Latest / Skin Anarchy / Antonia Knox, Brand Manager and Spokesperson for Aurelia London

Transcript

Antonia Knox, Brand Manager and Spokesperson for Aurelia London · Skin Anarchy

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_02: Hi guys, welcome back.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: This is continuous anarchy.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_02: This is your host, Ekta, and I have an amazing guest today.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm super, super excited.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_02: I love her line.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: I love everything about it.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_02: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Antonia Knox, who is the um brand manager, um, head of brand for Aurelia London.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: So welcome to the show, Antonia.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so excited that you're here.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Hector.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm absolutely thrilled to be part of your podcast today.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's so fun to talk to people that, like, you know, I never thought I'd get to talk to.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I'm super excited.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I I want to actually um get started by talking about your background and how you got involved with Aurelia uh London and just the whole journey behind it.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I was actually fresh out of university when I uh started my career at Aurelia alongside uh the brand brand's founder Claire Vero back in 2013.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually on Aurelia's journey basically from the very beginning.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'd had yeah, it was it was early on.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'd had um experience in the beauty industry um already, and I'd always had a passion for skincare and makeup, but I was working as a sales assistant in Space NK, which I'm sure you know is a beautiful uh beauty destination.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I joined Aurelia literally as an intern, um, all fresh faced and ready.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I from the ground up, yeah.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Literally from the ground up, and uh I started working from um Claire's own kitchen.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we were we were working together on marketing, uh, I actually was in charge of all customer services, new product formulas, we worked together on NPD, which was really exciting, um, and lots of innovation at the time, and as you can imagine, so much more in between as well.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and from there I became uh basically the brand trainer.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So because I'd been involved from so early on and I'd had experience of being trained, I ended up being the uh lead educator for Aurelia and was training employees and retail staff and customer service staff from online retailers and kind of worked my way up and now I'm head of brand, which I was appointed uh actually in 2020.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um and wow, congratulations on that.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it has been quite a journey, and I do feel very lucky to have been um you know been part of it for so long, and and it's a brand that I'm so passionate about.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, it I think it it speaks volumes to the fact that I've been here for uh over eight years now because I I love the product so much.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: No, I mean it's a it's a phenomenal brand, and you know, I'm gonna eventually be asking you some science-y questions because you guys have such amazing technology.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, reading about it, experiencing it, you know, through just trying the products and using them consistently.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm just completely and thoroughly impressed.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I I can't wait to hear about that part.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_02: But before that, um I want to ask you, did you have like um did you play a role in the formulations or like the new products that um the line was launching?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like, were you part of that process?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I was so um originally our founder Claire would have briefed in um what the you know the the products and the innovation that she wanted to to go for.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I was very fortunate enough to be part of the the kind of testing and submission process.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: She really trust my trusted my opinion um from the very beginning.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And um, so it was amazing.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: I've always been involved in that process.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And now actually Claire stepped away from the business last year, and I've kind of taken the lead on being, you know, the spokesperson and that side of things.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I work very, very closely with our NPD manager as well on um, you know, making sure that we're coming out with beautiful, innovative, and effective products as well that really kind of stay true to the ethos of Aurelia London.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, that's that's really, really awesome.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I I'm so glad that you've been with the brand from the beginning because you know it's one thing to transition a leadership to somebody who has knows nothing about it, but this is also like your baby, you know, like so.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, I love that.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: So I let's dive into the science then, because you know, I was reading about the technology, and I really love the approach you guys are taking to probiotic skincare because I think scientifically it is the most logical thing I've seen in the market so far.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_02: Because, you know, people say, well, there's certain, you know, the microbiome in your skin is important and balancing that, but you know, the fact that you guys are working with you know glycoproteins and you're working with components that are helping, you know, rebuild that skin barrier, rebuild the essential things we need.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to dive into that.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, if you could tell us about the journey of creating that technology and incorporating it into your formulas.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: So, in terms of why probiotics are used within Aurelia, so of course, this was part of the founding mission of Claire Vero, who um launched Aurelia back in 2013, as I mentioned.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: She actually worked in um pharmaceuticals for a global pharmaceutical giant before um even coming up with the concept for Aurelia skincare.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it was there that she saw how probiotics can improve the skin and I guess therefore the lives of people who were suffering from quite serious skin conditions.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, she worked quite closely with sufferers of chronic plaque psoriasis, which, as I'm sure you know, is um an immune, well, it's an autoimmune skin um condition caused by an inflammatory response within the skin.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And she saw that probiotics were being used both uh as an ingestible, but also as a topical application for those who were suffering with this obviously quite severe and debilitating um skin condition.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: She through her knowledge of the skin, she knew that by managing inflammation and the immune response, not only can you actually benefit those with severe skin concerns, but you can also help with lots and lots of other skin conditions as well, all just simple skin complaints from psoriasis to allergies and all the way through to premature skin aging, because inflammation really is the root cause of all of those different issues.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's so interesting, isn't it?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: So she kind of set about formulating a range which utilized this quite unique probiotic technology.