How a PCOS Diagnosis and a Pair of Scissors Built a 20 Million Dollar Beauty Brand

Melbourne husband and wife team Kasey and Michael Giarratana built beauty brand Xali Organics from 13,000 dollars in first year revenue to more than 20 million dollars in annual sales, without raising outside capital or signing a single retail partnership.

The pair launched the company in 2022, selling their home to fund the business in its earliest days. The idea grew out of Kasey's own experience being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal condition that affected her skin and hair. The diagnosis led her to eliminate conventional beauty products and start developing her own, after she identified a gap in the market for clean, transparent skincare.

Kasey Giarratana has said she saw a clear disconnect between what beauty brands were claiming and what their products actually delivered, and set out to build something that closed that gap.

Cutting off the lashes to prove a point

Xali built consumer trust in a notoriously low trust category through an unconventional marketing stunt, when Michael filmed himself cutting off Kasey's eyelashes on camera. She then applied the brand's lash serum to only one eye for eight weeks to demonstrate the product's effect side by side.

From four figures to eight

The growth curve was steep. Within nine months of launch, monthly revenue climbed from under 1,000 dollars to more than 1 million dollars. The company has now sold nearly 400,000 units in total, including more than 190,000 of its bestselling Lash Serum, which alone accounts for roughly half of all sales. The brand has since expanded into wider skincare, haircare and beauty products formulated with peptides and collagen, all built and scaled in under four years.