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Meet Maxine Laceby, founder and CEO of Absolute Collagen


Maxine Laceby created Absolute Collagen simply because it worked and no other reason.

Working from her kitchen table when she was 50 years old, going from a happy full-time mum to two daughters to a beauty entrepreneur in just one short year.

Since starting her business, Maxine has become an inspiration for female entrepreneurs around the world and for women in general. Maxine is incredibly passionate about the strengths of women, which often go unrecognized due to what she describes as the humble nature of women, ‘we just get on with the job that needs doing’.

How Maxine Laceby started Absolute Collagen

Fast approaching 50 and realising it was an ‘inside job’ Maxine started looking at what she was putting her body and stumbled upon the amazing benefits of collagen whilst cooking up bone broth in her kitchen. According to medical research, wrinkles and sagging skin are caused by a decrease in collagen - which starts as early as age 25.

She started to boil chicken feet and pigs trotters in her kitchen to make bone broth, discovering in the process how to extract collagen. She drank bone broth for a few weeks and saw an incredible impact on her skin, hair, nails and general wellbeing.

When her friends started asking her what she was doing to get such glowing skin, Maxine started cooking up bone broth for the neighbourhood, becoming known as the local collagen dealer.

After researching collagen tablets and supplements, Maxine discovered that many were filled with fillers and binders, Maxine was also adamant she wanted to create a liquid supplement as liquids are absorbed far better than tablets, she then asked herself what she wanted from a collagen supplement? She wanted maximum of the best collagen available in a ready mixed dose and was adamant it was as affordable as could be.

She spent hours of experimenting with the formula, taste and ingredients, becoming an expert on the world of ingestible beauty supplements. That’s why each sachet of Absolute Collagen contains 7.5grams of pure hydrolysed type 1 marine collagen for maximum impact.

After much research Maxine discovered that marine collagen from fish being type 1 collagen is the best collagen as we humans are 70% type 1 collagen. During her research she also discovered that hydrolysed collagen was the best for maximum absorption. And that’s when Absolute Collagen was born. An affordable, ready mixed, hassle free liquid supplement containing the best type 1 hydrolysed collagen.

How Absolute Collagen became successful

Que to one of the many reasons Maxine and Absolute Collagen has become one of the UK’s fastest growing direct to consumer beauty brands... The difference between Maxine and other brands is Maxine made a conscious decision to put maximum of the star ingredient (collagen) in each sachet, most brands choose the minimum in order to make the claim.

Absolute Collagen officially launched at the Beauty Show UK in Birmingham in May 2017. By May of 2018, Absolute Collagen was an award-winning supplement, having won an Editor’s Choice Award in the Beauty Shortlist Awards 2018, and been nominated twice for the GLOBAL Beauty Awards 2018 in two categories.

And in 2019, Absolute Collagen won the ultimate award within the beauty industry; The CEW beauty supplement award.

At the time of starting her company, Maxine didn’t have any experience in the business world as she had been full time mum for the past 25 years. But Maxine didn’t let those doubts stop her and now, two years later, she’s turned her kitchen table product into a million-pound business and says ‘everything I learned from being a woman and a mother I apply to the boardroom’.

Looking to the future

Absolute Collagen is now the leading drinkable collagen supplement in the UK, with an ever-growing nation of dedicated #Absoluters who are experiencing magnificent improvements in their health, beauty and wellbeing, with 1000s of reviews raving about the benefits.

Absolute Collagen has now launched in Ireland, Germany and the rest of the EU alongside the UK, and Maxine is taking the business from strength to strength. Some of the most exciting recent developments include the launch of a recycling scheme and her clinically proven collagen-boosting serum, Maxerum.

Maxine is determined that her story inspires other women and entrepreneurs in the UK and globally, and she talks at e-commerce, entrepreneurship and beauty industry events about finding passion later in life and creating a successful ecommerce business from the ground up and the importance of creating a brand voice and why customer service is key.

Maxine started Absolute Collagen simply because it works. Her mission was to bring affordable beauty to everyone, and show them that they can be the best version of themselves and her motto ‘own the skin you're in’ really has become reality for Maxine.

Maxine and the Absolute Collagen story is proof that anything is possible. ‘You’ just have to make it happen.


Follow Maxine's journey and learnings on her blog