TheIndustry.beauty Awards Winners’ Interview: Caroline Hirons on scaling Skin Rocks without losing its purpose
TheIndustry.beauty Innovators Awards 2026 celebrated the people, products and businesses driving the beauty industry forward, recognising not only groundbreaking innovation but also the breadth of expertise, disciplines and leadership required to achieve true market distinction.
Presented by UK- and US-based private-label cosmetics manufacturer Orean, Skin Rocks took home the award for Best New Product: Skincare Treatment (Prestige or Luxe) for The Eye Cream, highlighting the brand’s continued focus on results-driven, purposeful skincare.
Caroline Hirons founded Skin Rocks in 2022, building on her extensive industry experience and a highly engaged audience developed through her beauty blog and social media. The brand launched with a results-focused skincare range before more recently expanding into Skin Rocks Pro, a professional line created for practitioners and designed to complement in-clinic treatments.
Earlier this year, Skin Rocks opened its first training hub in London, offering BABTAC- and CIBTAC-endorsed professional education. The facility forms part of the brand’s “By Facialists, For Facialists” positioning, providing hands-on training for Skin Rocks Pro practitioners and further strengthening its presence within the professional skincare sector.
The brand has also continued to expand its international presence, recently launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland exclusively through Douglas as part of its wider growth strategy. Meanwhile, it introduced a new PLUS category last month, which launched with The Support Mask, formulated to replenish moisture and help soothe dry, sensitive or compromised skin.
In this interview, Hirons discusses the development of the award-winning The Eye Cream, including the key priorities behind its performance, formulation and overall user experience. She also explores how innovation informs Skin Rocks’ wider growth strategy, the opportunities and challenges shaping the market, and what consumers can expect from Skin Rocks next.
What are the core values that define Skin Rocks and how are these brought to life across the business?
Our mission statement is ‘We make skincare make sense’.
I’ve been in this industry for three decades and have seen countless examples of brands purposely confusing the consumer in order to make a sale. That is something that I will never do. Every product we make is positioned to be clear about what it is, how it works and what it will do for your skin, with no fluff whatsoever. We have ‘Use This Much’ direction on the cap of every single pack, as well as ‘You Need This If’ and ‘You Don’t Need This If’ guidance. We are still the only brand in the world that tells you not to buy our product on the outer packaging. Simplicity, science and efficacy will always be at the heart of everything that we do.
What’s your approach to identifying gaps in the market and how do you transform those insights into successful, consumer-loved products?
We don’t identify gaps in the market. I identify gaps in our range. I never look at trends; I will never follow trends. We’ll never launch a product just because we don’t have our own version of it, or to fill a gap for the sake of it. We develop excellent skincare and elevated additions to your routine, and we always lead with science.
Take The Antioxidant, for instance - an antioxidant serum is a fantastic daytime step in your routine for preventing premature ageing and shielding against environmental stressors, but many brands will just create a Vitamin C-only serum, so many consumers will believe that they need a Vitamin C step, but what they really need is an antioxidant step. Vitamin C is a great antioxidant, but it’s far from the only one out there. That’s why we created ours to have not only a highly stable and effective form of Vitamin C, but also combine it with other complex antioxidants for a formula that will give you the most incredible glow, preserve your collagen, plus provide environmental protection. It’s consistently one of our bestsellers, and I’ll never be without it.
The Firming Eye Treatment won at TheIndustry.beauty awards. In your view, what set this product apart?
There are now so many eye creams on the market, and many of them will only target one or two concerns. The Eye Cream targets all major eye concerns, and is also clinically proven to give you both instant and long-term results. Whether you have fine lines and wrinkles, under-eye bags, dryness, dehydration or dark circles, this will tackle all of it. And it’s refillable, so saves you cash and helps with wastage.
Can you share some insights into the development process behind the product? What were the key priorities you focused on to ensure the product delivered on performance and overall user experience?
The priority was to create a one-and-done eye cream that targets all the key eye concerns. I knew the clinical claims I wanted to achieve, so we essentially worked backwards from there - building the formula and sourcing the right ingredients to deliver them.
As always, the brief to the lab was simple: no budget, just make the best Eye Cream you can. I also wanted instant results, so it was important we could clinically prove an immediate reduction in the appearance of fine lines and improvement in under-eye bags.
What did winning Best New Product: Skincare Treatment (Prestige & Luxe) mean for Skin Rocks and how does this recognition reflect the brand's journey and vision?
It’s a huge honour for us - the competition was stiff and we were up against brands that have been around much longer than we have, so to come away with the award is an incredibly proud moment. We spend years developing our products and I know our products are fantastic, but the feeling of recognition like this (by judges who have tested as many products as I have) never gets old.
How does innovation shape Skin Rocks’ growth strategy and how do you identify and respond to emerging consumer needs?
Innovation is central to our growth strategy, but we don’t innovate for the sake of it. We focus on solving real consumer needs and making skincare simpler, more effective and easier to understand. We stay close to our consumers through customer feedback, community conversations, observing social trends, data and our Skin Rocks Pro network, which helps us to identify emerging needs and areas of confusion.
Our approach will always be to make skincare make sense. Whether that’s a new product, education or a new way of engaging with the brand, innovation needs to have a clear purpose and add genuine value. Looking ahead, innovation will continue to be a key driver of Skin Rocks’ growth, helping us reach new consumers and remain relevant in an increasingly crowded skincare category.
