How I started in beauty: Francesca Cherruault, founder & CEO of Filthy Brands

Filthy Brands, founded in 2020 by Francesca Cherruault, supports the growth and retail placement of independent fragrance, home and wellbeing brands. Combining strategic guidance with hands-on representation, the company helps brands connect with retailers while maintaining clear positioning and identity.

Positioned as a "flexible alternative to traditional distribution models", the business provides support across the UK, Europe and international markets, helping brands navigate retail expansion, cross-border operations and access to perfumeries, department stores, specialist retailers and wellbeing-led outlets.

In this interview with TheIndustry.beauty, Cherruault discusses how she entered the industry, her first role at a well-known fragrance brand and the next stage of growth for Filthy Brands.

Have you always had an interest in beauty? Why does it appeal to you and why did you want to work within it?

Not at all! I completely fell into it. I love the mechanics of the business of fragrance - the work that goes into building brands and then watching them thrive.

Tell us about your first job in beauty. What drew you to the role? What was this experience like?

Escentric Molecules was, and still is, a genuinely pioneering, exciting company. I started as an assistant and just threw myself into everything. When you're working at a small company, you have your hands in so many different pies - marketing, sales, brand, operations. I ended up staying for eight years, and those years shaped everything about how I think and work today.

What were the most valuable skills or lessons you gained from that first experience?

Pivot. It sounds simple, but it's one of the most valuable things you can learn. You have to be flexible. You have to be able to change direction at a minute's notice and not be rigid about how you get where you're going. Your vision will never be a straight line. It'll have twists and turns and sharp corners you didn't see coming. Learning to embrace that early was everything.

What do you most enjoy about your current role?

The challenge. Running Filthy Brands sometimes feels like playing a computer game or whack-a-mole. You fix one thing, get through to the next level, and then something else pops up. It's relentless in the best way. But what really gets me out of bed is watching things grow. I see it every day - in the brands we look after, in our company, in my team. Even when we moved offices and gained about 12 square metres, I was genuinely excited!

If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice at the very start of your career, what would it be - and why?

Build your community and don't be timid. I think when you're starting out, there's a tendency to hold back, to wait until you feel ready or qualified enough. But your network, the people around you, the relationships you build - that's everything in this industry. I'd tell myself to be bolder and jump. You figure it out. Always.

What does the next chapter of your own career look like and how are you hoping to grow from here?

Filthy Brands is growing. The next chapter isn't about reinventing what we are; it's about doing what we do best, better. We're focused on that growth - deepening our expertise, strengthening our brands, and building something really lasting. That's where all of our energy is going.

Has there been a person in beauty that you have always admired and why?

So many people. Anyone who has had the courage to start their own business has my deep admiration. Female founders, in particular, hold a very special place for me. Building something from nothing takes a kind of bravery that I find genuinely inspiring. I’m lucky that I get to work alongside some of them every single day.