grows, I believe we’ll see even more innovation focused on addressing the full lifecycle of beauty products - not just creating them but taking responsibility for what happens after they’ve been used.
Sustainability can no longer be a “nice to have”; it’s a core expectation. This is crucial because the world needs scale and pace if we are to meet global climate goals, and with this, businesses will need to take ownership of everything they put into the world. It won’t be enough to sell a product and walk away - there will be increasing pressure to solve challenges around packaging, waste, and overall environmental impact.
This shift will drive more creative solutions, and the brands that lead with true innovation and accountability will be the ones that stand out in the market.
If we started refilling and reusing even a small portion of the 120 billion units of beauty packaging waste that’s created every year, what a significant impact on our planet we could make as an industry.
As consumers increasingly develop a deeper understanding of the ingredients in their skincare and beauty products, how is the beauty industry performing on a global scale? Furthermore, do you anticipate this heightened awareness will lead to reduced market competition in the coming years?
The heightened awareness around ingredients in products is pushing brands to step up, innovate, and prove their worth in delivering effective solutions. At Emma Lewisham, we see this shift as an exciting opportunity to raise the bar even further.
As more consumers gravitate towards natural products, they want assurance that these can perform just as well, if not better, than synthetic alternatives. We uniquely invest in world-leading independent biomedical testing at both in vivo (clinical) and in vitro (laboratory) levels to validate their pioneering results. The results of this testing routinely demonstrate Emma Lewisham formulations to outperform leading luxury brands, which is a key reason we have quickly become a top-selling brand in retailers such as MECCA, further solidifying nature’s ability to deliver superior results.
Just over three years ago, you made the significant decision to share the Intellectual Property (IP) for Emma Lewisham.
Reflecting on that choice now, how has it performed over time, and looking back, considering the weight of such a decision, do you remain satisfied with it?
Reflecting on the decision to share our sustainability IP over three years ago, I can confidently say it has been an incredibly impactful decision. We’ve seen first-hand how it has driven a significant movement towards sustainability across Australasia, influencing not only beauty brands but also retailers who have embraced these practices. The endorsement of our sustainability efforts by Dr. Jane Goodall was a huge validation of our work, and it reaffirmed our commitment to continue advising and influencing others in the beauty space.
Looking back, we remain proud of that decision. It was never just about our brand; it was about driving change on a larger scale. The beauty industry traditionally followed a linear model of “take, make, waste,” and we knew that to meet global climate goals, we needed pace and scale. By sharing our IP, we have actively encouraged other brands to follow, promoting collaboration over competition with the hope that the industry can move toward more sustainable practices. This approach has made a significant impact, even catching the attention of global industry leaders like Estée Lauder, who reached out to us directly.
What makes your products more sustainable and which aspect of your supply chain has been the most challenging in making carbon positive?
One of the biggest sustainability breakthroughs has been the development of our refillable packaging system.
As a small brand, this was initially a challenge - developing refillable moulds wasn’t readily available & required a major investment. But five years later, we are proud to say it was worth it. Our refill system has not only reduced waste but has become a key part of our customer experience, with 30% of our purchases now being refills. As a result, in August 2024, we have saved 150,000 units of new jars and bottles being produced which saved 100 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
From an awareness standpoint, do you believe consumers have a deep enough understanding of your products to ensure continued loyalty and repeat purchases, or is the marketplace too saturated, making it difficult to fully achieve this?
The loyalty of our customers is a testament of the efficacy of our products.
We’re proud to expand the reach of our natural, science-backed skincare to customers globally, now being one of MECCA’s top-selling brands across Australia and New Zealand, as well as being in retailers like Harrods, Liberty, GOOP, and stores across the USA.
Our formulations and business model embody a genuinely revolutionary approach to skincare that unites luxurious, science-based natural skincare with pioneering progress in sustainability and we are so grateful for the trust and passion from those who believe in our mission and values.
We are particularly excited that we can now visit our nearest Mecca store to stock up on our favourite Emma Lewisham products.
It’s the Supernatural Vitale Elixir for Brenda, and I (Kiris) recently spotted your products at Harrods in London - a significant achievement!
Additionally, you’ve recently relaunched your patented Supernatural Blemish Serum. Could you please elaborate on the reasons behind this re-launch and what can consumers expect from this revitalised product?
The decision to reformulate and enhance the Supernatural Blemish Serum after its original release was driven by our commitment to delivering the best possible results for our customers. The very first of its kind in skincare, our patented live probiotic serum interacts with blemishes and inflammatory skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis, in a way that hasn’t been seen before.
One of the things we’re most proud of is successfully bringing a genuinely live skin probiotic, not one from the gut or dirt, to market. It is the result of 20 years of research and overcoming a lot of complexities and challenges behind the scenes. To ensure the live probiotic stays alive and effective, we developed a formula that keeps the probiotic dormant until it meets your skin. This required overcoming a range of technical challenges, particularly given the probiotic’s thicker consistency.
At Emma Lewisham, transparency is a core value. That’s why we revisited the serum to refine the delivery system, doubling the size of the vessel for the same price to ensure that everyone can experience the transformative results it offers. Personally, I’ve been amazed by the life-changing feedback we’ve received from customers who’ve used this serum, and we want to make sure that each and every person gets those same incredible results.
What are some consumer testimonials that have stuck with you and what can consumers expect to see from the Emma Lewisham brand throughout 2025?
The consumer testimonials that have resonated with me the most, are the ones that state how the Supernatural Blemish Serum has transformed their skin. We’ve seen the unbelievable results and have been overwhelmed by how much this has genuinely changed people’s lives. This is why Emma Lewisham was founded - to give people confidence to show their skin, unfiltered, without impacting their health.
I’m excited to announce that following the relaunch of our Supernatural Blemish Serum, we’re introducing an entirely new range. After eight years of dedicated development, we’re launching our new mineral SPF 50 range, Sunceutical™.These products represent some of the most challenging and innovative formulations we’ve ever worked on. Meeting the highest standards of broad-spectrum sun protection, our 100% mineral Sunceutical™ range is both TGA and FDA certified and combines invisible SPF 50 protection with advanced skincare benefits. We’re incredibly proud to bring these products to market, and confident that they will redefine industry standards and offer something truly unique beyond what’s traditionally available.
It’s an exciting new chapter for us, and we can’t wait to share it with our customers.
