The Liquid Revolution with Maxine Laceby
This as-told-to narrative is based on a conversation with Maxine Laceby, the inspirational co-founder of Absolute Collagen, the UK’s leading liquid collagen supplement. It’s a brand that has not only redefined beauty but also empowered women to embrace their true selves. Maxine shares what it was like becoming a first-time entrepreneur in her fifties. Heres is a journey rooted in unconventionality.
“I can proudly reflect on how much our journey with Absolute Collagen has grown way beyond a business pursuit to become a mission of empowering women by ensuring we uplift, rather than exploit, insecurities.”
How it all began
I grew up in a single-parent household with very little of anything. When I was 16, I wanted to be a hairdresser, but my mother wanted me to bring in ‘proper’ money, so I worked in a factory and a clothes shop, and eventually ended up doing sales and marketing at a country house hotel near Bath. That’s where I met my husband; he was successful and there was no need for me to work. For the next 20 years, I was a happy stay-at-home mum, caring for his children and eventually raising a family of my own.
I divorced my children’s father. We’re still good friends actually, but we just fell out of love and wanted different things from life. So, it was just me and the girls, and my focus was completely on them. When I turned 49, my oldest, Darcy, was going off to university in Birmingham, and Margot, my youngest, had just passed her driving test. I didn’t need to do the school run anymore and remember having a bit of a real hallelujah moment. As mothers, I think we wake up each morning and ask ourselves who does everyone need me to be today – I didn’t need to do that anymore!
Armed with my newfound freedom, I enrolled at a local university to study Fine Arts – a lifelong passion. I was diagnosed late with ADHD and I’m dyslexic. I just didn’t get school. I hated it. But during this wonderful opportunity and time on the course, it felt like playing. I won’t even call it empowering – it was totally liberating.
There was one project called Dare to Go Bare where we had to remove all external adornments. I wore no makeup for four months and stopped colouring my hair. The idea was to see if I put myself out there like that, would I see myself, or would I disappear into other people’s vision of a woman of a certain age. It was much harder than I imagined and the experience triggered some deep-seated insecurities that made me feel ugly and invisible. I thought, if I was going to strip myself bare on the outside, then I needed to nurture wellbeing from within and take better care of myself.
The beauty alchemist
At the time, the ‘in’ thing seemed to be bone broth, so I started boiling up my own batches. Within weeks, I felt rejuvenated and revitalised, my eyes sparkled, a spring returned to my step and I had a radiant glow to my skin. Friends, intrigued by the transformation, began asking what was my secret; the only thing I could put it down to was the broth.
Soon I was producing vast quantities of it for everyone from my kitchen and noticing a jelly forming on top. It was collagen, the hero ingredient. It dawned on me then that if my close circle were benefiting from it, why couldn’t everyone? It was 2015, I wasn’t generating any income, so I decided to start a collagen supplement business and called it Absolute Collagen.
“It dawned on me then that if my close circle were benefiting from it, why couldn’t everyone?”
Darcy was studying food science and had access to a lab. Together, we explored the world of formulas, did rigorous research, carried out experiments from our kitchen and discovered that marine collagen was far superior to the collagen in broth. Collagen is a nascent category with different suppliers and sources; not all of them are good. Any animal, including fish, can be overfed hormones and antibiotics for it to grow. That’s a big concern for us. We buy a certain collagen coming from high-grade fish and we regularly audit our supplier, because the quality of the ingredients we use is so important. Each 8g sachet contains a highly concentrated dose of hydrolysed marine peptide collagen – meaning it’s broken down to such tiny particles that it gets absorbed easily into the bloodstream.
We started blending and, after much trial and error, finally came up with the winning formula. I knew I wanted the product to be as easy as possible to use, in liquid format, with no mixing and no need to store it in the fridge. I contacted the Food Standards Agency and told them I was onto a great product but didn’t know where to start. They were really helpful and advised me on the governing bodies I needed to talk to.
A leap of faith
But the barriers I faced to take it to market were huge: I felt I was going into battle every single day. No one believed in me, they just saw this crazy housewife and a young girl straight out of uni with no experience in the beauty supplement industry, who had created a formula in their kitchen and wanted to launch it in a category that didn’t exist and to feed it to the general public! Get the picture? We were given a very wide berth (to be fair, I would probably have done the same).
I was told my product was too cheap and I should increase the cost for the consumer; I needed to get the backing of a big brand; and I had to be in retail. But as a small fish in a big pond, I couldn’t hope to compete with the marketing budgets of the ‘big boys’; I wasn’t a good bet and no one would lend me any money.
“The stakes were high and both of my daughters were involved as I always run everything by them first.”
I decided to go all in and to bet on myself. I knew how much I needed to get started and took stock of what I had. I sold my motorbike and items of jewellery, borrowed money from friends and mortgaged the house. The stakes were high and both of my daughters were involved as I always run everything by them first. In fact, at one point when I asked how they’d feel about selling the house to inject more funds, they said no problem, we’ll just get a smaller one.
