A model-turned-entrepreneur says her billionaire parents are the ‘inspiration’ behind her founding her own company in an unlikely sector.
Georgia Geminder, daughter of packaging and recycling magnates Fiona and Raphael, left her lucrative modelling career behind after identifying a void in the market for toothpaste.
Ms Geminder has launched Gem, a naturally-based vegan toothpaste free of toxic ingredients that is marketed towards millennials and Generation Y consumers.
‘When I told my friends I was launching a toothpaste business it definitely wasn’t what they were expecting as I’d worked in modelling,’ Ms Geminder told Daily Mail Australia.
‘A lot of people thought I’d go into TV but I identified a space in the market and saw an opportunity to beautify oral care with a millennial focus targeted at Gen Y.’
Georgia Geminder, daughter of packaging and recycling magnates Fiona and Raphael, left her lucrative modelling career behind after identifying a void in the market for toothpaste
Ms Geminder has launched Gem, a naturally-based vegan toothpaste free of toxic ingredients that is marketed towards millennials and Generation Y consumers
Gem markets itself as being free of 10 ‘toxic nasties’ which include SLS, parabens, fluoride and any animal-related products
Ms Geminder started modelling at 17 as ‘a way into the work force’ and moved to Los Angeles to purse the career.
Upon returning to Australia she began working for Remedy Kombucha which at the time was a start-up.
‘I really was inspired by that start up energy,’ Ms Geminder said.
‘It led to want to my own.’
Growing up with her parents who had made billions from recycling, she said that focus on ‘natural products, recycling and sustainability’ were part of her fabric.
‘We’re trying to take chemicals out of every day products.
‘Anywhere that’s particularly sensitive on the human body and the chemicals in, we’re trying to replace those products.
‘We spend all day trying to avoid chemicals then we come home and just put them in our mouth.’
Growing up with her parents who had made billions from recycling, she said that focus on ‘natural products, recycling and sustainability’ were part of her fabric
Ms Geminder has launched Gem, a naturally-based vegan toothpaste free of toxic ingredients marketed towards millenials and Generation Y consumers
Ms Geminder said she drew inspiration for the concept after looking at the market for commonplace items and seeing a void for alternative toothpastes
Ms Geminder told Daily Mail Australia she’s managed to ‘stay under the radar’ when dealing with prospective investors and distributors despite her family name.
‘It was inspiring to grow up in such a business heavy environment. My parents encouraged us all to have purpose,’ she said.
‘Work hard, have purpose and build something to contribute to society.’
Gem markets itself as being free of 10 ‘toxic nasties’ which include SLS, parabens, fluoride and any animal-related products.
The toothpaste instead includes hydroxyapatite, a coconute-derived product which Ms Geminder says has been proven to ‘remineralise tooth enamel’.
Gem is now in over 25 dental clinics and will be in 100 by the end of 2021.
‘If you’ve got a good idea just start it and do it. One of the most difficult road blocks to starting a business is to have the courage to take a leap of faith.’
‘It was inspiring to grow up in such a business heavy environment. My parents encouraged us all to have purpose,’ Ms Geminder said
Gem markets itself as being free of 10 ‘toxic nasties’ – which include SLS, parabens, fluoride and any animal-related products
Ms Geminder said she drew inspiration for the product after looking at the market for commonplace items and seeing a void for alternative toothpastes.
She said outside of the major brands, there was no-one offering a natural product targeted at a younger base.
‘I was thinking of how I want to start my business but what can I do? And I thought, what do people do every day? You brush your teeth,’ she said.
Ms Geminder said she analysed the ingredients in recognised brands and saw many had been banned from being used in soaps, while others contained ingredients used in rat poisons and toilet cleaners.
While admitting there are other natural brands on the market, many of them aren’t replacing the unhealthy ingredients with anything meaningful.
‘A brand will take out fluoride, but they won’t replace it with anything, so you’re essentially brushing with sand,’ she told AFR.
Her mother, Fiona, is worth $3.4billion according to Forbes with large stakes in recycling company Visy and plastics-packaging brand Pact Group – which she owns with husband Raphael.
