Formulated with natural botanical extracts including Aloe vera, goat milk, shea butter, sweet almond, coconut oil, olive leaf, rosemary and allontain, Gilly Goat products are specially created for delicate baby skin, with no nasty chemicals or artificial fragrances. Ben Glover talks about his inspiration for starting the business, his work-life balance and what is next for Gilly Goat.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
It’s hard to believe but l am actually an electrician by trade, so the passion for baby skincare that led to Gilly Goat did not happen until after the birth of my daughter Mila. Many changes have happened in the last two years; the first was becoming part of a long-standing family business, then the birth of my daughter. The changes allowed me to be flexible with my work-life balance and in turn l became a true, hands-on home business dad. It was a mix of my new career journey and full-time “dad/mum” work that opened up the creative idea of Gilly Goat. I love the notion that l can honestly say I am a working stay-home dad that made their first born their own range.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
The beginning was basically part of an end. A division of our family business was a skincare brand that we had launched for the Chinese market. Through that brand we were fortunate enough to have a lot of the background work done prior to really refining the brand. The existing brand already had Gilly as the baby range icon. From this l separated the baby range, re-formulated and extended the range and developed Gilly to the forefront to be the mascot and brand ambassador. The decision to create Gilly Goat baby brand was deeply cemented when my daughter Mila, then about 4 months old, instantly took to a Gilly Goat plush commercial sample we had designed. Mila took it everywhere, constantly smiling and playing with her new cuddly bestie. And that was the beginning!
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Having a professionally formulated product that works is our basis. We know that our products work and speak for themselves and our clean formulation and ingredients will back that story. But our vision really became a reality once we started to get our reformulated Gilly Goat products out in the market and started hearing back from our happy retail and wholesale customers – that is what makes us thrive. Mummas that love to use Gilly on their little ones and wholesale partners that get behind us and love to back us because their customers love using Gilly.