ADHD has taught me to think outside the box and to be solution-focused; it’s something I see as a gift. Yes, taking the plunge to self-fund was risky but going under the radar meant I could get on with the job in hand and had nobody to answer to. We kept it all direct-to-consumer and were early to offer a subscription model. I was also adamant that the price had to be reasonable.
Absolute ambition
It was a new market and a new way of doing things, but in early 2017, hardly any brands were going straight to consumers, and that raised a big question – how do I make Absolute Collagen visible to people? The answer seemed to be social media, but that came with its own set of challenges since not everyone was into it, or some had bad experiences. So, I brought in a digital marketing agency, built up a stellar customer service team, and things started looking up.
The ‘accidental’ creation of a community, the Absoluters, on a Facebook page, became proof of the brand’s real connection with its audience. As the community flourished, so did Absolute Collagen, surpassing all our expectations. Our turnover went from half a million in the first year to a whopping eight and a half million in the third year. It sounds crazy, but hey, we were figuring it out as we went along! All the money we made stayed in the business – it’s for our Absoluters, so we can give them the best.
Since we launched the product, we’ve focused on building a brand voice, brand trust and a brand community where people not only know that the product works, but can trust what they are being told. They believe in me, the company, the brand and the product. Every social media comment is answered personally, and no one is ever ignored. Everything’s shipped from home, which was one of the best decisions we made as there’s nothing between us and our end user and it means faster and better customer service. It’s a massive part of why we’ve been so successful.
People often ask if we’re expanding into retail and, although I understand the common practice of brands altering their mission to fit different markets, I think you’ve got to stay true to who you are. For retail, it has to be with the right partners. With a growing product line consisting of 10 offerings, I’m confident that Absolute Collagen can stand out and make an impact in the retail space when the right opportunity arises.
In early 2020, with expansion in mind, I joined the NatWest Accelerator Programme to understand the investment landscape. Six months later, armed with enough knowledge, I made a strategic choice for the right investment offer. We skipped the first offer, focused on rapid growth, and bypassed the second, which offered the most money but lacked essential support. Opting for the third offer, playing the long game, paid off. Absolute Collagen secured an impressive £15 million investment, revealing that building a business is more about a thoughtful journey than a race.
“I’m on a mission to prepare women for investment, drawing from my experiences to ensure they enter the process well-informed and connected to trustworthy investors.”
Beyond just business
I’ve got a talent for bringing in awesome people, and Absolute Collagen’s success is all thanks to 67 very talented individuals. In 2021, I stepped down as CEO to focus on building a personal brand with purpose. I’m all about finding balance between the brand, my team, and the Absoluters. Every decision I make revolves around these three pillars.
On a personal level, I’m incredibly passionate about helping others. As a patron at the Prince’s Trust and a partner of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, I’m actively involved in giving back. Through Absolute Collagen, we deliver 500 overnight bags for parents at the hospital every six months—something that truly means a lot to me.
I recently attended an event at the House of Lords and connected with the new CEO of NatWest to explore the creation of a programme for women entrepreneurs. I’m part of a group called Buy Women Built, led by Sahar Hashemi OBE, a movement of all female-founded brands that help one another. With over 740 brands seeking investment guidance, I’m on a mission to prepare women for investment, drawing from my experiences to ensure they enter the process well-informed and connected to trustworthy investors.
Absolute women lead the way
Both my daughters help to run the business. My youngest, Margot, handles the customer service side, ensuring the thousands of packages that are shipped every day make it to customers on time. Darcy meanwhile manages the supply chain by procuring the ingredients and ensuring each batch adheres to safety standards and is allergen-free.
My original purpose was to bring the product to as many women as possible. As we prepare to celebrate International Women’s Day, I can proudly reflect on how much our journey with Absolute Collagen has grown way beyond a business pursuit to become a mission of empowering women by ensuring we uplift, rather than exploit, insecurities. We’ve chosen an organic growth path, favouring genuine connections and the power of word-of-mouth, attracting those who choose us willingly, guided by trust.
I do what feels right, and that comes back to being an older woman — I know I can trust my instincts and apply everything I’ve learned from being a woman and mother to the boardroom – it’s not a spoken thing, but more a sense. Younger women have it too, but I think maturity enables you to listen to it and acknowledge it. If there’s any hesitation, wondering about the next step, listen to yourself, stay true and seek help when needed. Remember, if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
Enjoy the journey and have fun.
INTERVIEW BY OLIVIA MAROCCO – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF – BRAND YOU MAGAZINE
Article published in Brand You Magazine – Edition 29
Maxine Laceby – Co-founder of Absolute Collagen
Maxine is co-founder of Absolute Collagen, one of the UK’s fastest-growing direct to consumer beauty brands. Her mission is to empower women by ensuring their insecurities are uplifted, rather than exploited.
Website: absolutecollagen.com
Instagram: @absolutecollagen