What opportunities and challenges do you see shaping the future of beauty and how is Skin Rockspositioned to adapt and lead?
With this increasingly crowded industry, where consumers are more informed than ever, there is an opportunity to cut through the noise and give people trusted, credible advice they can actually understand. Which is what Skin Rocks stands for - we make skincare make sense.
We also see education as a huge opportunity. Consumers don’t necessarily need more products; they need help understanding what their skin needs, which products to use, how to use them effectively and what is clinically proven to work. Consumers are also becoming more discerning about value; they want products that genuinely deliver and that they can see results from, rather than being persuaded by endless launches and trends and just buying more.
For Skin Rocks, our opportunity is to continue making skincare make sense. Our combination of credible education, effective products, our Pro community and a strong relationship with consumers gives us a platform to evolve with the category while staying true to our purpose. Ultimately, we believe the brands that will lead the next phase of beauty will be those that earn trust.
What can consumers look forward to from Skin Rocks next?
More brilliant products, more science, more innovation. More excellence!
Are there any exciting innovations or new product developments you can tell us about?
I’m a chronic oversharer and have had to be trained by the team to keep schtum, so can’t go into details, but yes, we have some great newness on the horizon in both the core range and Skin Rocks Pro.
Caroline Hirons, founder of Skin Rocks
As the Best New Brand award was presented by Orean, we asked CEO Dan Williams about the private-label cosmetics manufacturer’s role in supporting the beauty industry.
What sets Orean apart as a strategic partner for beauty brands in today's market?
I think there's a fundamental difference between being a supplier and being a partner.
Anyone can manufacture a product to a specification. What brands increasingly need is someone who can help them navigate an incredibly complex landscape, from formulation and packaging to regulation, sustainability, supply chain resilience, and commercial scalability.
That's where Orean has built its reputation.
We work with brands of all sizes, but our approach is always the same: we become an extension of their business. Our teams genuinely care about our customers' success because, ultimately, their success drives ours. That means challenging ideas when we think there's a better way, solving problems before they become issues, and constantly looking for opportunities to improve quality, efficiency and speed to market.
We're also fortunate, although it’s very hard work, to have manufacturing operations in both the UK and the US, giving our customers greater flexibility and resilience in an increasingly uncertain global environment. Over the last few years, we've all seen how quickly supply chains can change, from conflicts through to tariffs, and having trusted manufacturing capability across multiple regions has become a real competitive advantage.
For me, the biggest differentiator isn't machinery or facilities; it's people. The experience, passion and expertise within Orean are what allow us to build long-term partnerships rather than simply manufacture products.
How do you define innovation in the beauty industry and how is it reflected in the services you offer?
Innovation is one of the most overused words in our industry.
People often associate innovation with a new ingredient or a trending active, but I think that's only part of the story.
Real innovation is about creating meaningful value. Sometimes that's a breakthrough formulation. Sometimes it's designing packaging that has a lower environmental impact. Sometimes it's reducing lead times, improving manufacturing efficiency or helping a brand launch six months earlier than they thought possible.
At Orean, we try to look at innovation as an overarching concept. Our talented chemists are constantly exploring new technologies and ingredients, but we're equally focused on innovating within our manufacturing processes, quality systems, packaging solutions and customer experience. It can be forged and created from exciting supply chain collaborations too.
Innovation should never exist simply because it's new. It must solve a genuine problem for brands or create a better experience for consumers.
Ultimately, the best innovation is the kind that consumers don't even notice; they simply experience a product that performs better, is more sustainable and delivers exactly what they expected.
What key trends do you believe will shape the future of the beauty industry and how is Orean positioned to help navigate these changes and meet evolving consumer expectations?
The beauty industry has never stood still, but I think the pace of change over the next five years will be greater than we've seen in the previous twenty.
Consumers are becoming significantly more informed. They're asking tougher questions about ingredients, efficacy, sustainability and where products are made. At the same time, regulation is becoming more demanding, placing greater responsibility on brands and manufacturers to demonstrate transparency and compliance throughout the supply chain.
I also believe we're moving beyond the era where brands simply wanted a manufacturer. Increasingly, they're looking for strategic partners who can bring technical expertise, commercial insight and genuine problem-solving capability.
Sustainability will continue to evolve too. The conversation is shifting away from marketing claims towards measurable outcomes, regulatory compliance and circularity. Legislation such as PPWR will fundamentally change how packaging is designed and sourced, and manufacturers have an important role to play in helping brands prepare for that future.
The final trend is speed. Social media has dramatically shortened product lifecycles, and brands need partners who can respond quickly without compromising quality or compliance.
Orean is well positioned because we've invested in the capabilities that matter for the long term: scientific expertise, regulatory excellence, quality systems, sustainable packaging knowledge, and flexible manufacturing across both Europe and North America.
For me, the future belongs to manufacturers who are prepared to challenge convention, embrace change and collaborate openly with their customers. The most successful partnerships won't be built on price alone; they'll be built on trust, expertise and a shared ambition to create exceptional products that consumers genuinely love. This is what we strive to achieve at Orean.
I've always believed that if you look after your people, your customers, and the quality of what you produce, growth follows naturally. That's the culture we've worked hard to build at Orean, and it's the reason so many of our customer relationships have lasted for years.
Dan Williams, CEO of Orean
