It all started in 1998 when I, Izabelle Hammon emigrated from South Africa.  I trained and qualified as an educator for another gel company a few years prior to emigrating and was appointed as one of the first distributors for this gel company in the UK in January 1999. This company had changed the original formulation of their gel and so I decided to contact the manufacturer of Calgel. I was granted exclusive rights to the UK in July 1999 - it was a simple preference for the original gel.

I set up offices, distribution and importation from my home in Harpenden and over the next 2-3 years brought on 9 distributors to promote, educate and spread the word about the revolutionary gel system in the UK.

The UK market expanded rapidly, this success led to my company Izabelle Hammon Ltd (formerly Calbrook Cosmetics UK Ltd) being awarded the exclusivity for Ireland and Europe as well.

I then ventured into Europe by bringing on distributors from France, Germany and Denmark within a year.  These too grew from strength to strength and currently there are in excess of 11 distributors around Europe.

In 2000 my UK distributors and I attended our first trade show with just a table doing demonstrations in the Midlands. (we have come a long way.....)

In December 2001 I moved offices to a bigger home in Frogmore, St Albans enabling me to have a warehouse, office space and training facilities all under one roof.

During this time Yvette Christy joined, starting off in dispatch, sales, co-ordinating training and my right hand lady. Today in addition to being Office Manager, Yvette is in charge of Marketing, PR, Advertising and is the European Liaison Officer.

Robyn McCarney who was fresh off the boat from the States, joined in 2004 to assist with the training co-ordination and customer service.   Robyn is currently the Head Office educator and part of the Client Relationship Associate team, in addition to looking after the regional educators.

In November 2005 I took the big plunge and moved the business away from my house into a ready made office, warehouse and training facility in Luton and centralised all distribution under one roof.  This change in the business model was to ensure that all customers had access to the same quality of technical support, training, customer service and ongoing specials.  In essence to have a dedicated team committed to Izabelle’s vision and value statement:

          
          My Vision

 To empower women (or men) who have a desire to take control of their destiny and create a lifestyle for themselves and their family by owning their own business in the Beauty Industry.

Value Statement

• To build long term relationships with customers through ongoing support and knowledge.
• Honesty and Integrity at all times.
• Lead the standard in the our industry.
• Be a rewarding place to work for our staff.

By centralising distribution from Head Office the company and a like-minded team are committed to providing their customers with the skills, knowledge and support to be successful, through combining quality products with exceptional customer service and training.

A few years ago I decided that the company would not be attending all the beauty exhibitions and the focus of company shifted from new business to existing customers. “Success isn’t based on turnover or the amount of customers you have, but the number of customers you retain,” says Izabelle. 

A dynamic team of Customer Relationship Associates was formed, who together with the warehouse team do an outstanding job of taking care of existing customers.

Training is key with Calgel to ensure that everyone gets the best out of the product, consumers get the best treatment and the company retains their recognised brand name, which is of the utmost importance.

For more information on training, please Click Here.