June 6, 2023

Maxine's May Round Up: AC Turns 6, Charity Events and Much More!

5 min read By Maxine Laceby By Maxine

We're finally getting into the full swing of summer, the weather is getting warmer and everything just feels better! It was a very busy month here at Absolute Collagen and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Read on to find out more about what we’ve been up to…

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Wow, 6 years of Absolute Collagen! Where has the time gone? Looking back at the times of making bone broth in my kitchen and packing orders in our garage, I never imagined where we would be today. What started out as a crazy art project to now the fastest growing collagen supplement in the UK! I want to express my gratitude to all of our Absoluters. I am so proud of the community we’ve created and I am so blessed to have such incredible supporters! So a huge thank you to each and every one of you! I also want to thank our incredible team here at AC! We celebrated at AC HQ with pizza, poke bowls and a huge game of pass the parcel!! I was then surprised by the team with a huge cake shaped like our collagen sachet! In lemon flavour of course! Cheers to another 6 years of incredible memories, feeling strong in our skin and Absolute Collagen.

A Tour Around The Children’s Hospital

Here at AC, we value the incredible work of the Children’s Hospital (Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust). It was important for myself along with my daughters Darcy and Margot to visit the hospital and see their hard working staff in action to get a better understanding of what they do and being just around the corner from AC HQ we couldn't miss this opportunity. It was an eye opening experience and emotional to say the least but it was important for us to see what our donations do to help. The staff there really are magic, they are so dedicated to caring for the children and also for their families so I really thank the hospital, the staff and everyone involved for all their selfless hard work and commitment. It truly is amazing. We have a great relationship with the hospital and I only plan to build and grow this relationship further.

Prince’s Trust Events

As a family, we discussed in great detail which charities we wanted to support and one of the reasons we chose the Prince’s Trust is because of the support they offer to disadvantaged young people. The stories of some of the young people who have been helped by the charity is more than incredible and it felt right that this was something we wanted to be involved in. This month I was honoured to attend the Prince’s Trust Awards in London alongside Margot. The Prince’s Trust recognizes the young people who have succeeded against the odds and I am super proud to be involved. This month I also co-hosted a Prince’s Trust Dinner with Chrissie Rucker and invited amazing fellow business owners (including Caroline Hirons, Susia M and Trinny!). This was such a significant moment for AC to be respected by the ‘queens’ of the industry we are in. It was a fabulous dinner and was wonderful to be surrounded by such talented people!

Victoria Jeffs

Following on from our ‘Strong In Your Skin Campaign’ there is the idea that anything is possible and that it's important to strive for absolute possibility. The woman we can all look up to for her self belief and determination is our very own Absoluter Victoria Jeffs. As the oldest solo female, she is competing in the World’s Toughest Row’ - 3000 miles across the Atlantic! She is showing all of us what it is to step out of your comfort zone and believe that anything is possible. Victoria has had some great coverage over the course of the month on her incredible story including features from ‘The Daily Mail’, ‘The Irish News’ and more! We can’t wait for the row to begin and to support her all the way! Go Victoria!

Buy Women Built Events

This month I was super grateful to speak at a Buy Women’s Built event held by Joanna Jenson from Childsfarm. Buy Women Built is something AC and the team are so proud to be a part of as it is all about showcasing incredible brands built by women! It’s so important to celebrate all achievements and uplift other women to be the best versions of themselves and strive for absolute possibility! I attended another Buy Women’s Built event where I was introduced to a number of wonderful fashion brands created by some fabulous women! It was a lovely evening and was great to see all the beautiful new clothing coming out!

EY Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year 2023

I have some exciting news… Darcy and I are finalists for the EY Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year 2023! We both attended a fabulous overnight retreat hosted by EY in Hertfordshire for it. We spent two days packed meeting some incredible business owners! The talks we attended there were really great, this included a talk given by Steve Hewitt from GymShark! We were even given a workout session in the morning by the one and only Joe Wicks. How great is that! He then gave a talk about the importance of culture and mental health in the workplace. This is something we absolutely value at AC and is so important for us to have and instil in our workplace. We had a fantastic time and we can’t wait to see everyone again at the awards dinner in November!

Coppafeel Trek

Darcy and I also went to the Peak District to walk a marathon to raise money for Coppafeel. Coppafeel is an amazing charity that creates awareness amongst young people about breast cancer. I have done a Coppafeel trek before through the Scottish Highlands (where I first met Emma Willis!) and it was so great to see familiar faces from that walk on this month's trek! Bringing Darcy alongside me was so important as I wanted her to be involved in such an inspiring charity. I have been so humbled by what I can only describe as an incredible movement, a movement of extraordinary ladies coming together.

Natwest Talk

Darcy and I gave a talk at Natwest this month. This was especially exciting for me as it plays a lot of significance in the making of Absolute Collagen! I remember attending one of these talks at Natwest back at the very start of AC. I remember raising my hand to ask why the bank wouldn’t call me back. In the beginning, I found it very difficult to be heard and to feel recognised, no one knew who I was. At the end of that talk I found it was so helpful and really inspired me to keep going. Now, to be the person giving the talk at Netwest is a fantastic feeling! And to do it beside Darcy is incredible. I’m so grateful that I am now able to inspire budding entrepreneurs and pass along all the information that I have learned along the way!

Well, that's it for May! Another exciting and busy month. Things never slow down here at AC so I look forward to seeing what June has to offer! See you next month!

Article written by Maxine Laceby

This blog post is written by Maxine Laceby, co-founder of Absolute Collagen. Maxine founded Absolute Collagen at 50 years old, after experimenting with a recipe in her kitchen. She went from being a full-time mum to becoming a beauty business owner in a just a year. Now, an award-winning entrepreneur Maxine always puts our amazing Absoluters at the heart of everything we do.