Photo by: Eduardo Marques
An in-cosmetics Latin America exclusive News Story
“They say that a person can undergo a major life change through pain or love. In my case, the change came through love, when I became Maya’s mother. ”
It is with this saying that the businesswoman Patricia Lima, founder of Indie Brand Simple Organic Beauty, defines her brand and her impulse to create it. Opened in 2017, the cosmetics company which had an investment of 1.5 million reais for its inauguration, has already recovered what it invested in the first year of its operation, and from 2018 to 2019 grew 520%.
The businesswoman, who worked for many years in the fashion market, gave an exclusive interview to in-cosmetics Latin America:
in-cosmetics Latin America: When was Simple Organic born? What did you take from fashion to cosmetics?
Patrícia: Simple Organic was conceived after I became a mother. I have always worked with fashion, and motherhood has brought me a much greater awareness. I had worked many years in this business believing that this disposal market was normal and natural, and it was after motherhood that I started questioning myself about all this.
That was when I realized that I no longer wanted to be part of a world that was not aware of it, that did not preserve the planet that will receive my daughter’s generation and the next. This is how Simple Organic was conceived, from the desire to transform what I knew and always enjoyed working with which is aesthetics, product creation and communication, into something that had a positive impact.
in-cosmetics Latin America: What is the DNA of Simple Organic?
Patrícia: Concern for sustainability is present throughout the brand’s production chain, in all its purpose.
The brand has recently been certified by the Zero Waste Institute, which is internationally recognized by the Zero Waste International Alliance, a recognition for companies that reduce their impact and manage their solid waste well.
Our labels are produced in FSC-certified printing, which guarantees wood from reforestation.
The social and environmental responsibility is also present in stores with sustainability projects, also in stores and kiosk it is possible to do reverse logistics, ie, the return of packaging with 10% discount for the purchase of a new product.
in-cosmetics Latin America: How many products does the brand have? Are all products vegan?
Patrícia: The entire brand portfolio is natural, organic, vegan and handcrafted. There are more than 100 items divided into three categories: Wellness, made up of face and body care products, Organic Makeup, which is the complete line of makeup, and Kids, which was recently launched for children to learn to take care of themselves by playing, and so parents don’t have to worry about synthetic ingredients that are harmful to their health.
in-cosmetics Latin America: Who develops the formulas? Do you have professionals specialized in the formulation, research and development?
Patrícia: We have an internal team of pharmaceutical chemists and an outsourced external team. We also have a third team which is the laboratories of our suppliers. So we have a very active development team.
in-cosmetics Latin America: How do you choose the ingredients that make up Simple Organic’s products, and what is the company’s primary concern in choosing the raw material?
Patrícia: We choose in different ways and with different criteria for the composition. One of them is the appreciation of the local community goods, as is the case of pracaxi oil, which is extracted from the Anajás community in Marajó Island, and is present in several branded products. We think the whole process through: since the way this ingredient is produced,up to performance and innovation.
in-cosmetics Latin America: Does Brazil produce the raw material for natural, organic and vegan products or do you need to purchase a great deal of it from abroad?
Patrícia: Brazil has a lot of national raw material available, but there are a lot of innovations in international raw material certified. We end up buying a lot of imported raw material thinking about this innovation and performance.
in-cosmetics Latin America: What was your strategy to enter this market?
Patrícia: The matter for Simple Organic was not a specific investment for the indie, vegan and natural market, but the intention to create a sustainable brand. So when you have it in your mindset that you are creating a brand that positively impacts its entire scope, it automatically appeals to the natural market. Therefore, the purpose is sustainability, and not because it is a market trend to make a profit, on the contrary, it is an urgency.
in-cosmetics Latin America: What are the next steps of the brand?
Patrícia: Our mission will always be to increasingly democratize access to natural beauty by offering products that are free of synthetic and harmful ingredients to consumer’s health, respecting nature, animals, diversity, equality of genders and a fair chain. And to bring this concept to all regions of Brazil, the brand has already opened 18 stores in one year in various parts of the country and recently arrived in São Paulo, with a space that, besides a conventional store, brings unique experiences and debates.