Two of the Sunshine Coast’s leading businesswomen have teamed up in a collaboration set to revolutionise the mobile laundry market.
Laundry Lady, headquartered in Baringa and now operating nationally, has enlisted the help of Warana-based manufacturer Concept Labs to develop a brand new range of exclusive laundry liquids and products for its national team of contractors.
CEO and founder of Laundry Lady, Susan Toft, was recently awarded Corporate Business Woman of the Year as part of the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network (SCBWN) Awards.
She first founded Laundry Lady in 2012, and has steered the business to impressive success.
Susan is up for two awards as part of this year’s Ausmumpreneur program, and was a state finalist in the 2021 Telstra Best of Business Awards.
Concept Labs General Manager and Sunshine Coast Business Awards Manufacturing winner, Naomi Elliott, was quick to assist Laundry Lady with its vision in creating custom and specially-formulated liquids.
Naomi is also on the Executive Committee of the SCBWN, helping to champion women in the workplace.
As Susan explains, the collaboration is testament to the business growth, innovation and connections happening right here on the Sunshine Coast.
“Laundry Lady is a mobile laundry service with 80-plus contractors Australia wide,” she says.
“In order to meet the demands of our customers – NDIS participants, time-poor families, and businesses – we wanted to come up with our own branded products which could be used by the team.
“Having our own unscented laundry liquid range supports our clients who have sensitive skin or allergies, and works perfectly for salons and other corporate clients who require scent-free towels and laundry. We selected, checked and approved every single ingredient that goes into our laundry liquids and can provide a consistent service with our contractors across the country,” explains Susan.
This is the start of a great partnership with Laundry Lady currently working with Concept Labs to add more products to its range very soon.
Dream team – building connections on the Coast
After meeting Naomi through mutual connections at the 2021 Sunshine Coast Business Awards, Susan knew a partnership would pay off.
“The pros of using a local manufacturer like Concept Labs includes the flexibility for smaller volumes and the ability to upscale, while also saving on freight costs and product mileage,” Susan says.
“We’re a big believer in supporting Aussie-owned businesses, and have also enlisted the help of another local manufacturer, Kin Kin Naturals, to develop an eco-friendly liquid. This will complement the standard liquid developed, poured and packaged by Concept Labs.”
Concept Labs, which – like The Laundry Lady – boasts a predominantly female workforce, works with a range of interstate clients on everything from cleaning products to cosmetics.
“Many of our customers are located interstate in areas such as Victoria and NSW,” Naomi says, explaining production has shifted slightly after a real demand for products like hand sanitiser during the height of COVID.
“We take a formula, innovation or even an early-stage concept for a cream, liquid, gel or oil and create, package and have it ready to hit shelves,” explains Naomi.
Based in South East Queensland, Concept Labs is an industry leader in manufacturing cosmetics, sun care and cleaning products.
“We proudly partner with established brands and start-ups to get their products market-ready, all the while embracing our responsibility to co-create a world where each of us, our communities and our planet can flourish.
“We’re excited to be working with more local businesses, such as Laundry Lady,” shared Naomi.
Headquartered in the thriving Aura Business Park at Baringa, Laundry Lady now operates a team of on-the-ground Laundry Ladies and Lads from Perth to Cairns, down to Sydney and Melbourne.
“We’ve grown from eight to 80-plus contractors in the past 12 months, with a goal to double these numbers in another year’s time,” Susan says.
Laundry Lady has attended a number of franchising and business opportunities expos in the last six months, including Melbourne and Sydney, as it continues to ramp up recruitment.
Collaborations like the one with Concept Labs will certainly see Laundry Lady continue to be a market leader, enabling busy mums, dads and career-changers to launch their own work from home businesses.
Customers can easily book online at the click of a button and have their laundry picked up direct from their door and returned the next day.
To find out more about Laundry Lady, visit the website at www.laundrylady.com.au. For more on Concept Labs, see www.conceptlabs.com.au.
