Brianne West

In 2012, Brianne West was a 24-year-old biochem student in Christchurch, New Zealand.

One day, she pondered: why are we putting water-based products in plastic bottles when there’s already water in our showers?

That idea became Ethique: the world’s first fully solid beauty brand.

No plastic. No water. No waste.

She started with shampoo and conditioner bars, then expanded into moisturizers, deodorants, household cleaners, pet shampoo, and even self-tanner.

All made with fair-trade ingredients, no palm oil, no animal testing, and wrapped in compostable packaging.

From day one, West bootstrapped.

She ran crowdfunding campaigns that broke records, raising NZ$200K in 2015, and NZ$500K in 90 minutes in 2017.

The fastest raise in PledgeMe history, with the most female investors the platform had ever seen.

By 2020, Ethique had hit $10M+ in annual revenue and prevented 10M plastic bottles from going to landfill.

By the time she stepped down as CEO in 2023, that number had grown to 32M bottles.

She sold 75% of the company to New York–based Bansk Group in 2020 but stayed on as CEO until 2023.

She still serves on the board.

Then she launched Incrediballs.

It’s soda, but without the bottle.

Incrediballs are dissolvable drink balls that turn into full-flavored soda or mixers with just water.

Think bath bombs for your glass, but actually tasty.

No plastic. No sugar. No shipping liquid around the world.

West calls it “the world’s first truly waste-free drink.”

And she’s aiming to save 50M bottles by 2030.

After Ethique, she also launched Inspire Labs to mentor and fund other climate and social ventures.

Along the way, she’s been named EY’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year and inducted into the Women Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.

Oh, and she even has her own Barbie!