Dorset success story Lush is marking International Women’s Day 2021 by celebrating the impact women are having in its manufacturing business.

The international cosmetics giant, which is based in Poole, has seven manufacturing facilities in six countries.

There are 16 production departments in Poole employing 716 people.

The manufacturing industry has historically been male dominated.

According to Make UK, formerly known as EEF and regarded as the voice of UK manufacturing and engineering, the UK’s manufacturing labour force in 2018 comprised 76 per cent men and only 24 per cent women.

At Lush Manufacturing in Poole, the percentage was 51 per cent men and 49 per cent women in 2019.

Liz Smith, Lush Manufacturing Director, said: “We have always prided ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer.

“It’s not just about employing equal numbers of males and females, and trying to appeal to both, it’s ensuring that every employee has an equal opportunity to develop within the business.

“We have tried to create a culture that’s redefined the stereotype of what a ‘manufacturing” environment is and provide a working environment that women want to join and become part of the team.”

Make UK’s findings also indicate that women remain underrepresented at senior, and in particular board level.

Lush bucks this trend with females accounting for four out of the seven directors at UK Lush Manufacturing.

The Head of Manufacturing is product inventor Mo Constantine OBE.

Mo co-founded Lush in 1995 with five co-founders and has been involved in the creation and manufacture of innovative beauty products for the past 25 years.

She specialises in inventing solid, unpreserved and unpackaged products and was granted her first patent in 1988 for the invention of the resoundingly popular solid shampoo bar.

Mo has created some of the most memorable and creative products, the most famous being the world’s first bath bomb.

She also invented the first pourable soap base together with chemist Stan Krysztal, and then took it one step further and reformulated a palm oil free soap base.

Other women climbing the career ladder in Lush Manufacturing include:

• Emoke Racz, Makeup and Toothy Tabs Department Manager, was born in Transylvania, Romania, and moved to the UK in 2014. She speaks both Hungarian and Romanian with English being her third language: “When I joined Lush as a Christmas temp, I was scared that my chance to develop and the number of roles I would be able to fulfill would be limited because of the lack of knowledge I had in manufacturing. My opinion completely changed from the first day, as I was taught everything precisely and I received all the support I needed. I then took the opportunity to not just stick to the level I was comfortable at, but I started climbing my career ladder. To all women being interested in a career in manufacturing: just go ahead! There is always something for everyone and don’t be afraid of change and challenge yourself.”
• Niki Aranyi, Ballistics Department Manager at Lush Manufacturing: “When I started in this department there were only a handful of women working here, so to think one day I would become the person managing it seemed impossible. I’ve always been very ambitious but I had to start from the very bottom and that was to even be able to communicate in English. I worked very hard, I guess my managers along the way saw something in me and even though I made a lot of mistakes, and there were points when I felt I just wanted to give up, someone always helped to point me in the right direction. I will always be grateful for that.”
• Ewa Wlodarczyk, currently Gifts Department Manager and soon to manage the Soaps department: “I will never stop learning about this business – and this is the most rewarding thing. My advice is to believe in yourself, be open to challenges and don’t be scared of new opportunities and I’m sure shortly I will read a story about you.”

Liz Smith, pictured, said: “I started at Lush back in 1998 and have always been surrounded by strong, passionate, inspiring women. Initially employed as a receptionist, this quickly developed into a support role for our export markets as I preferred to help and do rather than take a message.

“At that stage we only had four countries we were exporting to.

“As the business grew, so did my role and knowledge, from organising logistics, orders, forecasting, invoicing etc.

“It was a case of rolling your sleeves up and mucking in.

“Gender wasn’t an issue as it’s about a flexible, can-do attitude.

“I prided myself on being able to pack a pallet of stock quicker than most of the males in the warehouse!

“I was later given the challenge of supporting our UK stores and establishing a multilingual customer service team.

“Never saying no to an opportunity or challenge and wanting the best for the business has led me to where I am today.

“With so many opportunities and highlights, I can honestly say a stand out for me was being able to tell my mum that I had been made a Director when I was 30.”

Apart from Mo, other co-founders of Lush in 1995 were Mark Constantine, Rowena Bird, Helen Ambrosen, Liz Bennett and Paul Greeves.

The company has created pioneering beauty products such as the fizzing bath bomb, shower jellies and solid shampoo bars.

The first Lush shop opened in Poole and the town remains as the heart of Lush’s business ventures today.

There are now over 900 Lush shops worldwide in 48 countries.