“You can be ethical and still be profitable”: Ethique’s Brianne West on overcoming the challenges of scaling

Back in 2012, when Brianne West began experimenting with the idea of solid shampoos, she never imagined a global pandemic. Nor did she imagine growing Ethique by 999% in the following years, with valuation figures over $100 million. 

At the time, all West wanted was to create an ethical product that cut down on consumer waste. 

So how did Ethique go from selling a 100 bars in 2012 to such a significant valuation, and manage to grow sales by over 150% in the last 12 months, as well as meeting environmental goals and still being able to give to charity? 

The answer, West tells SmartCompany Plus, lies in figuring out how to scale — and learning from mistakes made along the way.