Founders Miriam and Lisa in an interview

Dear Lisa, dear Miriam, you have been working together for a very long time. How many years has it been now?

Lisa: Five very intense years are behind us.

Miriam: But it could have been ten, considering how much we have experienced together!

How did you two come together professionally?

Lisa: I know Miriam through her sister Rose. We had worked together back then – and I was a big fan of Miriam’s store: JACKS beauty department. At that time, Miriam was looking for an office manager for her store via Facebook. I was very unhappy in my job at that time and applied immediately.

Miriam: And I welcomed her with open arms ;-) Lisa came to my side during a very stressful time. I was heavily pregnant, my son Noah was born shortly after, and at the same time, my franchisee in Munich went bankrupt. So I could hardly take care of the store in Berlin. Lisa had my back the whole time. After everything was settled, we decided to continue together and founded JACKS beauty GmbH to focus 100% on JACKS beauty line.

You are both successful entrepreneurs as well as mothers. How well can entrepreneurship and family life be balanced?

Lisa: When we were still building the business, it wasn’t that easy. Now we have a great team behind us and can gradually step back from the daily operations, which definitely makes it easier to balance.

Miriam: That’s what we wish for our employees as well. We want to be a company where you don’t have to fear ending your career as a mom or being sidelined. Maybe someday we’ll even manage to have a JACKS daycare center.

Were there setbacks during your time together that you had to learn from?

Lisa: Absolutely! We had many ups and downs. We fell hard, made mistakes, but always got back up and learned from them. Miriam and I have always complemented each other perfectly, and each of us brings our know-how into the company.

You already said it: You had ups and downs. What setbacks did you have to endure?

Miriam: There were quite a few… In the beginning, as the saying goes, I was juggling ten weddings at the same time. I had a contract with L’Oréal Paris as a national Make-up Artist, ran a make-up school, was a beauty expert at QVC, and so on. So I had many projects going on. Lisa helped me put out most of the fires, but it also drained us extremely and made us doubt ourselves. We couldn’t imagine ever achieving financial freedom to live out our dreams. Often, we were dependent on other people who didn’t always have our best interests at heart. Many storefronts were opened and then closed again. It was an exciting journey, but we made it through everything together and are now grateful to finally be where we always wanted to be.

JACKS beauty line is considered a pioneer in the field of Make-up brushes. No wonder, in less than a year you recorded growth of nearly 900% – how did that happen?

Lisa: We completely restarted in 2018 and founded the GmbH. All stores were closed and we didn’t really know where the journey was going. The only thing left was JACKS beauty line and our Make-up brushes. We took sales back into our own hands and rebuilt the brand. In 2020, Corona came, we had to rethink and focus on the online business. Miriam introduced live Make-up workshops and went live on Instagram with influencers, customers, and prominent faces. Our reach grew, sales increased, and with these sales, we were able to invest in very good staff and develop new products. Only with this great team could we achieve this amazing growth.

Where do you get your energy from?

Miriam: We simply really enjoy working. Most of the time, I come up with business ideas and, in my enthusiasm, I just pull Lisa along with me. Often, I am too fast, and Lisa has to bring me back a little. The Corona year also taught me that. Often, less is more in business. The success that results from work, in turn, gives us a lot of strength.

JACKS beauty line is now sold in numerous stores throughout Germany. How important is brick-and-mortar retail for a beauty brand?

Lisa: At first, it was very important because we needed to make the brand known and we weren’t strong online yet. You have to hold our brushes in your hand to be convinced of the quality. That’s why I think it’s extremely important to position yourself in the market and to be listed in great stores. We plan to refocus on brick-and-mortar retail in 2022 and to be represented in great concept and flagship stores. For the launch of Make-up, this is even more important; we don’t have a physical point of contact ourselves yet and want to give our customers the opportunity to test the products in selected stores.

Miriam: Many customers also simply long for human contact, good advice, and exchange with experts. That’s why we have just hired a new employee who will focus on retailers to offer them great promotions and make the product range an experience for our customers.

New logo, new color worlds, new online shop – why was it time for a brand relaunch now?

Miriam: I founded JACKS beauty line ten years ago, so the logo had existed for just as long. It was time to become more mature and cooler. The new JACKS beauty line is meant to represent our maturity, our professionalism, and our aesthetics that we have gained over the years.

Where do you get your inspiration for new products? Do you follow trends?

Miriam: Hardly, it is more the timeless beauty, well-being, the joy of beautiful things, and experience that guide us in product development and design.

Lisa: And we always involve our community in product development and look at how we can improve the beauty market a little more.

Keyword: Improve! You are certified with the PETA seal: Why did you decide to do this?

Lisa: It is important to us that no animals have to suffer or die for our products, and we want to fully stand behind that and make a statement.

Miriam: The PETA seal is also a good incentive for more people to become aware and think about the ingredients in their products.

Which product from JACKS beauty line marks a special milestone in the history of your brand?

Lisa: Clearly, our sustainable Beauty Bags made from recycled PET and our new packaging. We thought long and hard about how to make the outer packaging of our brushes and hairbrushes sustainable.

Miriam: The brushes have been there from day one, but never painted as beautifully as they are now. With our employee and artist Sara, who joined us two years ago, the style changed and thus the entire brush. It has been our dream for a long time to finally create the right products to go with our brushes, and so another milestone will be our first own Make-up products.

Which beauty product from JACKS beauty line could you not do without?

Lisa: The #12 foundation brush - my all-rounder, and the Make-up products that we developed exactly according to our ideas!

Miriam: The Glow Foundation in combination with the #12 foundation brush.

The brand has undergone a relaunch, as has the online shop. What’s next?

Lisa: Stay tuned: We are bursting with new ideas! We want to further expand our Make-up products, start great new collaborations with artists, include Skin & Hair Care, and of course continue to grow the company.

Miriam: We have big plans, but we don’t just want to overwhelm our customers with products; we also want to offer them great service, so we’ve come up with some exciting ideas. It’s going to be exciting.

A standard question, but I have to ask it: Where do you see JACKS beauty line in five years?

Miriam: I actually see us at our first press event in New York or LA. My dream is to eventually be a lifestyle and beauty brand that celebrates worldwide success.