Knowing When to Pivot: Building Simply Olive & Bee with Claire Osterstock

How do you know when a successful business has run its course, and when it is time to back the next opportunity? In this episode of *The Glass Ceiling*, I’m joined by Claire Osterstock, founder and director of **Simply Olive & Bee**, for a conversation about business evolution, women's health, manufacturing and the reality of building a product from an idea into an international business. Claire spent more than two decades working as a physiotherapist across Australia and the UK and, for 14 years, owned Adelaide Physiotherapy & Pilates Studio. Through her work in women's health, she repeatedly heard the same question from women looking for a more natural intimate moisturiser and lubricant. That clinical experience ultimately became the catalyst for **Olive & Bee Intimate Cream**. But there was no instant leap from idea to hundreds of retailers. Claire began developing the product while continuing to run her physiotherapy business. She worked with compounding chemists, asked questions, built connections, learnt about clinical trials and started manufacturing from home, complete with machinery in the garage and plenty of trial and error along the way. We talk about why business owners sometimes need to recognise when a model that once worked needs to change, and why Claire believes businesses today have to become increasingly comfortable with reinvention. Claire also shares how Simply Olive & Bee moved from direct sales to health professionals and eventually into pharmacies. Rather than trying to convince retailers to stock an unknown product, the business focused on educating doctors, physiotherapists, nurses and other health professionals. Patients then began walking into pharmacies asking for the product by name. Today, **Olive & Bee Intimate Cream is stocked in more than 700 stores across Australia and sold internationally**, with the UK becoming an important market. We also explore the less glamorous but incredibly important side of scaling a product business: cash flow, inventory, supply chains, export labelling, manufacturing capacity and maintaining enough stock to protect the business when supply chains become unpredictable. Claire has deliberately built manufacturing capacity at Simply Olive & Bee's Mount Barker facility beyond its current requirements, allowing the business to respond quickly to larger orders and new international opportunities. And she isn't stopping there. With new products being developed and opportunities emerging around private label and contract manufacturing, Claire is once again asking the question that has shaped much of her entrepreneurial journey: Claire Osterstock is the founder and director of **Simply Olive & Bee**. **Simply Olive & Bee:** https://oliveandbee.com.au/ **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-osterstock-b4a61a4a/ **Instagram:** https://www.instagram.com/olivebeeandme/ **Facebook:** https://www.facebook.com/oliveandbee Produced by Wavebreaker Productions  #TheGlassCeilingPodcast #SimplyOliveAndBee #OliveAndBee #FemaleFounders #WomenInBusiness #AustralianBusiness #SouthAustralianBusiness #AustralianMade #AustralianManufacturing #WomensHealth #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #MenopauseAwareness #FounderStory #MountBarker In this episode, you will hear about:About Claire OsterstockConnect with Claire Osterstock