The Company We Keep: Holly’s unexpected journey

By Colin Ford

Ask Holly Thomas – engineer, entrepreneur, brewer and business manager – where her happy place is and she’ll tell you, “running”.

“My running is my life,” she says. “It keeps me happy, sane and driven. When you wake up early and go for a run, I feel like you just have a better day.”

Running was what connected us with Holly. We met her via our own Stella Carter, who runs with her at Jeppe Quondam Athletics Club. 

Holly not only runs every morning, she also runs two businesses and – because she’s not busy enough – brews beer on the side. But while Holly ended up in business with her parents, Kevin and Maryke – who own Zippy Labels and Kiki Beauty – her career path has not run in a particularly straight line.

“When I left school I had my sights set on a career in medicine,” she says. “Unfortunately I didn’t get into medical school, which left me at a bit of a loose end. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I ended up in chemical engineering. I was good at maths, and I enjoyed science, so it made sense.”

But, once again, life had other plans. After graduating, Holly’s mom offered her a role in her cosmetics start-up.

“My mom had always been passionate about cosmetics and wanted to start her own company,” she says. “Since I had a chemical engineering background, my folks asked if I wanted to get involved in the cosmetic side of things.”

This led to the birth of Kiki Beauty, a skincare brand she helped formulate and develop. But just as Kiki Beauty was gaining momentum, disaster struck.

“In November 2016, there was a massive flood,” Holly recalls. “It washed away huge machines at Zippy Labels and our premises were completely flooded. We submitted a 100% claim on insurance, but it was still incredibly stressful.”

With Zippy Labels in crisis mode, Holly had to shift gears.

“Because that business was the main source of income, I got pulled into helping out,” she explains. “The flood meant moving operations, retrenching staff and dealing with the financial strain of business interruption. It was a living nightmare!”

Holly says she is really glad they had the right amount of insurance. “Being insured for the right amount is essential. You need to ask yourself – how long is my business interruption cover? Will it be enough to sustain my business if disaster strikes?”

Zippy Labels took four months to relocate and restart operations.

“Machinery takes months to arrive from Germany and China,” she says. “We lost two digital printing machines, and when we replaced them, we had to juggle finances carefully, managing cash flow, VAT payments and insurance claims. It took us about three years to fully recover.”

Weathering COVID-19 and finding stability

Just as Zippy Labels was getting back on its feet, COVID-19 hit. Fortunately, the company was classified as an essential business, supplying labels for food and sanitisers.

“We actually got a big order for hospital sanitiser labels, which helped us keep running while many other businesses struggled,” Holly explains.

Today, Zippy Labels employs 42 staff and has expanded beyond labels into flexible packaging like sachets, shrink sleeves and wrappers.

“We’ve been in business for 30 years,” she says proudly. “We must have a celebration!”

Despite her growing responsibilities at Zippy Labels, Holly still runs Kiki Beauty. “I split my time – four days a week at Zippy, one day at Kiki,” she says.

“When we started Kiki Beauty, we were storing all our cosmetics stock at home in the garage, and suddenly, after the flood, I was left to run the company on my own. I had no experience at the time and was juggling both businesses.”

Despite the challenges, Holly saw an opportunity. “Online shopping wasn’t what it is today, but I knew we had to pivot,” she says. “I focused on e-commerce, and my brother, who is great at photography, helped me create a strong online presence.”

Today, the brand is mainly run through Instagram (@KikiBeautySA) and a website, but Holly admits she’d love to learn more about digital marketing. (Although, having said that, Kiki Beauty has a massive following and an extremely user-friendly e-commerce platform – so she is definitely doing something right.)

While it wasn’t an overnight success, Kiki Beauty gained traction, securing followers, sales, and brand recognition.

“I ran it completely on my own for years, while gradually getting more involved in Zippy Labels,” she says.

Howzit my brew

Holly and her fiancé, Alan, also started a small brewery.

“As a chemical engineer, I understand brewing,” she says. “We set up a 70-litre brewing system at Kiki’s premises. Alan, who used to work in the milk industry, handles calibration and equipment, while I focus on the process.”

While it remains a side project, brewing is something they’re passionate about. “Last year was crazy, but we’re planning to do more batches this year.”

At the end of the day, Holly never expected to be running two businesses (plus a brewery), but she’s embraced the journey.

“I studied engineering to do my own thing, but the family business called me back,” she laughs. “And I’m grateful! I have flexibility, purpose and a career that constantly challenges me.”

Whether it’s packaging, cosmetics, running or brewing, one thing is clear: Holly thrives on balancing multiple passions while adapting to whatever life throws her way.

The Company We Keep is a column on the CN&CO blog that profiles some of the most interesting people in our networks. Here we share the details of the lives of people we know, showcasing the extraordinary diversity of our society and proving that people truly are at the heart of everything we do.