Susie Ma

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Susie Ma
Susie Ma - Tropic Skincare.jpg
Born (1988-11-22) 22 November 1988 (age 36)
Shanghai, China [1]
Nationality British-Australian
Education Croydon High School
(2002–07)
Alma mater University College London
OccupationEntrepreneur
Years active2012–present
Known for The Apprentice , Tropic Skincare
Website https://tropicskincare.com/

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 investment from Alan Sugar. [2] Her company, Tropic Skincare has been cited as one of the fastest-growing brands in the UK, [3] with annual revenue of £90.6 million. [4]

Contents

As of March 2025, the Sunday Times estimated her net worth at £73 million. [5]

Career

2010–11: The Apprentice

Susie Ma was one of the final three contestants on the seventh series of The Apprentice but lost to winner, inventor Tom Pellereau. [6]

Tropic Skincare remains the only business run by an Apprentice runner-up, to have gone on to secure investment from Lord Sugar. He invested £200,000 for a 50% stake in Tropic in 2012. [7]

2012–present: Tropic Skincare

In May 2013, Ma and Sugar launched Tropic's ambassador programme, a direct-selling model that allows people to earn commission through selling Tropic products. As of 2025, there are over 38,000 ambassadors in the UK. Every September, Tropic hosted its annual 'Glammies' event for thousands of ambassadors, in Birmingham, England. [8] The large-scale production has included performances from the likes of Heather Small and Sydnie Christmas. 2025's event raised over £200,000 for charity partners on the day through a raffle, with benefactors including Skcin, Look Good, Feel Better and The Winnie Mabaso Foundation. [8] In May 2025, Tropic provided training to its ambassadors in detecting early signs of skin cancer, in partnership with melanoma-awareness charity Skcin. [9]

In 2016, Tropic received a Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track's 'Emerging Brand' award. From 2016 to 2022, Tropic has also been recognised as one of the fastest growing privately owned companies in the UK [10] in the Sunday Times Hundred league table (formerly known as The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table). [11]

In 2018, Tropic appeared in The London Stock Exchange's book of 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain for 2019. [12]

The business located to a new 48,000 sq. ft. premises in June 2019. [13] As of 2024, Ma employs over 300 at Tropic's Surrey HQ, where the brand manufactures its skincare [14] and beauty formulations.

In the last filed accounts, for 2024, Tropic reported a turnover of over £68 million, with profits of £8.7m and £615k donated to charities and good causes [7] .

In April 2023, Ma regained full ownership of Tropic, buying back Lord Sugar's shares in the business for an undisclosed sum. Ma commented on the news, "After founding the company at just fifteen, and spending every day since building it into the success you see today, reclaiming full ownership has always been my ambition. I am beyond excited for the infinite possibilities the future holds, and to continue making a positive impact on the planet with our natural, freshly made formulations and inspiring Ambassadors." [15]

In 2025, Ma paid herself £20 million in dividends after buying out Lord Sugar's stake, following a 30 percent rise in profits to £8.7 million. [16]

Personal life and early career

Susie Ma was born in Shanghai, China, and her family later relocated to Cairns, Australia in 1996. She settled in London, UK in 2002.

In 2004, at the age of 15, Ma began making a body scrub using a recipe she learnt from her grandmother. Using a blend of sea salts, macadamia oils and lemon myrtle essential oils packaged in jam jars, she created a body scrub and sold it at Greenwich Market in London to help her mother pay the bills. [17] Susie attended Croydon High School for Girls from 2002 to 2007. In the evenings, she took cosmetic formulation courses to extend her knowledge and Tropic's product range. She initially made the products in her kitchen at home, and sold them on weekends at markets around London. Later, in 2007, she attended University College London and graduated in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics, followed by an FX sales and trading internship at Citigroup. [2]

In 2024, Ma became a mother to a daughter. [18]

Philanthropy

Ma created Tropic's Infinite Purpose: to help create a healthier, greener, more empowered world. This includes donating 10% of profits to charities and good causes. [19]

Tropic, its ambassadors and customers have funded 6.8 million days of education for children in remote parts of the world, in partnership with charity UWS. [19] It has also opened four schools - in Nepal, Cambodia and Madagascar, which Susie has visited. In 2023, Tropic created a 'Give Back Friday' campaign, [20] which led to funding over 70,000 additional school days. [21] The event was repeated in 2024, [22] with its target of 80,000 days being achieved.

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. [23]

Tropic also supports Resilient Reefs Foundation (formerly Reef Restoration Foundation), with whom it is growing a baby coral nursery in the Great Barrier Reef, close to where Ma grew up, in Cairns, Australia. [19] Tropic also supports Trussel (formerly The Trussel Trust) and the Winnie Mabaso Foundation. [24]

Ma has also taken on several Strive Challenges, raising funds for Big Change - a charity that helps young people thrive in life, not just exams - by completing endurance expeditions alongside Sir Richard Branson and other business leaders. [25]

Awards and accolades

In March 2025, Ma appeared at number nine on the inaugural The Sunday Times Beauty Rich List, with an estimated personal worth of £73m. [26]

The Sunday Times listed Ma as one of the 40 richest people in the UK under 40 in May 2024. [27]

In 2024, Ma appeared on J.P Morgan's Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses Report [28] and EY's SuperScalers Report. [29]

