Behind the Brand - ecostore

Malcolm Rands started ecostore with his wife Melanie in the basement of their home in an eco-village in New Zealand in 1993.  We asked Malcolm to take us Behind the Brand.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m Wellington born and bred, although we moved to Auckland when I was in my teens. My three siblings and I had a fairly liberal upbringing for which I am very grateful because I was always encouraged to think a little differently.  I met my partner Melanie while I was working at the Whangarei Community Arts Council fundraising and organizing community events and we have two wonderful daughters who have both worked for ecostore over the years. We started ecostore in 1993 from an ecovillage in Northland which we were also co founders of, and which is where we love to spend as much time as we can playing in the garden and getting a good dose of nature.  I was born in the year of the horse so 2014 is my year!

What is your background?  How long have you been in the Beauty Industry?

Prior to starting ecostore I worked for not-for-profits. I had also been an organic gardener for many years, so was acutely aware of which nasty chemicals to avoid in the garden, and then I realized that one of the places we can be exposed to some of the worst chemicals is when we’re in the shower. That was a light bulb moment for me. I knew that I could help make a difference to the health of others by providing safer alternatives that were not only a pleasure to use, but that they were healthier as well. ecostore works with a world class team of scientists and chemists, under the guidance of our lead formulator, Sir Ray Avery (2011 Knighthood, 2010 New Zealander of the Year) to produce our skin care range which includes body washes, shampoo, body lotions, hand creams and body butter.

How did the idea to launch your own Brand come about?

When I first started thinking about launching my own brand I was unemployed with a 1000 dollar overdraft, a broken down old car and a family to care for. It wasn’t all-bad though, we were doing things we loved; creating a permaculture food forest in an ecovillage. We’d been living on the food we grew ourselves as well as the part-time wages Melanie earned teaching at the local school but it was never enough for us to get out of debt and the constant pressure was taking it’s toll. It was time to take action.

Being an organic gardener I was well aware of the harmful chemicals I needed to avoid in the garden so that was a natural place to start, but I needed a bigger offering than organic gardening products. We started looking at some of the ingredients used in the supermarket-bought products in our house and were horrified at what we found. We looked for safer alternatives but at that time it was impossible to find genuinely eco friendly cleaning and body care products. It occurred to us that if we were finding it tough to get eco friendly products for our home then other people would have the same problem. That’s where the idea for ecostore came from.

What is the philosophy behind your brand?  What does it stand for?

For some years now we’ve been raising awareness about the importance of looking after your skin. While most of us are conscious about what we’re putting into our bodies, through the food we eat, we can sometimes forget that what we put onto our skin is just as important.

Your skin is your largest organ and although it is a very efficient barrier, it is actually porous at a microscopic level. Substances can be absorbed directly into your bloodstream through the millions of tiny openings in your skin and unlike your stomach, which has enzymes to break down chemicals your food, your skin is not equipped to deal with the nasty chemicals it is exposed to.

We’re about making it easier for people to be healthier. For me health and beauty are very much aligned. One of the ways we do that is through our formulations which are free of nasty chemicals. Basically, if there’s any doubt about the safety of an ingredient for people’s health or for the environment, we leave it out and search for a safer one.

To many people, you would have their dream job, what is the best thing about working for such a gorgeous beauty brand?

In a world where we’re bombarded by chemicals, we challenge ourselves to make our products using the least number of ingredients at the lowest concentrations and it’s always very satisfying to be able to get amazing results without the nasty chemicals that are so often used in our industry. This idea of simplicity and perfection is summed up very nicely by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry –“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but rather when there is nothing more to take away.”

It sounds like you have a really glamorous job; do you rub shoulders with the rich and famous?

Not sure about the rich and famous but we’ve worked with many super-talented people over the years. Our packaging features artwork by John Reynolds one of New Zealand’s most internationally renowned artists. John’s less-is-more philosophy on art sits well with the simplicity of our formulations; we follow the Einstein principle that the most simple solution is the most elegant. What that means is that we use the least amount of ingredients at the lowest concentrations to get the best results.

What is your best selling product?

ecostore body lotion is our best selling skin care product. Although if you want really healthy skin we also suggest people try our laundry powder, because it doesn’t contain unnecessary and potentially skin irritating chemicals like enzymes, optical whiteners or synthetic dyes or perfumes which can irritate or even lead to rashes, eczema, dermatitis and other unsightly skin problems.

What is it about this product that makes it so popular?

Our body lotion is a deeply nourishing formulation to protect and care for dry skin. One of the secret ingredients in our extra moisturising lotion is fractionated coconut oil (comes from coconut oil) which is very similar to the protective oils naturally present in your skin. Fractionated coconut oil is a natural emollient which is non-greasy and easily absorbed, without clogging pores.

What’s your favourite product from your range?

I have very dry skin so my personal favourite would be the ecostore Body Butter. It’s a rich plant-based moisturiser with shea butter and olive oil extracts that’s deeply nourishing. Shea butter’s a rich, non-greasy emollient with the ability to help prevent moisture loss and being closely aligned to regular body temperature, it’s easily absorbed when massaged in to your skin for a lovely smooth and non greasy finish.

What advice would you give to someone reading this who would like to do what you’ve done?

1. You need to become an expert in whatever field you’re going into and become a leader in that field rather than following trends so you can offer that unique value to future customers.

2. You need to feel passionately about your business because you’ll be called on to go above and beyond what’s required of a normal 9-5 person with a steady salary. It really helps if you believe in what you’re doing – almost to the extent that you’d be doing it anyhow, even if you weren’t generating an income from it.

3. Find mentors and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Surround yourself with good people and take on board the excellent ideas that others in your team will bring to the table.

What has been the biggest challenge you've faced?

I was asked to write a book in 2013 which I did with the help of a great writer called Margie Thomson. It’s called ECOMAN and it was quite an experience. I had to really put my personal life, my relationships, my career choices, my failures and my successes under the microscope and it was both rewarding and frightening at times.

What does a normal day for you consist of?

I don’t actually have many normal days, which is fine by me but a couple of things help me handle the daily challenges - I love to start my day with a protein smoothie and from there I head out to my local café to read the newspaper and have a coffee. I am the CEO at ecostore which means I’m often in team meetings or liaising with partners, I also travel a lot – spending time in our Melbourne office or I spend a lot of time skyping internationally. Three days of every week, Melanie and I are up in our eco village.

How do you relax?

I read a lot and I also love to work in the garden to relax and it’s also a great workout.

Find out more by visiting www.ecostore.co.nz