# Lush Cosmetics: Mark Constantine

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2020-10-05
- Length: 1h 25m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine

## Summary

Mark Constantine, co-founder of Lush, recounts his journey from making natural shampoos in a small room to launching a global beauty brand after the catastrophic failure of his previous mail-order business, Cosmetics To Go. He details his early partnership with Anita Roddick of The Body Shop, the subsequent fallout, and how he and a core team of former colleagues rebuilt their careers by creating the bath bomb and launching Lush with minimal packaging. The episode highlights Lush's unique business model, including its refusal to go public, its implementation of a living wage, and its adaptation to pandemic pressures through a surge in digital sales.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=0) Introduction: Mark Constantine and the Lush Story
- [5:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=313) Childhood Trauma and Early Ambition
- [15:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=903) Tricology and the Body Shop Partnership
- [32:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=1968) The Breakup with The Body Shop and Bodkins Failure
- [48:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=2917) Cosmetics To Go and the Invention of the Bath Bomb
- [56:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=3388) Founding Lush with Limited Capital
- [1:00:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=3640) Lush Store Design and Brand Philosophy
- [1:04:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=3858) Lush Business Model: Living Wage and Private Ownership
- [1:12:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine#t=4333) Scaling to 900 Stores and Pandemic Adaptation

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Lush (company)
- The Body Shop (company)
- Anita Roddick (other)
- Cosmetics To Go (company)
- Bodkins (product)
- Aqua Sizzlers (product)
- L'Oreal (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Founder Feature: JoLynn Henke and Peter Clarkson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-05-24-founder-feature-jolynn-henke-and-peter-clarkson) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [019: Organic haircare products with Susana Stewart & Caroline Maina of Fro Butter](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-09-20-019-organic-haircare-products-with-susana-stewart-caroline-maina-of-fro-butter) (Product Startup)
- [Founder Feature: Tabi and Meena Hoshmand of Tursh](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-11-14-founder-feature-tabi-and-meena-hoshmand-of-tursh) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [021: Using Public Research to Develop WINK Lash and Brow Oil with Megan Cox of Amalie Beauty](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-10-04-021-using-public-research-to-develop-wink-lash-and-brow-oil-with-megan-cox-of-am) (Product Startup)
- [006: Customizable swimwear with Kelsey Duffy of Versakini](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-04-19-006-customizable-swimwear-with-kelsey-duffy-of-versakini) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-10-05-lush-cosmetics-mark-constantine. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.