Meet the Gloss Boss: Vida Glow’s Anna Lahey on her multi-million dollar career secrets

Today, we’re all obsessed with collagen supplements for skin and joints, and even to improve sleep, but it wasn’t always the case, according to Anna Lahey: the millionaire brains behind the world’s number one bestselling marine collagen brand. When she co-founded Vida Glow’s range of collagen powder over a decade ago, at just 25, “no one believed in it,” she says. “It’s only become a beauty buzzword in the last five years.”

Lahey was an early adopter, having discovered collagen on a trip to Japan with her now husband (and business partner) Kieran. There, she explains, collagen drinks had long been known for their benefits for skin, nails and hair — but there was nothing like it back in Australia, where she’s based in Sydney.

Anna Lahey at home; and with her favourite beauty products.

At the time, she was also suffering from severe hair loss due to a rare blood clotting disease (called Von Willebrand), and had tried just about all the supplements for hair growth but nothing had worked. So, she took some collagen powder back to Sydney and within two months her hair had stopped shedding so dramatically.

This inspired her to investigate the science behind it — including investing in clinical trials — and to leave her job as a sales executive (she had a degree in International Studies, majoring in political economy and business) before developing her own science-backed formula for a collagen powder to be dissolved in water, made from sustainably sourced fish skin.

Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Original Food Supplement, £39

In 2014, she launched Vida Glow with the Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Original Food Supplement, £39, for firmer skin, stronger nails and hair. Today, one box is sold every four seconds around the world.

“I remember that day very well because it was our wedding!” Anna laughs. This wasn’t planned, but everything had run late. “We ended up launching the website at 11am from the church, then Kieran spent the entire day managing sales on Shopify”.

This dedication has paid off: they launched in China a few years later, then the UK in 2023 — now their fastest growing market — and have sold over 20 million units globally, worth over 1.5 billion Australian dollars (£750m).

They’ve since expanded their ingestible beauty offering to support all sorts of concerns (in powder, liquid and capsule form) from anti-ageing to gut health, stress and sleep. For example, their new Vida Glow Women’s Health Capsules Sleep Food Supplement, £30, is inspired by Anna’s own sleepless nights with four children at primary school age. (You can read about the other best natural sleep supplements here.)

Vida Glow also boasts celebrity fans from singer Pixie Lott to Rita Ora, with whom Anna also went into business last year, launching Rita Ora’s haircare line Typebea, to support people with thinning, damaged hair. The pair met at an event while Ora was in Australia filming The Voice, as a judge, and bonded over their passion for hair, with Ora having seen her mother’s experience of hair loss following chemotherapy.

Having experienced further postpartum hair loss after her pregnancies, Anna understood the emotional impact of this on women. She wanted to find a safe and effective topical solution to use in addition to supplements. Their Typebea G1 Overnight Boosting Peptide Serum, £43, promises to reduce hair loss by 60 per cent in three months.

From left to right, Keiran Lahey, Anna Lahey, Rita Ora, Taika Waititi (image: Instagram @anna.lahey).

“It does seem like it’s all been very successful — but for every success, there have been ten failures!” confesses Anna, who manages a staff of 50 with a fast-paced schedule that involves travelling across time zones.

“Balancing work and family is always challenging, but I’ve learned to adapt: taking calls in the airport, responding to emails between school drop-offs and ensuring that I’m fully present at home. It’s not always perfect but I make it work”.

So how on earth does Lahey, now 36, get it all done? Let’s find out…

My lightbulb moment

“The inspiration for Vida Glow came 12 years ago from that experience of severe hair loss, which was incredibly distressing and impacted my confidence. I tried extensions but they made it worse because my hair was so fragile. Every time I’d wash my hair, clumps would fall out and block the drain — it felt like there was no end to it.”

“Then when I started taking marine collagen the results were incredible: it transformed my skin, my nails were stronger and the hair thinning was finally manageable. From there I became obsessed! That sparked my idea for the business.”

