TanOrganic, the Irish organic self-tanning brand, is now seeking investors through crowdfunding platform Seedrs.

The product, an eco-certified self-tan, is the first of its kind. TanOrganic is on shelves in 19 countries globally, including at some high-end retailers, such as Boots in the UK. It has sold out twice so far in 2015, and the company has turned to Seedr as its solution to facilitate this growth as well as its new projects, such as a completely natural SPF sunscreen.

Founder and CEO of TanOrganic Noelle O’Connor (pictured below) said: “The potential for a totally natural sunscreen is enormous, and it will completely revolutionise the sunscreen market, not to mention the massive benefits to marine life and the environment".

Boots buyer Lily Child said she likes TanOrganic because the products “don’t leave that biscuity fake tan smell”. Another selling point is TanOrganic’s lack of GMOs, parabens and chemicals. It is made using natural ingredients such as aloe, argon oil, avocado oil and coconut oil, and TanOrganic is packaged in glass and biodegradable materials.

TanOrganic is the first cosmetic product to be featured on Seedr, who turn down more than 85% of applicants.

In Association with

As of 24 September, TanOrganic had raised £27,591 of its sought investment of £70,004. The company is offering 4.42% equity, for a pre-money valuation of £1,512,325.

O’Connor added:  “TanOrganic has such loyal and engaged customers that we knew giving them the opportunity to realise and become a part of TanOrganic’s vision was the ideal way to go.”

TanOrganic founder Noelle O'Connor

Noelle O’Connor’s beauty career began with a €2,000 loan from the Credit Union and a cubicle at the back of a hairdresser. She opened a number of beauty salons before establishing SkinLogic, a beauty product distribution company. Then she came up with the idea for an organic fake tan.

"Contraceptive"

In a Sunday Independent interview, O’Connor commented: "Fake tan is probably the greatest contraceptive on the market. That burnt biscuit smell is horrible. But women never stop to think, 'Why do fake tans have that smell for about three hours after it has been applied'? Here’s the shocking news: The smell is the chemicals reacting with your skin.

“Putting chemicals on your skin to change its colour is not good for you. Admittedly it is better than damaging your skin on an UV sun bed. Irish women are the biggest users of fake tan per capita in the world. So putting all those chemicals on your body is aging and damaging your skin.

“It took me years to come up with the solution, a natural fake tan. Yes I know that’s a classic oxymoron but that is what I have created, a natural fake tan. Here’s the secret. The breakthrough was an organic extract of sugar beet that naturally tans your skin over a period of seven hours.

“But that breakthrough alone wasn’t enough. It took another couple of years and a fortune of money to get the world’s leading cosmetic research lab based in the US to develop my formula. As soon as we got the 100% natural, organic tan working, we realised we had to add a natural colouring agent so women could see it going on as they applied it. Eventually caramel was the breakthrough.”

Dragons' Den

In 2010, O’Connor appeared on Dragon’s Den and sought  €50,000 investment for a 5% share of her business. In the event, she accepted the offer from Gavin Duffy for a 45% stake. In August 2014, the shares were transferred back to O’Connor by Duffy.

The operating company, Beauty Results Ltd, booked a net profit of €13,000 in 2013 and ended the year with a net worth of €102,000. Year-end creditors reduced from €210,000 to €196,000 and year-end cash amounted to €10,200.

Priced from €19.99, TanOrganic is more expensive than Ireland’s other fake tan favourite and Melissa Carter's product, Cocoa Brown. Cocoa Brown has become a household name thanks to the decision to stock the tan in Penneys for less than €10, and the recent social media endorsement from a Kardashian, leading to a social media buzz around the product.

Models at an event in London celebrating Boots' stocking TanOrganic.