TanOrganic

TanOrganic is an Irish self-tanning brand founded in 2010 by former beauty therapist Noelle O'Connor and based in Dublin [1]. It is owned by The Kind Brand Company Ltd. and positions itself, in its own words, as "the world's first & only Eco Certified, organic self-tan brand" [2]. The company builds its range around plant oils and botanicals rather than conventional tanning formulas, and remains active, with founder involvement and press coverage continuing into 2026.

O'Connor launched the brand after her time running medi spas, where, according to the company, she saw skin damage caused by harsh chemicals and set out to make a gentler alternative. TanOrganic first reached a wide audience through television: it appeared on RTÉ's Irish edition of Dragons' Den in 2010, an appearance that became central to the brand's story.

Noelle O'Connor, a former beauty therapist, created TanOrganic in 2010 [1]. The founding account the company tells centres on her spa work: having watched clients' skin suffer from aggressive tanning products, she developed self-tan formulas built on organic ingredients instead. She brought the young business onto RTÉ's Dragons' Den the same year, securing a €50,000 investment from Gavin Duffy in exchange for 45% of the company [8]. In the three months after the episode aired, TanOrganic reportedly generated around €1 million in sales [9].

The Dragons' Den investment proved short-lived as a partnership: O'Connor bought out Duffy's stake in 2014 [9]. In August 2018 she returned to television, this time on the BBC's UK version of the show, and according to Her.ie became the first entrepreneur to appear on Dragons' Den twice [9]. She received offers from four of the five dragons but turned them all down, later explaining, "I wasn't prepared to undervalue the company" [10]. The company marked its tenth anniversary in April 2020 and was, at that point, preparing to launch in Poland and Germany [10].

TanOrganic operates under The Kind Brand Company Ltd., registered at Merrion Road in Dublin 4 [2]. The business has remained independent and founder-led; no acquisitions are recorded, and O'Connor continues to represent the brand publicly.

The company frames itself around skin health and environmental impact, summarised in its stated view that "people and the planet come first before margins" [2]. Its founding principle, as the brand puts it, is that "if you care about what you eat, you should care about what you put on your skin." TanOrganic describes its approach as combining science with natural ingredients, and lists core values including skin nourishment, environmental responsibility and what it calls "TanKind," a focus on kindness to consumers. The brand sums up its product idea as "a little bit of sunshine in every bottle."

TanOrganic centres on self-tan, with a line that the company says has grown to more than twelve products, including options aimed at pregnancy, sensitive skin and menopause. Signature items include the Self-Tan Oil, Self-Tan Lotion, Self Tan Mousse and an Instant Tan. The formulas are built on botanicals such as aloe vera juice, argan oil, borage seed oil and sweet orange peel oil, with dihydroxyacetone (DHA) as the active tanning agent. The brand states that its products are ECOCERT certified, vegan and cruelty-free, and carry Vegan Society and Cruelty-Free International accreditation [7]. It also markets its self-tan as dermatologist-tested and suitable for sensitive skin.

Environmental messaging is central to TanOrganic's positioning. The company says it uses glass, sugarcane polymer and bamboo packaging chosen for recyclability, and offers eco-refill pouches. It also describes a plastic-removal initiative: through a recycling social enterprise in Goa, India, the brand states that it removes "one pound of ocean-bound plastic from the environment" for each bottle sold, framing this as both an environmental measure and a source of income for waste pickers and their families [3].

O'Connor and TanOrganic have drawn Irish media coverage, much of it tied to the Dragons' Den appearances. Her.ie covered the 2018 UK episode and the public reaction to it, and The Currency published a 2020 interview profiling O'Connor as "the woman who spurned four British dragons" [9][10]. The brand has also continued to appear on Irish television, featuring on RTÉ's Today show in 2026.

TanOrganic is active. Its e-commerce site remains in operation, with blog posts dated as recently as March 2026 and ongoing television press, and the brand distributes through a mix of direct online sales and third-party stockists across Ireland, the UK, Europe, the United States and Australia. Stockists listed include pharmacy chains and department stores in Ireland and the UK alongside retailers such as Ulta Beauty and Sephora in North America.