I love a good organic/natural product like the next blogger, so when I got my hands on The Base Collective, my world changed!
I realised I’m probably like most of you who don’t have a great intake of Magnesium. My world has been a little crazy at the moment and I have been overstressed, lack of sleep, body crashing and I’m trying to stay afloat. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!

I received a goodie box (no this is not a paid post!) to fix me! Well to help my stress levels and hurting body! The box of goodies was from The Base Collective. I’ve been using the body wash, body balm and the game changer…Oil.

I’ve noticed I’m sleeping so much better, I’m feeling better than I have been and my skin feels amazing.

I started investigating the brand. How had I never heard of the brand, who created this… I like to know back stories! So when I found out they were Melbourne Mums and had a story to share, how could I not interview them?

First up, how does a former Pharmacist and a banker come together to create a brilliant product and brand that is The Base Collective? Tell us how it all started.

 We actually met when our two eldest children started 3-year-old Kinder.

They became firm friends fast and luckily we enjoyed hanging out together too!

We were both looking for a side project or creative outlet and after exploring a few ideas we decided that we should capitalize on Cassie’s background as a Pharmacist and a gap in the market we saw in natural and organic skincare products. We started with a Hand Wash and Hand Milk set and from there branched out into Magnesium.  The initial Magnesium range just took off so we ran with it and are still running with it really.

The Base Collective, which is a multi-million dollar company exporting to China and the USA, which can we mention that you are stocked in Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie!! Amazing work Ladies! What is the secret to The Base Collective Success is the short 2 years?

 Thank you!  It has been a bit of a wild rollercoaster and we are still learning so much as we go. We have been really lucky in that many of the bigger names we have worked with (like Urban Outfitters) approached us directly having found us on social media. But just because they found us didn’t mean it was a done deal. It took 12 months from when Anthropologie first reached out to when we were finally on their shelves. And that is probably one of the reasons for our growth so far – we just keep going and going. We have absolutely made mistakes (we figure we’ll have plenty for a what not to do book in a couple of years!) but each time we just had to pick ourselves back up and keep on going.

I think the other reason is that we are true to what we started out to be and that is a genuine no nasties brand that looks good, makes you feel good and is good for you. We only use the best natural and organic ingredients and Cassie works through every formulation to make sure there is nothing that doesn’t meet our very high standards.

 What has been your biggest struggle you had to overcome with The Base Collective? And how did you do it?

 There are always lots of day to day struggles. How to fit everything in being the biggest one in that category! But in terms of an overall, I don’t know that we have a major standout. We’ve had more than a few challenges like designing and printing a label that could only be hand applied as there wasn’t a machine in Australia that could apply them to the bottle shape we’d chosen. We definitely learnt a lesson there!

And we’ve had a few false starts when using photographers or people purporting to be “content creators”. From that, we have definitely learnt to ask more questions and take a firmer stance when work we’ve paid for doesn’t meet our expectations. When those types of things come up we tend to deal with it by bouncing off each other and just talking it through. That is one of the big benefits of having a co-founder – you always have someone else who is just as passionate and engaged in the business and can prop you up on the days it all feels a bit much. And who doesn’t mind when you text them at 10pm with a random idea you’ve had for the next line!

More recently managing growth and the expectation that brings has been a big challenge. We’ve gone from placing small orders in the hundreds to placing orders in the tens of thousands and managing that is a big learning curve. We both know more about warehousing and pallets and barcoding than we ever dreamed we’d have to understand!

 Let’s Talk Magnesium! It’s the Hero ingredient in all The Base Collective products, why is it so good for us? What are the benefits?

 It is, and that’s because it is one of the master minerals that we all need. It’s involved in over 300 chemical reactions and enzymatic functions in the body and is crucial for helping your body produce energy, wind down for sleep, bone strength, the product of hormones, managing muscle health and function, balancing blood sugar levels, as well as helping your nervous system. The list feels almost endless when you read the medical studies. Basically, most of us don’t get enough Magnesium in our diets anymore so supplements are the best way to get your Magnesium levels up to where they should be, and recent studies have shown that transdermal absorption is the most efficient way to get your Magnesium.

This is because it goes straight through your skin into your bloodstream, rather than having to be absorbed via your gut as is the case for oral supplements. And you don’t get the side effects like stomach cramps and diarrhoea that oral Magnesium can sometimes bring on when it goes via the gut. (Possibly too much information – sorry about that!) 

The benefits tend to vary from person to person (because our bodies all react differently to Magnesium deficiency) but it may be helpful for headaches. migraines, period pain, muscle cramps (especially leg cramps in pregnancy), muscle recovery, anxiety and depression, pain management and even growing pains in children. You can even mix up our Magnesium Bath Slats with some ground up oatmeal for a fabulous natural eczema soak.

 For someone who comes across your products but not sure which one to start with, what would you suggest?

Definitely the Magnesium Oil. It makes taking your Magnesium super easy and you can target its application as well. For example, if you are taking Magnesium to manage neck and shoulder pain, apply it to those areas.

 If you each had to pick one fav product what would they be?

 Mine is our Magnesium Oil. It is just so handy and got me through my second pregnancy. It helped so much with my restless legs and leg cramps I give it to any friend who is expecting!

Cassie loves our Little Hair & Body Wash (so gentle it can be used on newborns and smells divine) and our Magnesium Oil as well.

  What’s next for The Base Collective?

We are actually trying to pace ourselves a little! We have some exciting news coming out in June about a major retailer we will be working with and that is taking up a lot of our time at the moment.

And from there we have a few products in the pipeline we’d love to start sampling and looking at growing our presence in the US. That market has sort of just happened and we really need to capitalize on the opportunity we have there. Whatever happens though, we know we are going to be busy, learning lots and excited about what the future holds.

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