Simple idea sees Julia’s business set for take-off

Date Published: 17-Mar-2011

 Anybody who has ever lined up to go through security at an airport will recognise that Julia McAndrew is onto a winner with her simple, yet brilliant idea of Compleat Travel Essentials.

If you have rummaged in your weekend bag under the watchful eye of a security man to find that offensive moisturiser tube that’s too big to be allowed onto the plane, you will see the value in her men’s and ladies’ travel pack which contain everything you need for a short break and which are airport approved.

Like many of the best business ideas, this was born from Julia’s own need and from a gap that this frequent flyer saw in the market.

The Mayo born businesswoman, who spent many years in London and Australia before returning to Ireland, runs a successful jewellery business, which involves lots of travelling.

The mother of two points out that she’d spend hours getting ready to go abroad, only to get to the airport and spend ages in a queue at the security gates, getting frustrated as people were forced to scrabble in bags and throw out large-size toiletries. And despite being an experienced traveller, that has happened to her too.

“You end up binning stuff and buying big bottles again at the other side, stuff that you either have to bin in hotels there or carry it again to the airport and dump it there.”

The other alternative, if you are a weekend traveller, is to buy miniature containers, and decant your cleansers, moisturiser and shaving foam into them. The problem with doing that you invariably end up spilling half the product in the process. Or you might make a mad dash to the shop the day before your go to the airport, to pick up a selection of miniature cosmetics, forgetting half what you need.

Then when you come home tired and ready for bed, you have to empty your bag to access your toiletries and your toothbrush.

Among the items that people forget when they are going away – or coming home – are their toothbrush and toothpaste.

“You know how it is. You say to yourself, ‘I’ll pack them after I wash my teeth’ and then you forget.

But all of these difficulties will be consigned to the past, if Julia has anything to do with it. Her Compleat Travel Essentials are miniature packs that are designed for both men and women travellers, containing face and body wipes, a deodorant wipe, moisturiser, toothbrush, toothpaste and tooth pick, and in the case of women, an emery board and nail polish remover pad, while the men have a shaving kit, complete with Gillette razor, and comb.

There’s a marketing blurb on the back of the pack which talks about the importance of feeling beautiful, as though these products will wave a magic wand and do that. It’s unnecessary – these packs don’t need that kind of hype to sell them. They should sell because they have everything you need for a couple of days away from home and their products have all been tried and tested by Julia to ensure that they are of a high standard.

For instance, the face and body wipes are organic and biodegradable with high water purity and all flushable. The moisturiser is good quality and will last for several days. The crystal deodorant wipe, which lasts for 24 hours, contains no aluminium and has been endorsed by cancer treatment centres in America, where it is sourced. These can be re-ordered individually, says Julia.

Even the plastic bag that contains the Compleat Travel Essentials is biodegradable. It comes from the Far East as this was the only place she could source it. Apart from the deodorant, the rest of the items in the packs are from Europe and are to a European standard, she explains.

“I started and had them ready and in some of the shops in late 2009, but it was in its infancy then.”

Since then she has refined the packs and is finally happy with the finished product, so she launched it last week at Galway Airport. But while Compleat Travel Essentials were initially designed for air travellers, the packs are versatile. They would be perfect if you were in Oxegen, for instance, and are ideal for people who are in hospital.

Compleat Travel Essentials are stocked in a range of shops and are also available in hotels such as the Radisson in Galway and Dublin. That came about through Julia’s connection with the Radisson in Galway which already stocked her jewellery in its display cabinets.

“They were looking for stuff for their cabinets in Dublin,” she explains, “and we decided to focus on what people miss most when they are in hotels.”

Other clients include Ireland West Airport in Knock, The DAA, The Best Western, the Hilton and Belfast’s George Best Airport. On Saturday afternoon she was making a delivery to Whelan’s Pharmacy in Williamsgate Street, Galway City.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.