Anna Lahey at her first stall for Vida Glow (image: Vida Glow ‘Firsts and Lasts with Anna Lahey: Celebrate 10 years of Vida Glow’).

My biggest crisis

“As an entrepreneur, you have to be ready for things to go wrong and they will: like the time we misprinted 1000 units of our unflavoured Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Original Food Supplement packaging with the Vida Glow Natural Marine Collagen Peach Food Supplement label. It was a crisis at the time but now feels like a small blip. The key is resilience: you have to move on, pivot when needed and accept failures as part of the process. If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.”

Lark or owl?

“Honestly, neither. With four children the mornings feel like running a marathon and the bedtime routine takes hours. I focus on being productive in the middle of the day, so work through lunch and eat at my desk or in the office kitchen with my team. This helps me be more present with my kids at home.”

“I try to be in bed by 10 pm and unwind by reading, journalling or meditating. With a global business that requires early morning and late-night calls, it’s not always possible, but that’s the goal.”

How I get sh*t done

“Tackle the hardest things first. I do this, and I tell my team and kids to do the same. When I feel overwhelmed, I let myself sit with that feeling and then use it to reprioritise. I remind myself that the to-do list will still be there tomorrow, so I focus on getting through what’s most important. Discipline and organisation are essential. I stay grounded by remembering that overwhelm is temporary, but progress comes from consistent effort.”

What I tell my doubters (including myself!)

“My husband Kieran once shared a quote with me: ‘In the horse race of life, you can always bet on self-interest’. It reminds me to stay true to myself and focus on what’s right for me, instead of trying to please everyone else.”

“In the early days, no one believed in Vida Glow, not even our families. That doubt became motivation to prove them wrong. People have always underestimated my strength, but I have a clear vision and self-belief: what others think of you is none of your business.”

What I do to stay sane

“I believe that small, positive decisions can build momentum. Even just getting up half an hour earlier than the kids at 6am and dancing in front of the mirror puts me in a great mindset for the day. I love reading philosophy books, too, like The Power of Awareness by Neville Goddard, to help shift my mindset.”

Favourite apps

“To avoid doom-scrolling, I’m using Duolingo to learn Spanish. It’s so satisfying and keeps my brain engaged with a dopamine hit that feels productive! Insight Timer is another great one for mindfulness: I use it every night before bed to relax.”

How I put my game face on

“I keep it simple. Before a big meeting, I look in the mirror and tell myself: ‘You’ve got this.’ It’s about approving of yourself and showing up with confidence. This is a mindset, not about perfection, but being present and prepared.”

Anna and Kieran Lahey with their four children (image: Instagram @anna.lahey).

The last time I cried

“Lately I feel like I’m crying often — mostly tears of joy or pride in my children, sometimes sadness or frustration. It’s a natural emotional release. I don’t shy away from it.”

Three things you’d find on my desktop

“I keep family photos on my desk, it’s actually one of the only places I have them. A sachet of our most advanced marine collagen solution Vida Glow Pro Collagen+ Oral Powder is never far, as it helps me to take it consistently. On my virtual desktop, I’m very organised with nine folders that contain everything from work to family documents and household files.”

My work/life boundaries

“To be honest, there are no clear boundaries. Running your own business is all-consuming and in many ways, I let it be — that’s one of the reasons for my success. From the beginning, I didn’t want there to be boundaries because I was so passionate. I’m mindful not to promote toxic productivity, but the idea of perfect boundaries isn’t always realistic, especially when you’re building something for the future. You shouldn’t feel guilty for that.”

My dream boss

“Emma Grede is a British businesswoman and founding partner of Kim Kardashian’s Skims. I follow her on Instagram, where she shares great advice. She’s so real and doesn’t sugar-coat the realities of work. I admire that honesty.”

My one piece of advice

“There’s a quote by author Earl Nightingale: ‘Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal.’ Essentially it means that success is subjective and if you’re working towards a goal that means something to you, you’re successful. You don’t need to be comparing yourself to others. And your goals can also change. Mine have as my kids have got older: now I want to be more present with them — and that is just as worthy as running a multi-million-dollar business.”

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