An Australian mom who sold her home to fund her beauty brand has revealed her difficult journey to climb the ladder of success, and how her belief in her vision made her a multimillionaire.
Emily Hamilton lived away from home for 13 years to get her Coco & Eve off the ground, and her sacrifice has ensured a bright future for the brand.
Coco & Eve posted $6 million in sales in its first year and the brand is now making 10 times its annual sales after just breaking the $60 million mark.
Fans can’t get enough of the brand, with a bottle of the best-selling Sunny Honey fake hair color every 20 seconds.
The Antioxidant Face Tanning Micromist is also a best-seller, with 120,000 units sold in just four months, single-handedly earning over $5.4 million in sales since January 2023.
Coco & Eve turned in $6 million dollars in its first year, and the brand now earns ten times that in annual sales
Emily Hamilton lived away from home for 13 years to get her Coco & Eve off the ground – and her sacrifice has ensured a bright future for the brand
The brand’s vegan and cruelty-free hair, color and body products are inspired by Balinese beauty and tropical ingredients.
Coco & Eve can be found online worldwide, and at Sephora, Ulta, and Boots.
Emily has been living in Singapore with her husband and children for 13 years.
The entrepreneur was pulled in two directions between having a house she called her own in Australia and building a brand, and she chose to pursue the more volatile option and took a chance.
The brand’s vegan and cruelty-free hair, color and body products are inspired by Balinese beauty and tropical ingredients
Emily sold her childhood home for money to jump-start her brand – which is still 100 percent privately owned.
“I just had to invest in myself and my idea and focus on the brand,” she told FEMAIL.
“I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so even though I knew I had their support, the pressure to succeed was still high.
“There was a long time when I doubted myself and what I was risking – but that’s just part of building a business.
“You are constantly thrown into situations that are out of your control and into new environments. But the more you expose yourself, the less afraid you become.’
Emily revealed that being an entrepreneur is like honing a skill: “You have to keep practicing, and then you have to trust yourself and your decisions.”
Thousands can’t get enough of the brand – with a bottle of the best-selling Sunny Honey fake tan every 20 seconds
Emily revealed that being an entrepreneur is like honing a skill: ‘You have to keep practicing, and then you have to trust yourself and your decisions’
The mother admitted that the lack of work-life balance was the worst thing about being her own boss.
“Honestly — there’s just absolutely no balance, I’m always working,” she said.
“I do my best to work early in the morning or after my kids go to bed to spend time with them — but it’s really hard.”
The mother said her family supported her and got excited every time they saw a Coco & Eve product in a store, keeping her going.
“It’s really hard not to burn out and take everything too seriously,” she said.
“But my kids love the products – they love trying them out and telling me what they like and what they don’t,” the mom added.
Emily worked in the beauty industry for seven years before launching Coco & Eve.
“When I started researching what would eventually become Coco & Eve, the vegan and cruelty-free movement was just getting started,” Emily recalls. ‘It meant a lot to me because I was so conscious about consuming.’
Emily sold her childhood home for cash to jump-start her brand – which is still 100 percent privately owned
Seeing an opportunity to build something new and exciting at a time when popular demand was intersecting with her personal strategy, she jumped at the chance.
“There was – and still is – a lot of brilliant hair care on the market,” she told FEMAIL.
‘But I wanted to occupy a place between supermarket and salon-certified products. Coco & Eve works to connect directly with consumers and ensure they are spectacularly cared for.’
The brand’s first product – and still their best-selling – is their nourishing hair mask.
“I was traveling a lot at the time, flying between Singapore and Melbourne,” Emily recalls.
‘Your hair takes a lot when you’re on the road – the chlorine, the seawater, the different types of products you use on the road can all cause damage.
“That’s why I wanted to make the most perfect hair mask,” Emily said. “It was an instant hit with our fans and is still one of the bestsellers.”
The Antioxidant Face Tanning Micromist is also a major bestseller, with 120,000 units sold in just four months, single-handedly earning over $5.4 million in sales since January 2023
One of Emily’s missions was to tell a story with every product, and all of Coco & Eve’s releases are based on a story.
“We’re really focused on packaging and ingredients,” she said. I really think what we do is completely unique to anyone else in the market.”
Emily’s advice to new entrepreneurs would be to know what they’re getting into before starting their own business.
“Building a brand is very difficult,” she said. “There are a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of stress that comes with it.”
“But if you’re excited about an idea, test the water ASAP,” Emily advised.
“I started working part-time on Coco & Eve at first and only dived head over heels when we started to get a lot of traction.”
She added, “You have to put into context that when you start your own business, it’s a long game. It’s yours and you’re in it forever – that’s what you’re committing to.”