Sarah Gibbs & Catherine DeGroot

These sisters are making their presence known in business circles far greater than their home base of Wellington. From their thriving skincare business Trilogy, to their very successful R-Proof campaign, Sarah Gibbs and Catherine De Groot are entrepreneurs in every sense of the word.

The pair began Trilogy in 2002 after discovering the huge benefits and healing properties of rosehip oil. Over the years, their business philosophy has remained steadfast: to create a simple, easy to use skincare range that has maximum effect on your skin and minimum effect on our environment.

From the outset, they not only made sure that their natural skincare products conformed to regulations in their target markets, but they also ladled on the investment in quality design and packaging, a big factor in supporting the ‘impulse to buy’ amongst their buyers. They were smart enough too, not to try and do it all. They searched, researched and found the right distributor in each market and were never afraid to pull in help wherever they felt they weren’t sufficiently expert or experienced. And it has paid off. Listed on Deloitte’s Fast 50 for consecutive years, Trilogy now exports to Europe, North America, North Asia and Australia.

Sarah and Catherine are fiercely proud of the sustainability platform they’ve created for Trilogy but they know that with high standing comes high responsibility.

In March, the pair launched a campaign to R-PROOF (recession proof) and since its launch, more than 70 businesses throughout New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom have signed up.

These sisters are out to make a difference. And they’re doing a mighty fine job so far.

Sarah Gibbs on behalf of herself and Catherine De Groot.

What was your first significant business venture and what did you learn from it?
Cath was opening Revive café in Wellington with a business partner and one of the things she would have definitely learnt from it is that it’s all about hard work.
My first major business venture was starting the manufacturing of a natural ingredients business. From this, we found an amazing ingredient, rosehip oil.
We also learnt that to add value to our manufacturing processes is an exciting opportunity for New Zealand businesses.

What initial failure turned out to be the most significant learning experience from your business start-up?
When we first started Trilogy, we were lucky that our product packaging really looked after us because we did make a few mistakes. Most of these stemmed from not going with our instincts and not relying on our collective feelings. An example, which happens to a lot of businesses, is that we started working with a business that couldn’t pay its bills.

If you could start your business life again, what would be the essential business skills you would have in hand to ensure your pathway to achieving success was smoother and possibly a lot shorter?
The journey with Trilogy has been successful from day one. It’s a fast-growing company and each of the six years it’s existed has been great. Between Cath and I, we have complementary skills that got us up and running but being quick to recognise what we’re not good at and to pass that over to people that are good at it would be the bottom line. Whether it’s contracting or outsourcing to third party companies, although we have a great team around us, we will continue to use our third party partnerships.

Who are the mentors/role models that have inspired you and what important lessons have you learnt from them?
Numerous, which may sound very cliché.
Both Cath and I would say our parents are our role models as they come from creative, entrepreneurial business backgrounds themselves.
At one stage, my mother, father, brother, sister and I all ran our own businesses. We had the idea for Trilogy and they didn’t question it.
Richard Branson is the guy, plus he’s in tune with environmental issues, which really appeals to us.

What/who got you through the ‘tough’ times?
The partnership we have is key. We probably wouldn’t have got into business if it wasn’t for each other. It’s like having a built in mentoring system right next to you. We know each other really well and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses (although Cath clearly doesn’t have any).

What are some of the important lessons you have learnt about effective leadership?
Leadership is about culture and the environment that you create for your team. Ours is the combination of not taking yourself too seriously but taking the business seriously – we like to have fun but we also like to work hard.
You have to be driving the culture as the leader and if you haven’t got a culture that fits for you, you can’t lead.

The skin-care industry is highly competitive; how have you been able to sustain growth in this crowded market?
We’re a natural skin brand and this is across all spectres of retail. We produce products that work and are highly functional. Our customers want to make more environmentally and ethically-friendly choices and we give them the products to make this happen.
We also listen to our customers and we act.



Exporting your products has contributed substantively to your business growth. Just how hard was it to establish market share in international markets?
It is hard work physically, financially and mentally. We’ve now recognised the need to have your own people in your key markets so we’ve opened offices in Australia and London. When you get to the stage where you can do that then you know you can gain traction.

What distinct advantages are there in running a business in New Zealand?
Isolation is a good thing because we’re uniquely creative. We run a skin care business out of Wellington, not Paris, so we have our own style, which isn’t necessarily led by traditional techniques. Creativity is definitely there for us.
Briefly outline how you achieve that all important work-life balance:
If you’re prepared to put your head down and do the work, you can achieve it and, for me, work is one of my hobbies.
I often find myself thinking about work on a Sunday afternoon. I enjoy that, whereas people can be critical of it. Cath and I have a modern style of working and it’s all about making the most of the time you’ve got.

What are some of your current personal and business goals?
I’ve been wanting to get more involved in business mentoring. This is starting to take shape.
Drive, drive, drive the business and make sure the Trilogy team is united in growing.
Expanding our presence in the key markets we’re in.

Is there a significant quote or saying by which you live your life?
Just do it.

Are you comfortable being labelled an ‘entrepreneur’?
Traditionally, in the old sense of the word, entrepreneurs may have been more of risk takers than Cath and I. We’re quite structured and careful in the way we run our business. We’d prefer the term creatives rather than entrepreneurs.

What do you love most about business?
Having an idea and having a clean sheet of paper in front of you that you can sketch the idea on and actually see the idea come out into perdition and see it on the shelves or in a magazine.

What advice would you give to an aspiring beauty practitioner who wants to get started in a business of their own?
You really do have to tick all the boxes. Do I have financial control? Do I have the right marketing techniques? Have I got a product that I can sell successfully?
Starting a business isn’t just about being creative or getting lots of money or sales; it’s about the collective.

What key strategies can you recommend in developing an export market(s)?
It’s all about the partner. You need a partner that is well aligned and can be correctly managed by you.
And ultimately knowing your markets is crucial.

Times are tough right now and we all have a choice of approaching the challenge differently, what is your perspective on this? Glass half full or half empty?
One of the techniques we advise companies to use is to make sure all glasses, coffee cups, the zips and water coolers are half full.
It’s called the R-Proof campaign – we’re going global with it.
We ban words such as 'downturn', 'discount' and 'cut back' and replace them with one word – opportunity.
We don't get ready, we get going.
We don't waste time and energy on emotions, we spend it on solutions.