Tropic Skincare is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

online and

multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial and sometimes illegal marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salarie ...

company which sells skincare and cosmetic products. The company is based in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. The business is owned by Susie Ma, who appeared on The Sunday Times inaugural 'Beauty Rich List' in May 2025, with an estimated wealth of £73m. In 2023, Tropic's accounts showed revenue of £62m and gross profits of £25.8m.

History

Tropic initially launched as Tropic Pure Plant Skin Care in 2004, founded by

Susie Ma Susie Ma is a British-Chinese skincare entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is best known for her appearance on the seventh series of the BBC television series ''The Apprentice'' in 2011 where, despite coming in third place, she secured investm ...

. The company officially became incorporated in 2011. After Ma took part in the seventh series of ''The Apprentice'',

Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician, and political adviser. Sugar began what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics company A ...

invested to become a 50% stakeholder in Tropic. In April 2023, Ma purchased back Sugar's shares and now owns 100% of the business.

Business structure

In 2013, Tropic launched its direct-selling model with 400 founding sales people, known as Ambassadors. As of 2025 there are over 20,000 Ambassadors across the UK. Unlike many MLM businesses, Tropic does not set sales targets for its Ambassadors nor allow stockpiling. "Ambassadors" earn at least 25% commission on products they sell themselves, and have the option to advance to growing a team. Customers are also able to shop directly at tropicskincare.com.

Products

Tropic offers naturally-derived skincare, makeup and body care products, with sustainably sourced ingredients from the tropical regions located around the equator. Nearly all of the brand's products are freshly made on a daily basis in the UK throughout a small batch production process. Tropic products are not stock in stores because of its Ambassador model and also because it does not use artificial preservatives in its products, meaning they are not suited to siting on retail shelves for years. Tropic products have been featured in many press publications, including ''Good Housekeeping'', ''VOGUE'', and more.

Ethics

Tropic donates 10% of profits to charities and good causes globally. Charity partners include UWS, Reef Restoration Foundation and Trussel Trust. It has funded seven million days of education for children in remote parts of the world. In 2023 its 'Give Back Friday' campaign led to a further 74,000 days of education being funded. It repeated the campaign in 2024, this time funding 80,000 additional days of education for children. After attending a King's Trust (formerly The Prince's Trust) event in 2023, Susie committed Tropic to a four-year patronage of its Women Supporting Women initiative, which helps disadvantaged young women and girls to access training, advice and education to help them secure jobs and meaningful careers. In May 2025, Tropic funded access for its Ambassadors to a virtual training course to help detect the signs of skin cancer, with the charity Skcin. Tropic is certified by the

Vegan Society Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

, Soil Association COSMOS Organic and

Cruelty Free International Cruelty Free International is a British animal rights and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal testing. It organises certification of cruelty-free products which are marked with the symbol of a leaping bunny. It was fo ...

, and is a CarbonNeutral and Ethically accredited company.

Awards

Tropic featured on The Sunday Times Hundred 2022 - Britain's Fastest Growing Private Companies for the sixth consecutive year (previously known as the Fast Track 100). Tropic was listed in J.P Morgan's 'Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses Report' in 2024 and 2023. Tropic has won over 400 industry awards, from the likes of GLAMOUR, woman&home and CEW. In 2022, it won a Marie Claire Prix D'Excellence award for 'Beauty Gives Back', to recognise its impact in empowering through education for its partnership with charity UWS.

References

{{Reflist Retail companies based in London Retail companies established in 2011 British brands Cosmetics brands Cosmetics companies of the United Kingdom 2011 establishments in England British companies established in 2011