The founder of a clean fragrance and beauty brand that makes more than $10 million in annual revenue hopes her business will continue to push the limitations of what beauty means and how beauty products are made.
Native Australian, mum-of-three and former celebrity makeup artist Rosie Johnston, who is now based in Los Angeles, created her first fragrance in 2010 – which sold out in only 24 hours.
Her brand, by/rosie jane, is now a multimillion-dollar operation that is achieving triple digital year-on-year growth, with Johnstone confirming that by/rosie jane has so far seen over 200% growth in Australia for 2024.
Its full fragrance and beauty product range is stocked in Sephora stores across the world, including in Australia, the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.
In the US, by/rosie jane is in 355 Sephora stores, but is stocked in more than 700 bricks-and-mortar stores combined, including with American retailers Nordstrom and Anthropologie.
As well as Sephora, Nordstrom, Anthropologie and Revolve, by/rosie jane products are also in Niche Beauty in Germany.
Speaking to SmartCompany from her home in LA, Johnston says when she first started by/rosie jane, she was driven by the idea of clean fragrance.
“There was nothing on the market in 2010 that talked about ingredients in fragrance at all,” she explains.
“I found it so insane that companies didn’t have to disclose the ingredients list, so I decided to launch by/rosie jane and provide consumers with clean fragrances that were not harmful to their bodies.”
The appetite for such products is huge, adds Johnston.
“Our newest scent, MISSY, sold out immediately at Sephora US when we first launched it in March 2024,” she says.
“I believe this is due to our loyal customer base and the fact that they know by/rosie jane provides premium quality scents.”
The brand is also exclusive to Sephora Australia and is carried at all its stores and online.
With a collection of seven fragrances and now expanding into body care, Johnston anticipates by/rosie jane will double its revenue again in 2024.
The social media-friendly brand – which has more than 76,000 followers on Instagram and more than 4,000 followers on TikTok – sees its customer base as spaning older gen Z to gen X shoppers, who buy direct from the brand online or in-store in Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada and the UK.
By/rosie jane is entirely owned and funded by Johnston, who started the brand with very little and has not taken on outside or venture capital backing since.
“I tried to borrow $5000 from a friend, who turned me down,” she remembers.
“I love being the 100% owner of by/rosie jane, it allows me to not always be driven by the bottom line; and stay in touch with our environmental and quality values.
“Sometimes rapid growth isn’t sustainable.”
In Johnston’s words, the beauty brand was “built on a very sturdy foundation”.
“I grew by/rosie jane one product at a time, one customer at a time, which was slow and steady and allowed me to really grow my brand and learn along the way,” she says.
As the brand has grown, it has stuck to its values of “transparency, authenticity, quality and sustainability”, adds Johnston.
“We keep it simple; everything we create has to smell good, feel good and do good. We take a real-life lens to all the products and think of them as necessities not luxuries.”
Johnston says there are countless lessons she has learned on this business journey.
“Resilience, storytelling and leadership,” she nominates.
“Growing a brand has so much to do with how much you believe in what you are doing and if you have the tenacity to keep pushing,” she says.
“More than anything you have to have a great product and be willing to keep tweaking until it is perfect.
“I moved to Los Angeles when I was 23 years old. Growing my business in LA has always felt normal to me. The US has a lot of resources, so in many ways it was easier to start here.
“I love creating products that have meaning for our customers. I am definitely not stopping here.”
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