10 Things You Might Not Know About Go-To
We’re a pretty open book as far as businesses go. There’s very little left to hide. And very little we’d not want to share/chat about/celebrate with you, anyway.
But when we got to mulling over the last decade there were a few interesting facts that we felt might have gotten lost in the noise of releasing 7,431 dazzling new products. So here. Have ‘em!
1. We launched on April Fool’s Day. No joke.
We launched Go-To on April 1, to the genuine confusion of the press who didn’t know if we were kidding or not. (Ha! We weren’t.)
The products were ready. We were ready. We weren’t thinking about much else (clearly) than getting Go-To out into the world, stat. But the resulting ‘is this really real?’ worked fun-ly in our favour.
2. We’ve gone through at least three iterations of packaging.
From polka dot, to plain white, to our current cartons (and a cheeky change in font), Go-To has gone through three obvious iterations of packaging. All to get to where we are now: Impeccably peach and championing PCRP (post-consumer recycled packaging).
In 2021 we started transitioning products to PCRP for our plastic packaging. (Face Hero, Much Plumper Skin, and Very Luxe Face Cream remain in glass vessels.) But for those products which are made with PCRP, Go-To has successfully met industry standards for the maximum percentage of recycled content in every tub/tube/pump. A huge feat for a company who makes things. That is, waste is inevitable. But we’re doing what we can to limit our impact.
3. Go-To is certified carbon neutral.
We have been operating as Carbon Neutral from January 2018, through a Carbon Offset Program with NoC02 (until June 2022). Since then we have partnered with SouthPole to take on a broader journey - continuing to reduce our carbon output wherever possible.
We make no claims of perfection and there's no high-horsing here. This stuff is complicated, and small companies, even those with the best intentions, are at the mercy of manufacturers, supply chain, big industry and technology. But! We are committed to doing the best we can, and are working to be a more eco responsible business every day.
4. We have our very own in-house lab: Labsolutely Fabulous.
The lab inside Go-To HQ in Sydney, complete with its own peach lab coats, is a very valuable resource for Go-To (and Bro-To, and Gro-To). It allows for quite a lot of experimentation and innovation across the range. Especially when you learn that the majority of skincare brands white label their formulations.
Having a lab within elbows reach means we’re in control of quality and composition. Always. The product development process is much more collaborative. Potential product waste is drastically minimised due to more internal research opportunities. And we have the luxury of time; to not launch products on a whim and to not cash-in on the latest trends, but perfect something Really Great.
5. We’ve sold 919,675L of Properly Clean since 2014.
No joke. That’s 613,117 bottles in total: A LOT of not-yet-mousse cleanser.
You could have 3,831 Everything Showers. Or fill Icebergs Pool to about halfway. (Still swimmable.)
6. Transformazing was nearly called Mega Glow.
That was, until we did the usual trademark check and discovered a snazzy deodorant brand (and a very zen yoga studio) had bagged the name already. More pondering, more wordplay; we hastily landed on Transformazing and have never looked back.
7. Face Hero is in the MECCA Hall Of Fame.
Face Hero is so good at brightening and reviving the skin - all types, concerns, and sensitivity levels - that our mates at MECCA inducted her into the (highly coveted) Beauty Election Hall of Fame, in 2023. A place for products that have “revolutionised our routines and taken permanent positions in our beauty cabinet, indispensable products we’d crown again and again.”
We created the winning formula, but you turned Face Hero into the formidable skincare force it is today. One sold every two minutes. 38,000+ five star reviews. A natural Hall of Fame-r.
8. We started formulating an eye serum that turned into Go-To’s first retinal.
At the tail end of 2022 we had an eye serum well underway: Ingredients sourced, the first real look at a working formula. But it was quickly knocked back by a founder who was adamant - and rightly so - that if you’re going to spend big on a teeny product it had better really do something.
Revising the brief, and factoring in time needed to complete an extensive clinical trial (so we can prove all the ways it will transform your skin!), our New Product Development Team went back to the drawing board. This time incorporating a retinal. Which is just like retinol, but better and faster. After many versions and a further eight months of trialling, testing, providing feedback, you’ve now got your under-eyes on it too: De-Crease.
9. Go-To HQ trials every single product before it reaches your face.
We formulate our products in-house in our Labsolutely Fabulous lab (as you now know), but before they reach your face, they go through a rigorous testing process. That is, we slather them all over ours. This Dream Team of un-guinea pigs includes:
The (picky) founder: “I hammer every potential product. Every iteration. If I don’t love the sensory - too thick, too thin, too tacky - then we start again. Every Go-To product gets my tick of approval.”
The (excitable) staff: Once Zoë is more-than-happy with a product, we offer up our faces. Getting very well acquainted with the new serum/oil/cream to be able to talk to you all about it. And sharing last minute feedback, if any, with the formulations team too.
10. Why fortune cookies? Why not.
New here? (Welcome!) We’ve always dropped a delicious little treat in your order, simply because you deserve it. A very edible and enjoyable ‘thank you’ from us, for shopping Go-To.
What started as scarily smart Fortune Cookies from our resident tarot reader (Zoë Foster Blake, obviously), swapped to moreish Chocolate Freckles a couple of years in, and in 2023 this morphed again, taking shape as the iconic Caramello Koala.
If you’ve been keeping an eye on our socials you’ll know we brought back fortune cookies in celebration of Go-To’s Tennaversary. But they’re sticking around for a Very Limited Time. Don’t blink.
11. Go-To’s ready to try something new.
We’ve been all (sk)in for a decade now…
And we can’t count. So we won’t be quitting our day jobs. (Hey! Lucky for you!)