A CHANCE conversation with a herbalist has seen a Bolton entrepreneur develop a potentially world-beating business.

Rosie Greenhalgh had already made a name for herself, after starting the Lady Muck salon in Halliwell Road, after leaving university at the age of 22.

But it was while chatting with a supplier, when aficionados were beginning to gravitate from sunbeds to spray tans, that the seeds for a new direction were planted.

And now after more than a little trial and error with formulations she has brought Rose and Caramel to the market. with one of her best friends, Carmel Lawson, 32.

Their line includes a pioneering tan removing bubble bath and has attracted interest from Pretty Little Thing and Amazon, among others.

The Purity Prep and Perfect spray was also highly commended in the Pure Beauty Awards last month, with nominations also secured in the best bath product and best new retailers' own product categories.

Rosie, now 35, said: "We love making girls feel good, and for me a spray tan is a confidence thing - it gives you that boost."

The pairing prides itself on continuing to use 'real women' from Greater Manchester in their promotional campaigns, from their summer publicity drive to a 'tanaholic' blitz for Halloween.

Her start in the spray tan game came when her herbalist friend announced he was looking to retire, offering to sell her the business and train Rosie and Carmel up, as well as putting them in touch with suppliers and manufacturers.

Rosie added: “Everyone thought I was crazy at first but it linked me in with all the suppliers so it was kind of a head start."

This led to efforts to develop the world's first cream-based spray tan, giving all the benefits of a cream tan in a spray and Rose and Caramel was born.

Rosie now solely focuses on the new outfit and last year the partnership with Carmel saw them shift 20,000 products through their own website and more via other online avenues.

She added: "We don’t use a lot of celebrity influencers, we use real girls with real results and that has been the big seller for us."