Maxine Laceby

Laceby worked in sales when she was young and gave up her job at 25, then spent many years at home raising her children full time. After her children had grown up and left home, she began a fine art degree at university at the age of 50.⁠[1][1][2]

Her fine art course led Laceby to re-examine her lifestyle. At around 50 she began simmering chicken feet and pigs’ trotters at home to make a broth she drank, and noticed visible improvements in her skin, hair, and nails; friends soon came to her door asking for some. She attributed the effect to the collagen in the broth, then researched collagen supplements on the market, found many had low concentrations and many bulking agents, and set out to create a pure product with high bioavailability. The business was founded in 2015.⁠[1][1][2][1][1][3][3]

In May 2017, Laceby and her daughter Darcy launched Absolute Collagen, selling ready-mixed sachets of hydrolysed marine collagen directly through its website and promoting them on social media. She said she could not afford a retail store or a distributor and had to do it herself from home; believing that “beauty should not be pocket deep,” she refused to cut the collagen content to make more money.⁠[2][1][3][1][1][1]

The company turned over about £500,000 in its first financial year and £2.5 million in its second; by January 2020 it was on track to reach £10 million in its third financial year and had just launched in the United States. It initially shipped products itself from her home in Wolverhampton, refusing to outsource distribution so that it could add handwritten notes and small gifts and reply to every customer message; as stock grew, the company bought premises in Telford.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1]

In 2019, Absolute Collagen won Best New Beauty Supplement (Mass & Prestige) at the CEW Awards.⁠[3]

In December 2020, the private equity firm Livingbridge made a minority investment in Absolute Collagen, with Alantra advising the company; the amount was not disclosed. The company was then mainly a subscription-based direct-to-consumer business selling marine collagen supplements and had launched a collagen facial serum.⁠[4][3][3][3]

In 2023, Absolute Collagen was named in FEBE’s Growth 100 list of fast-growing businesses. The Birmingham-based family business continued to grow after its private equity investment, with turnover reaching £22.2 million in 2022. As of October 2026, Laceby and Darcy remained the company’s co-founders, and the company had B Corp certification.⁠[5][5][2][2]

On May 19, 2026, The Venture RoomThe Venture RoomThe Venture Room is a UK entrepreneurial media brand centered on the YouTube channel @theventureroom. Through long-form interviews with founders and street interviews such as “Asking Millionaires How They Got Rich?”, it presents entrepreneurs’ stories and advice to aspiring business owners, and runs an entrepreneur community and brand partnerships.Open the full entry released a street-interview video filmed in Piccadilly, London, in which Laceby was one of the interviewees. She said on the program that she started her business at 49 and made her first million at 56; that she and her daughter created the brand in their kitchen with no business experience, and no one believed in them because they were launching into a market that did not exist. She said she put a total of £249,000 into the business, remortgaging her house and selling her motorbike and engagement ring; the company received investment in 2020, and the family sold some shares.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6][6][6]

She said she came from a poor background and believed her childhood taught her to read a room, an emotional intelligence that has “never, ever let me down”; she added that getting older brings more experience and that she does not see imposter syndrome as a problem.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6]

On playing to your strengths: “It’s knowing what you’re good at and bringing great people in to support the things you’re not good at.” (at 04:01 in the video)⁠[6]

On finding opportunities: “Whatever you and your friends think you need is the project for you. There’s always a market for something missing, and it’s generally the people who feel it’s missing who create it.” (at 04:25 in the video)⁠[6]

On communication: “A lot of wealthy people don’t know what to do with money, and there’s an opportunity to educate them; but whoever you work with, you have to find the language they want to be spoken to in.” (at 05:09 in the video)⁠[6][6]

Absolute Collagen: Official website: https://www.absolutecollagen.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2]