Frasé Skin's $1.2M Equity Raise Fuels U.S. Expansion Push

By Daniel Okafor

Frasé Skin reports $3.2 million in revenue and 173% growth, though the company profile does not disclose the period behind either figure.

The Newcastle West, NSW consumer-goods business has four employees. Brothers Beau London and Zachary London founded it in 2020, and its website is fraseskin.com.au. The profile provides no valuation or profitability measure, leaving the operating economics outside the published numbers.

How did Frasé Skin find its niche?

Frasé Skin's account begins during the COVID lockdowns, when Beau London tried his mother's pink clay mask and was surprised by the results. He and Zachary London then found plenty of skincare marketed to women, but little that seemed made for blokes like them.

The brothers developed Frasé from their parents' home in 2020, worked with Australian cosmetic experts for almost three years, and launched the business in May 2023. Frasé Skin says the name is a tribute to Beau's late best mate, Sam Fraser, who died in 2016.

The origin story also explains why the company resisted a wider beauty proposition. The initial insight came from one practical trial and a gap the brothers encountered as men looking for their own products. Their response focused the brand on working men rather than trying to serve every skincare customer.

Why did the brothers target tradies?

Frasé Skin says neither brother began as a skincare expert. They grew up in Dubbo, where Beau became a plumber and Zachary a carpenter, and spent 16 years working on job sites between them.

That experience supplied the product brief. The company designed its range around sun exposure, sweat, dirt and breakouts. Each addressed problems associated with working outdoors. Its marketing used job sites, humor and straightforward demonstrations. The approach departed from a traditional beauty-brand format.

How did the brothers finance the launch?

Frasé Skin says the idea of skincare for tradies met early skepticism. The brothers poured their life savings into the business and, at different points, worked as many as three separate jobs to keep the early company funded.

Eventually, both brothers left their trades to work on Frasé full-time. The decision concentrated their labor and capital on a single brand. It also made their personal experience the core of product design and marketing.

How much traction has Frasé Skin won?

Since its May 2023 launch, the company says it has served more than 40,000 Australian customers and sold more than 100,000 products across its home market. With four employees, that disclosed Australian customer total equates to more than 10,000 customers per employee on a cumulative basis.

The comparison measures reach rather than financial performance. The profile does not disclose repeat purchases, average order value, operating profit or a revenue split between Australia and the US. Each measure would help explain whether the growth base can support the expansion now under way.

What will the $1.2 million raise fund?

Frasé Skin has already begun pushing into the US through its own online store and Amazon. The move follows a $1.2 million equity crowdfunding raise. The company plans to allocate the money across four areas:

• Inventory
• Its team
• Marketing
• Content

The allocation links physical supply with customer acquisition, while giving the company room to build inventory, add staff and sustain marketing and content in a new market. The company discloses no US revenue target, valuation for the crowdfunding round or spending breakdown beyond those four categories.

Where does expansion go next?

Back home, the brothers are pursuing major supermarket distribution while continuing to develop skincare and sun protection products for working men in Australia at the same time. The company is therefore pushing into larger Australian retail channels, adding products for its core customer and testing its own online store and Amazon sales in the US.

Frasé Skin's next test is to use the $1.2 million to add inventory and staff while proving demand in America and winning Australian supermarket listings. It must expand three parts of the operation at once: its own online store and Amazon sales, its product range for working men, and major supermarket distribution in Australia.