Ma won an EY Entrepreneur Award for 'Building a Better Working World' in 2018 and was selected as an Outstanding Entrepreneur at the Global Business Excellence Awards. [30] She was also chosen for the Startups.co.uk Young Guns Class of 2018. [31]

Ma was 'Highly Commended' for the Natural Health Awards 'Holistic Hero' for two years running (2018-2019), [32] and in 2019 was chosen as one of Management Today's 35 Women Under 35. [33]

Ma won 3 Stevie Awards for Women in Business in 2016, [34] with a further 5 awards also won in 2017. [35] In January 2018, she secured a place on 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, in the Retail and E-commerce category for her work with Tropic Skincare, and acted as a judge for 2019's list of honourees. [36]

Ma's business, Tropic Skincare, has won over 400 industry awards, from the likes of GLAMOUR, [37] woman&home, [38] Beauty Shortlist [39] and CEW. [40] 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. [41]

References

  1. ↑ "Susan Ma: from poverty in Shanghai to Lord Sugar's boardroom". 10 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Susie Ma: Tropic Skincare - Young Guns class of 2018". Young Guns by Startups.co.uk: Start up a successful business. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  3. ↑ "UK's fastest growing retail businesses revealed - Growth Index 2023 published today". 25 April 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  4. ↑ Smith, Sophie (22 August 2022). "Tropic sees EBITDA fall despite rise in annual sales". TheIndustry.beauty. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Media, P. A. (15 March 2025). "Charlotte Tilbury tops list of UK's richest beauty entrepreneurs". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  6. ↑ "BBC - The Apprentice 2011 - Candidates". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 Curran, Niamh (16 September 2025). "Apprentice finalist Susie Ma Lands £20m payday from beauty success". The Times. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Tropic Skincare Hosts Largest Annual Event In Birmingham for 11th Year". Birmingham World. 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  9. ↑ Smith, Sophie (14 May 2025). "Tropic to train 20,000+ ambassadors in skin cancer detection and sun safety". TheIndustry.beauty. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  10. ↑ Times, The Sunday (1 July 2022). "Tropic Skincare". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Fast Track Supplement" (PDF). Fast Track 100. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  12. ↑ "Tropic Skincare". London Stock Exchange Group. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  13. ↑ "Lord Sugar confident in startups after Brexit as he opens HQ". Evening Standard. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "Freshly Made". Tropic Skincare. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  15. ↑ Smith, Sophie (3 April 2023). "Lord Sugar sells stake in Tropic Skincare as the business focuses on growth". TheIndustry.beauty. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  16. ↑ Curran, Niamh (16 September 2025). "Apprentice finalist Susie Ma lands £20m payday from beauty success". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "I GOT IT FROM MY MAMA (AND MY GRANDMA, TOO)". Tropic Skincare. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  19. 1 2 3 Guides, Sennen Prickett published in Buying (23 November 2024). "Into natural beauty? These 6 Tropic Skincare products should be on your radar". Woman & Home. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  20. ↑ Smith, Sophie (20 November 2023). "Tropic Skincare takes different approach to Black Friday with new 'give back' scheme". TheIndustry.beauty. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  21. ↑ Burney, Chloe (5 December 2023). "Tropic's Give Back Friday initiative funds over 70,000 days of education". TheIndustry.beauty. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  22. ↑ "Behind Tropic Skincare's alternative Black Friday campaign". CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  23. ↑ "Celebrating International Women's Day". Tropic Skincare. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  24. ↑ "10% For The World". Tropic Skincare. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  25. ↑ Batchelor, Elizabeth (17 June 2022). "GDST Alumna of the Year". Croydon High School. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  26. ↑ Robert Watts (15 March 2025). "The Sunday Times Beauty Rich List 2025 revealed". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  27. ↑ Robert Watts; Matilda Davies (17 May 2024). "40 richest people under 40 in the UK". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  28. ↑ "Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses Report {". J.P. Morgan. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  29. ↑ Justin Moll. "EY report shows impact of leading UK women founders". www.ey.com. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  30. ↑ "Previous Winners". Global Business Excellence Awards. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  31. ↑ "Susie Ma: Tropic Skincare - Young Guns class of 2018". Startups. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  32. ↑ "Natural Health International Beauty Awards". www.naturalhealthmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  33. ↑ "35 Women Under 35 2019: The profiles". www.managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  34. ↑ "2016 Stevie Award Winners". Stevie Awards. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  35. ↑ "2017 Stevie Award Winners". Stevie Awards. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  36. ↑ Susan Ma: How Homemade Skincare Became A Major Beauty Business. Forbes. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  37. ↑ Stoddart, Emma-Jade (4 November 2024). "19 skincare winners that claim their place in the GLAMOUR Beauty Power List Awards 2024". Glamour UK. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  38. ↑ Features, Stephanie Maylor published in (26 September 2024). "Announcing our 2024 woman&home beauty awards winners!". Woman & Home. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  39. ↑ Singleton, Charlee (7 March 2025). "Beauty Shortlist announces Beauty, Wellness and Men's Products Awards Winners for 2025". Natural Products Online. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  40. ↑ Spencer, Madeleine (28 June 2024). "CEW Beauty Awards 2024: the best body, hair and skincare products to know". The Standard. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  41. ↑ Grace Warn (23 May 2022). "Marie Claire UK Prix D'Excellence Awards 2022: The Winners". Marie Claire UK. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
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