Hi! I’m Alice, the maker behind Suetly Tallow.
Like most good stories, mine started with a problem I desperately wanted to solve as a mum of a young family.
My husband, our son and our daughter have all struggled with eczema and incredibly dry, itchy skin. There were nights when the itching kept them awake, scratching their little arms and legs until their skin was raw and broken.
As a mum, watching your children suffer is really, really hard.
We tried all sorts of things, from vitamins and coconut oil to oatmeal baths. Some did nothing. Some made things worse. And bleach baths? Nope. We did not go there. 😅
Prescribed steroid creams brought relief, but I longed for something natural I could feel good about using on my family’s delicate skin every day.
I stumbled across beef tallow during my research and bought a jar of cooking tallow from Pak’n Save. And let me tell you, my poor kids smelled like Sunday roast for two weeks! Little did I know that cosmetic-grade tallow is processed very differently. Let’s just say I learned a LOT after that.
And then, one night at 4am…
While working full-time in Quality Assurance in Hamilton NZ, surrounded by botanical herbs and natural ingredients, I had a rather random idea that literally woke me up at 4am:
Why don’t I combine the things I already love to help with my family’s skin struggles?
What if I brought together beautifully rendered NZ grass-fed tallow, traditional superherbs and ancient superfoods to create skincare that could nourish and care for my family’s sensitive skin?
Something natural, thoughtfully formulated and lovely enough to use every day.
And so, Suetly Tallow was born.
The name is a cheeky little play on suet — the prized kidney fat used to make tallow — and sweet. Because I wanted to turn traditional ingredients that can be a little earthy, smelly or old-fashioned into something beautiful, enjoyable and downright delightful to the senses.
Tallow, but make it gorgeous. 😉
From our family to yours
In July 2025, I was made redundant. Not quite the career change I’d planned, but sometimes life gives you a little nudge towards the thing you’ve been dreaming about.
So I took Suetly seriously. There were countless prototypes, market days, customer chats and plenty of failed batches.
After about a year of experimenting, our first product was finally born: Cacay + Avocado Whipped Tallow Balm. Soft, creamy, beautifully scented — and definitely nothing like Sunday roast!
Today,
Suetly is a little family business inspired by traditional medicine, lovingly infused with traditional superherbs and ancient superfoods, and thoughtfully formulated with modern skin science.
Created by a crunchy (although sometimes, scrunchy), millennial Mum in the Waikato who just deeply cared about what went onto her family’s skin.
We believe skincare can be natural and effective, simple and thoughtful, and bring a little bit of joy to your everyday routine. Because skincare should feel good, too.
Whether you’re new here or have been with us since the very beginning, thank you for being here and supporting what we do and make for everyday New Zealand families. We wouldn’t be here without you! x
x Alice