He’s the moo-ver and shaker behind this Gold Coast skincare company but how did Craig Jones, who refers to himself as Head of the Herd, come to found MooGoo?

“I grew up in western New South Wales and my mother was using udder balm, which is used on cows, to help with her psoriasis,” he said.

“It was a country remedy that was fairly well known and still is. But it was very thick and very pasty. The cows don’t mind a white past on their udders but it didn’t work for my mum’s skin as she couldn’t wear clothes over the top of it.

“It contains allantoin and I just made a cream from that which absorbed a lot better. It was quite simple. That’s the thing with skincare, making a cream is easier than making a cake.”

Jones’ friends, who liked the cream, urged the former Airforce pilot to sell his product.

“It was still a bit of a joke at that time. The tube had ‘udder balm’ on it and it was a little bit humorous,” he said.

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“I took it to a lot of pharmacies and health stores and one distributor said ‘you’ve just wasted five minutes of my time, get out’.

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Jones decided that “udder balm” was not such an enticing name so changed the product name to MooGoo. That was in 2005. Two years later Jones moved his family and his business to the Gold Coast.

“I was into kite surfing and surfing and the Gold Coast has such a beautiful lifestyle but you’ve also got all of this transport and distribution infrastructure,” he said.

“There are a lot of talented people on the Gold Coast so it’s easy to get good staff.”

Fast forward to 2023 and MooGoo now boasts more than 60 products in its range. So successful is the MooGoo Eczema and Psoriasis Cream, one is sold every two minutes. Its Amplified Anti-Ageing Serum accounts for half of total online serum sales with one sold every 10 minutes.

And MooGoo is going from strength-to-strength adding additional factory space to its original Burleigh Heads headquarters in addition to its other factory at Staplyton.

At the same time, this multi-million-dollar turnover company has offices in the UK and US and distributors in New Zealand, Ireland and Malaysia as well as being stocked in almost every pharmacy and health store in Australia.

Craig continues to be involved in the business, focusing mostly on formulation and product development with sustainability at the forefront of everything MooGoo does.

Sustainability initiatives include:

• Creams made in Queensland’s first carbon-neutral facility that uses solar power and recycles its own water
• Packaging, brochures and packing boxes made from recycled materials and completely recyclable
• Tubes made with 30 per cent Post Consumer Recycled and are recyclable at end of life
• Bottles made from 100 per cent recycled plastic
• Saving 5000 plastic bottles – 250kg of plastic – from refill events
• Shredded cardboard to pack shop and customer orders
• Ingredients that are healthy for humans and the environment
• Completely solar-powered Australian warehouse and head office
• Made in Australia reducing carbon footprint

“Rather than abolish a particular ingredient, it is more important to have a sustainable source of that ingredient,” Jones said.

“In terms of our competitors, our products have to work and we are always trying to have repeat customers.

“One of the big secrets is trying to make a product that people will recommend to their friends. And people have to like the company.

“We’re not trying to boom or list on the stock market. All we’re trying to do is grow the company and keep the people working there happy.

“The future is about more expanding and trying to run an ethical business.”