PODCAST – Inclusive sustainability: Founder of MONO Skincare on how a green monopoly can hurt start-ups

Debuting on the market later this year, MONO is a skin care brand that offers a range of microbiome-friendly skin care tablets that are activated by dissolving them in room-temperature water.

“What it means is that you can buy the bottle once. So essentially, we are going to stop using single-use plastic in the beauty industry,” ​said founder Laurie Mias.

Mias developed the brand while working in the hospitality sector, where single-use plastic and wastage is a rampant issue.

“I made it my mission at some point to discover the perfect skin care brand that would focus on ageing with scientifically proven results and yet have a positive impact on the environment… I couldn't find anything that ticked all the boxes, so I figured there was some room for such a thing, and I decided to take matters into my own hands.”​

Developing an effective skin care brand with Mias’ ambitious eco-friendly goals was not an easy journey for the start-up. For one, it was difficult to find the right partners to work with.
“I came across a company that had developed a bottle made of paper… for a beer brand. And I thought I got really lucky and that was it, I found the company I want to work with that sounds great and exactly what I was looking for. But then when I reached out to them, they said they couldn't work with me because they had an exclusive partnership with one of the big guys.”​

She added that while she was delighted that more companies were working on such developments towards sustainable and circular goals, she hoped that the beauty industry could become more inclusive moving forward so start-ups will not have to face a similar frustration.

Aside from its own brand, the company also plans to work with other entities, such as hotel chains, to help develop their own cosmetic tablets through white label services.

“I'm very pleased about that about the fact that we can share this innovation and we can inspire all the industries even to move towards this new format somehow,” ​said Mias.

To find out more about MONO Skincare, Laurie and her insights into sustainable beauty, check out our podcast above, on Google Podcasts​ or Apple Podcasts​.