Tropic is a freshly made, cruelty free and natural skincare range. Based in Croydon in London in England, the stylish cosmetics company was started by Susie Ma in 2011. Ms Ma’s time living in Australia inspired the luxurious range which includes skincare, bodycare, makeup, haircare and suncare.
Tropic is a social selling business with over 100 products and over the last decade they have won more than 70 awards in the beauty industry.(3)
It is important to Susie Ma that the ingredients are “sustainably sourced from tropical destinations across the globe” and never tested on animals. A trio of Great Barrier sun protection factor sunscreens were launched this week, in time for the summer season, complete with contemporary white and yellow packaging and a pretty tree motif. (1)(2)
Susie Ma appeared on The Apprentice nine years ago and Lord Alan Sugar invested 50/50 in her business. The entrepreneur is now number 84 on London Post’s ‘London Power 100 list. Tropic employs 160 people and is “the fastest growing beauty company in the UK” according to The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 for the second year in a row. (3)
Ordering online from the Tropic website is straightforward and usually the products are recommended personally by brand ‘Ambassadors’ who host pamper parties with their family, friends and colleagues. The company are currently offering free delivery across the UK arriving with packages arriving on doorsteps in around a week. (1)
The coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly the whole world this year. Interruptions to production this Spring because of government lockdowns, supplier delays, social distancing and a deep recession in the UK are all challenges for every medium sized enterprise. Many retailers have been forced to close to the public and their activities have been redirected, minimised or paused completely.
Tropic have helped to keep medical professionals safe and combat the spread of Covid-19 by manufacturing 50000 WHO recommended hand sanitisers. These have generously been sent to NHS hospitals along with calm balm hand creams and cotton gloves. (3)
Tropic is a socially conscious organisation and also a certified CarbonNeutral® company. The means all the carbon emissions are accounted for and double offset. All the energy use is factored into their offset contributions including all product deliveries, powering their headquarters and even the working team’s commutes to and from work.
Through this eco-friendly initiative, Tropic have funded conservation work in the Amazonian rainforest and helped to protect 65,000 hectares of forest from unsustainable palm oil conversion in Indonesia. (2)
Tropic’s mission is “to help create a healthier, greener, more empowered world.” (2) The new headquarters in Croydon in London represents Tropic’s recent expansion and “is the product of a £4m investment and is five times bigger than its previous offices, with 48,000sqft of space.” according to Cosmetics Business. (4)
The voluminous glazed city office in Croydon is a contrast to Susie Ma’s coastal home. Susie spent time as a young women in Cairns, North Queensland, Australia and she was interested in the natural tropical environment. Ma’s Grandma, who was a medicinal chemist and toxicologist was a great role model. Sunshine soaked aloe vera plants and exotic fruit trees gave Susie the nutritionally rich botanical ingredients she needs to create her natural skin treatments and cosmetics. Sustainably sourcing from the Amazon rainforest, Polynesia, Australia and other unique areas is key to the success of the brand. (2)
“Tropic aim to be a force for good beyond beauty. Education empowers children, opening the way for them to access better jobs and higher incomes later in life. With quality education, every child has the tools to reach their full potential. That’s why we’re working with United World Schools, who share our vision of every child having the chance to go to school.” explains Ma. (1)
Since 2009, United World Schools have enrolled over 30,000 children into over 150 schools across Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal, effectively breaking the cycle of illiteracy for hundreds of communities. (2)
In September 2019 Tropic and UWS worked in partnership to build a school in Cambodia and almost all the primary school aged children in the community have enrolled and are ready to learn. The Tropic school is located in Ta Lart Thmey which is a small community where the literacy rate is close to 10%. The nearest school was over 3 hours walk away so otherwise education wasn’t an option. The new school has working toilets, fresh water, solar-powered electricity, a library, five classrooms and lots of toys and stationery.(2)
Since the launch of this partnership in September 2019 Tropic has managed to fund 504,958 days of education. That equates to a year’s worth of education for over 2,500 children. Managing Director Susie Ma got involved and visited the school and is grateful to the Ambassadors and the customers for enabling the success of the new school program.(2)
Appearing polished and radiant as any young model in her recent video to promote the latest lotion in sun care, Susie Ma glows like a lady that is filled with good things both on the inside and out, proof of the saying that beauty is not just skin deep. Ma is full of passion and confidence in her large selection of products and well on her way to helping achieve her own goals of a healthier and more empowered planet.
Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be depending on our business leaders with creativity and ingenuity to drive this country forward economically and out of recession over the coming months and years. Corporations that can rethink their processes and tailor the services they provide to consumers, in a fast changing virtual environment, can in turn help generate a good standard of healthcare, education and prosperity for everyone who lives and works in the UK.
If 2020 is anything to go by Tropic will keep on blossoming and growing stronger and the world is truly Susie Ma’s oyster.
For more information and to make an order contact Tropic Independant Ambassador Lizzie Clayton by email: liz@ngo.org.uk or check out the catalogue Tropic Catalogue Link
(1) Tropic Skincare shop, 1 June 2020, Tropic Skincare shop
(2) Tropic Skincare Facebook page, 1 June 2020 Tropic Skincare Facebook page
(3) Follow Tropic Skincare on Twitter, 1 June 2020 Tropic Skincare on Twitter
(4) ‘Tropic Skincare opens doors to new London headquarters amid expansion success’ Becky Bargh, 15 February 2019 Tropic Skince new London HQ, Becky Bargh, Cosmetics Business