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SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT: BIOTECHNOLOGY WITH ROMILLY WILDE
February, 2024
By harnessing the power of biotechnology, British skincare brand Romilly Wilde harness evidence based, skin-memetic ingredients. The result is more effective beauty products backed by science.In this Sustainability Spotlight, we learn more about what biotechnology is from Susie Willis, the founder of this innovative brand, as well as what it means for the business. She also tells us the brands plans for further innovation, as well as the increasing importance of transparency within the sustainability space.
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Can you tell us about Romilly Wilde and how it all began?
I created the brand in 2018 after I had sold a previous wellness brand. I love brand building but having a presence in luxury skincare is not for the faint hearted and takes a huge amount of confidence. This category has been hectic and I recognised that more was needed to articulate efficacy and you can only really validate this via science. That science is advanced clean technologies called biotechnology.
Biotechnology is at the core of what you do, can you tell us what biotechnology is?
It is about working with plant cells and advancing their potency and efficacy using instrumentation in a lab. This means you can constantly replicate the exact plant material in a lab without depleting biodiversity at source. By harnessing the power of biotechnology, we can revolutionise skincare, pharmaceutical and various industries, ushering in a new era of more sustainable and efficient practices.
How do you incorporate biotechnology into Romilly Wilde’s products and business practices?
At Romilly Wilde, our commitment to biotechnology is integral to our innovative approach. We innovate from the biotechnology and formulate from biology. We are inspired from the data that comes from these plants and then decide what novel ingredient can play a role in a particular product. These materials are central to our business practices. By blending cutting-edge science with nature, we elevate our products to deliver optimal results while prioritising environmental responsibility.
And what is it about biotech that sets it apart from other methods used to create more sustainable products?
Biotechnology stands out in sustainability efforts due to its precision and reproducibility. All you need is one cell from the native species and then you can effectively and accurately duplicate and protect these cells, keeping a constant result that is often compromised in nature. This level of control and stability sets biotechnology apart, offering a reliable pathway to creating more sustainable products while safeguarding biodiversity and environmental integrity.
Why is it important to your brand that biotechnology is at the core?
Because this kind of technology is the future. It represents everything we hold in the highest regard; science, sustainability and substantiation. It serves as the bedrock of our commitment to pushing boundaries, ensuring that our brand remains at the forefront of transformative developments in both the beauty industry and environmental responsibility.
Biotechnology links very closely with biodiversity, a hot topic in the beauty and sustainability space right now. Can you tell us how these two coincide and anything you have put in place aligned to these areas?
If we constantly interfere with nature, for example, stripping the environment via harvesting, then naturally we tamper with biodiversity. It is so delicate and takes decades to restore the balance in nature. It starts with soil health and over-farming in the last 50 years has caused enormous strains on biodiversity. The moment we can put back, support and allow nature to be how it was intended, then we can start to make small steps into protecting the future health of what we grow.
With regards to sustainable innovation, and aside from biotech, in which other areas of your business are you innovating?
We spend a great deal of time sourcing novel biotech ingredients as there will continue to be huge innovation here in microbiology, clean chemistry and efficacy testing using proteomics and protein chains. The more we understand our own cell biology, the more we can identify the most effective plant biology to create a truly bio-identical or biomimetic formula. It is not a ‘one size fits all’ in skin as different areas of the body require specific formulation for adapting with the skin architecture.
Transparency has always been a key part of your brand as well as sustainability ethos overall, can you tell us why that is and why it’s important?
This is a result of decades of misinformation and our constant desire is to be honest. Regulations are now tight and there really is nowhere to hide in claims. I am particularly hung-up on offering a ‘total’ brand promise. For example, biotechnology is the future of both more sustainable and highly efficacious results. If you invest in these kinds of practices, you cannot cut corners and use unsustainable materials in your products. Call me a purist? Maybe. I call it being committed to a cause and creating a brand that does what it is meant to do. Making skincare that really works and is more positive for the planet.
Looking forward, what is your immediate focus for creating positive change as a leading innovator in the beauty space?
Continue to raise the bar in consistency, advocating for luxury and sustainability and talking up the science. It is no longer just for academics and professors, it holds so much hope for our future and as long as there is no testing on animals, then I am now a huge science geek!
Finally, how has working with Positive Luxury and earning Butterfly Mark certification changed or informed your approach to your sustainability journey?
Being certified is central to a brand who values peer credibility, social proofing and constantly improving ESG scores. Transparency in every aspect of your business is the only way we can improve, not hiding under one score. It is harder to get certified by Positive Luxury as they score you for every, independent aspect of your business, but surely this is the best place to be. It is more than sustainability, it is about wearing your heart on your sleeve, striving for betterment and setting the bar higher.
Looking forward, what is your immediate focus for creating positive chan
