Sonia Amoroso was a university student living off $50 a week when the idea of starting her own business came to mind.
While studying communications, she brought her hugely successful health and beauty brands – Naturopathica with its famous FatBlaster, and Skin Doctors – to the market through her majors in research and advertising.
‘I guess the boldness of youth made the process a little less overwhelming. When you are young and don’t have a lot of responsibilities, you really don’t have a lot to lose,’ Sonia told FEMAIL.
‘Both businesses I started were from home – the first was a little more challenging as I was in a dilapidated house and had no income other than Austudy payments of about $50 a week.
‘I had very little start-up capital, but I was very fortunate to be studying… so I was able to create advertising as part of my university projects which really saved me from having to invest in designers or agencies.’
All she had to do was place the advertisements, which saw her take a small ad, generate income from it, and invest that into more and larger ads.
‘It was a slower build but I was able to grow the brands organically like this. I never took on investors or funding, so I was able to limit my risk.’
Her hard work paid off after she sold her two businesses to pursue a new venture. Fast forward to today, and Sonia is the CEO of freezeframe, Australia’s top-rated clinical skincare brand, stocked in major retailers including Chemist Warehouse and Priceline.
With a decade of experience working in the beauty industry, Sonia knew she wanted to create a skincare line that’s clinically proven, affordable, designed as effective alternatives to aesthetic treatments, and delivers real results for customers.
‘I had spent 10 years researching and developing skincare and I felt there was something missing,’ Sonia recalled.
‘Being in my 30s at the time, I wanted products that could extend my youth corridor and keep me looking young well into my 40s, 50s and even 60s. I wanted to develop what I like to call a line of youth extension products, or “youth extenders”.
‘I also felt that you shouldn’t have to pay ridiculous prices to get results.’
And so freezeframe was born in 2009.
‘When I started the brand, I already had 10 years of skincare development under my belt, so the innovation was familiar, and I had very strong relationships with the best ingredient suppliers around the world,’ Sonia said.
‘I knew what ingredients worked and I had access to them – so I became determined to develop focused, multi-benefit products which would deliver extraordinary results, and keep women looking good and feeling confident throughout the years.
‘freezeframe is about keeping your skin and body looking better for longer. The brand delivers products that are targeted problem solvers, so customers don’t need a whole range of products or a complicated routine to achieve their goals.’
However, starting the new skincare business wasn’t easy, despite having already built two of Australia’s most successful brands.
‘It was still a challenge as I went from having a team of 120, to starting up again with one employee from my spare room at home,’ she explained.
‘Honestly, as hard as it was, it was the most exciting time in the business and I thrived on collaborating with ingredient laboratories on breakthrough new ingredients, and retailers in bringing the brand to life in store.’
She started freezeframe with just one product: INHIBOX, which launched exclusively at upscale department chain Myer.
‘I remember working late nights and weekends with the buyer to bring it to life. There is no doubt it was hard, but it was such a thrill,’ Sonia said.
‘Within a month we had the biggest selling skincare product in Myer. I am not going to lie, beating global giants like Estée Lauder to the top spot felt good.
‘We launched the brand as a single product and over the following years, we launched targeted solutions, one at a time, to build a whole range of youth extending products covering the gamut of beauty concerns.’
After building multiple businesses over the past 20 years, there are many life lessons she wishes she had known from the start.
‘You think that pouring everything into your business is what you must do in the beginning, but it’s actually counter-intuitive. You need balance in order to manage the weight or you are just going to tip over,’ she said.
‘Also in the beauty industry, you are only as good as your last breakthrough – keeping a focus on your customers’ needs and striving to deliver results for them is the only way to achieve long term success.
‘We have to ask ourselves why we do what we do – what difference can we make in people’s life. It has to be about more than just success or money.
‘I now know the importance of impact and whilst I may not have known this in the beginning, I am grateful that I do now.’
As a busy working mum, Sonia said no day is typical for a CEO.
‘There are so many elements to my role, from coming up with new products and discovering new active ingredients, to developing marketing campaigns. Of course, there is all the corporate and financial elements I need to tick off as well,’ she said.
‘I tail end the day doing all the usual mum things for my beautiful 12-year-old daughter, who starts high school this year – and yes, I still pack her lunch and do the school run back and forth.’
Despite her hectic work schedule and parenting, she still finds time to work out before leaving home every morning.
‘I try to meditate and exercise before getting out the door as this really sets the day up for success,’ she explained.
Now, 15 years after founding freezeframe, the brand is recognised as one of Australia’s best skincare brands, with celebrities like Sonia Kruger among its fans.
What started as one product has now evolved into more than 20 best-selling items, with REVITALEYES being named the nation’s number one eye cream four years in a row.
The award-winning beauty formula has been praised for its ability to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and under-eye darkness in just 30 minutes.
The brand’s latest product to hit the market is the ‘game changing’ PRO COLLAGEN SUNCEUTICAL, which has been a ‘six year labour of love’ for Sonia.
‘I suffer from debilitating chemical sensitivities and cannot use chemical sunscreens… Over the years I have become increasingly frustrated with the lack of comfortable mineral sunscreens,’ she said.
‘Often a mineral sunscreen will be thick or greasy, and create a white cast on the skin. You might put up with this on the beach – but nobody wants their skin to look and feel like this on a daily basis.
‘So the project began.’
freezeframe created a product that was not just a tinted skin perfector with a mineral sunscreen, but a serious cosmeceutical which delivered clinically proven results, including smoother skin in 30 minutes, and a dramatic face lifting effect in 28 days.
During the trials, 75 per cent of participants agreed with the statement, ‘It looks like I’ve had a facelift,’ after using the product for 28 days.*
Not only has freezeframe products taken out the number one spots almost every year, but Sonia has won numerous awards herself, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year and Most Influential CEO of 2023 by CEO Monthly.
Her biggest reward is the millions of women she’s helped feel more confident and look amazing.
*Clinical Testing 20 women – 47 – 62 year old application twice per day, 28 days half face application.
Use SPF as directed, reapply often, stay out of direct sunlight where possible. SPF is only one form of sun protection. Wear protective clothing when outdoors.
