Benefit is the third largest cosmetic brand in the UK, hot on the heels of Estée Lauder and Clinique, and the story of how this has been achieved is the perfect case history for British business bravado.
The potential of a little known American beauty brand was spotted by the self-styled ‘Mr and Mrs Benefit’ aka Ian Marshall, (now Managing Director of the UK company) and his business partner, Gail Bojarski (General Manager), during a trip to New York in 1996 to look for new brands to bring to the UK market.
The quirkiness of Benefit caught their eye along with some other ‘market ready’ brands which were not quite ready to go international at that time. This proved to be the couple’s lucky break as it meant they could devote their full energies to what they were shortly to discover was still only a fledgling brand, despite its development some 20 years earlier.
Benefit was first created in San Francisco in 1976 by twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford, and to this day thrives on a "laughter is the best cosmetic" policy that's an extension of the founders' own light-hearted approach to life. After heading to the West Coast of America to pursue a short-lived career in modelling, the Indiana-born Fords launched their beauty empire in the late 70s with the idea that makeup could provide both physical and comic relief for women who, as the sisters put it, "might be having a case of the uglies."
When Ian and Gail joined forces with the Fords in the late 90s they were to discover that the brand wasn’t as well established as it appeared, which meant that they could put their British stamp on it. From that point everything fast forwarded in the UK as Benefit counters quickly sprung up in Harrods, Selfridges and House of Fraser. The rest, as they say, is recent history! Benefit’s gloriously packaged cosmetics, fragrance and (recently launched) skincare is now in a major department store near you!
We’ve just had the pleasure of working with the Benebabes and the amazing Benebus on site at the Edinburgh Fringe and can tell you that their ethos is all about fun and making yourself feel as beautiful inside as well as out!
We can’t wait to meet the couple who are responsible for bringing all this loveliness to the UK and know that our talented finalists are in safe hands when Ian and Gail join the judging panel at the Funny Women Awards Charity Final on Monday 24th September at the Leicester Square Theatre. The winner will receive a bursary worth £2,000 to develop their career and £500 worth of gorgeous products to see them through their victory year!
If you want to join Ian and Gail at the Charity Final of the Funny Women Awards you will need to BOOK NOW as tickets are selling fast! See you there!
Pictured: Ian Marshall and Gail Borjarski.
