Beauty Kubes were a firm favourite at Acala. The clever cubes - which looked like stock cubes, but lathered up to form shampoo, body wash and face masks - were very handy for travel and, of course, plastic free. But at some point in 2022 they vanished. Gone. We were all sad. A victim of the pandemic, Beauty Kubes had had to close. 

BUT good things often find a way of bouncing back. We spoke to Emma, the founder of Beauty Kubes, to find out more about her new venture, Hedgerow & Moor, and what led her to making cube-shaped beauty products in the first place... 

Emma, Beauty Kubes and Hedgerow & Moor founder

Photo: Emma in her native Cornwall.

Can you tell us about you and your background

Emma: I am not one to sing my praises or write much about myself, so maybe it would be better to ask a member of my family, who teasingly say I should have been born in the 1800s! I am a qualified cosmetic scientist, who always looks to solve problems, in the most innovative and creative way possible. I am also an aspiring artist and I have in the past designed a range of hand painted British tableware, mugs and gifts, including a range of gentlemen's ties and socks. I paint, draw, design, create and produce a range of what I would call classical, traditional yet sustainable products. It is my passion and desire to constantly create new ideas. I love the outdoors, nature and animals and ideally want my own farm at some point in the future.

How did you come up with the idea to make products in cube shapes?

Emma: I had an award winning skincare brand, under the name of "Eve of St Agnes". The products were hugely successful and I was approached by a Far Eastern consultancy company, who were working with a well known global airline, who were looking to produce travel sized skin care, shampoo and toiletries for their first class passengers. It got me thinking about how much plastic and water was being carried around and that it would be so much better if you could just have something small, compact, organic, with a unique design, but which didn't compromise on the quality of ingredients, or the environment.

 

Your first brand, Beauty Kubes, you put to bed last year, before launching Hedgerow & Moor - what was the reason for that?

Emma: When we launched Beauty Kubes, I had a 3 to 6 month waiting list for the products due to such high demand and quality of items. We built a global client base within a very short period of time. Due to the success of the products, which were all multi award winning products, we were approached by a German Pharmaceutical company who were looking to buy us out in 2019.

However, due to the Covid Pandemic, the German company had to close a number of their worldwide offices and had to pull out of those negotiations. This was followed by a large number of our worldwide retail clients going under, and many clients stopped purchasing products online.

We had to put 90% of the staff on furlough, and some of those staff members went and found jobs elsewhere. All of our efforts over the past few years disappeared within 2 years of the pandemic due to the amount of online and high street retailers going bust. So we had to unfortunately make the decision to close the business.

Original Beauty Kubes

Photo: Original Beauty Kubes

As an evolution, we'd love to hear about what makes Hedgerow & Moor different from the original Beauty Kubes?

Emma: I am a very creative person, where all of the products I have designed have been multi award winning, something which I feel is quite an achievement. My ethos has been to only create products that I myself would want to purchase. I am very proud of what I achieved with Beauty Kubes, but it limited me as to what I could produce under that brand name, ie everything would have to be a Kube. I designed Hedgerow and Moor to truly allow my creativity to run wild, enabling my creative talents to flourish, which gave me that space to create new, exciting, unique products that I would still want to buy myself. So Hedgerow and Moor, gives me that complete artistic licence, to design and create new, exciting, unusual and unique products, that no one else will have.

[Ed: We also note the new flatter outer box shape - they now fit through your letterbox - so no need to be at home to receive your Shampoo Cubes!]  

Your website talks a lot about your Cornish heritage - how does your location inspire and influence you and Hedgerow?

Emma: I have always been spiritually drawn to Cornwall and have felt a different energy from the surrounding nature from the moment I moved down here. That Cornish energy, possibly from the ley lines and spiritual nature of the area, has also inspired me with the products that I produce. I have always had a huge interest in Cornish Folklore and mysticism. The healing energy of the natural surroundings have been my inspiration, which I don't feel I could get living anywhere else in the UK. Cornwall has always been my spiritual home.

 

At Acala you can find a range of the best-selling Shampoo and Conditioner Cubes:

 

Conditioner Cubes

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