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I say unique because you touched on this earlier.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're not talking about tackling live bacteria or the microbiome.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, we work at it at a deeper level, and we use um uh a trademarked formula called protider technology, which comprises three unique technologies, um, all derived from probiotic ingredients, and they tackle lots of different skin concerns.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got um a probiotic complex which manages the inflammatory and immune response in the skin.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: You have we have a repair complex as part of ProTida, which helps to reverse the damage caused by environmental um aggressors such as UV exposure.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we have uh a peptide complex, which actually actively enhances the natural synthesis of collagen and hyaluronic acid production in the skin.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's really, really interesting.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um, no, it is.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, one thing that really intrigues me, and you know, as the science nerd in me coming out, is that I think with probiotic skincare, people don't want to acknowledge that the bacteria that are composing our microbiome are actually, you know, secreting metabolites and and you know, different things that are helping in so many different pathways that happen in our skin barrier.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: So, like for you guys to be approaching it in this way is just brilliant because we're, you know, it's not the bacteria, it's what happens once they're there and what they create.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's interesting.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, it's basically it, yeah, it's exactly that.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's what's happening in your skin when it's faced by certain um environmental aggressors or stresses or even internal issues like stress and hormones, that kind of thing.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because inflammation, it affects all of us to a certain extent.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: It is a completely positive um, you know, result.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: However, overstimulation of those immune triggers in the skin can cause damage.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, rather than repairing and being that sort of immune response that you need, it can actually be a detrimental effect to the skin.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, what our protida technology does is um, as you mentioned before, it's a glycoprotein which aids cell-to-cell communication and actually helps to balance certain levels of what's called cytokines, which are responsible for the inflammatory response in the skin.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's high-level technology, but at the same time, we are a natural brand.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got this amazing technology in science, but housed in beautifully natural formulations as well.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I bet a lot of time and effort went into really extracting these components from the you know, the natural ingredients that you've used.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, I I think that when we look at it from that scope, like there are so many discoveries that could be made.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, think about penicillin.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I know.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: And so when people people talk about organic skincare, clean skincare, and it's like, you know, there's a lot more things we could be talking about in that, you know what I mean, in that regard, like this.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_02: Like exactly.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I I love that.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I, you know, I want to know actually, because obviously, you know, this is really heavily based in research.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I have you guys done any clinical trials around the products or anything like that.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um so the the pro tida technology itself is is tested, and there is a lot of data to back up the claims that we've got with regards to the collagen, the hyaluronic acid, the actual repair that you're getting and the and the immune function from those uh you know, moderating the glycoprotein and etc.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we've got subjective trials and we've had a lot of people come back to us and just say the results basically speak for themselves.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, a relatively young brand, we are very, very excited to be venturing into more clinical trials and data um in in the years to come, hopefully starting next year.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it is definitely something that we want to, I guess, build on.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: But there is a lot of data there for the claims that we do have.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and you know, honestly, I asked you the question because for me, it's not it's not necessarily for me a selling point.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: For me, it's more of like a curiosity because your brand, like, you know, only just reading about it and experiencing it is enough for me as a consumer to be like, I trust this brand and I trust what it does for me.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_02: So that's why I asked because I was like, I think that would be awesome to see your clinical trials, you know what I mean?
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: So um, I'm glad.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad that you are going in that direction.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I understand there must be some hurdles with you know have being a smaller brand.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: And that's actually um one of my next questions is when you were designing um, you know, who like who you're targeting, like what did you have in mind from the business standpoint?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, what was that model like?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: And and did you guys have a demographic in mind, or how was this um you know handled from that end?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so initially Claire was she was in her early 30s when she uh launched the brand, and in her mind, she was thinking about targeting those people who are looking for an alternative to what's out there at the moment to start looking at premature skin aging.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: So really kind of focusing in on the dehydration, the fine lines that people start to see potentially in their 30s and a little bit beyond.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but what we have noticed, and what's really, really interesting about Aurelia, is that the demographic is actually quite wide.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a lot of younger consumers, we even have mums who buy for their teenagers because the the products are gentle, but they are super effective.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, saying that, we've also got people who buy for their grandmothers and um much more mature skin because the the products not only are you getting um the you know the science behind it, you've got those probiotics to help boost the collagen, the hyaluronic acid.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: You've also got these beautiful textures and blends that feel like an absolute treat and a luxury to use.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very yeah, it's a it's a premium texture, I think, for every single one of our products, which I'm I'm really, really proud of actually.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, yes.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a beautiful experience.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_02: Just I know that like you know, with skincare for me, sell the like the experience of it is very important.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I really enjoy like, you know, your serums are just so beautiful, they're not too watery.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I don't like like super watery serums.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like I'm literally putting water on my face.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: So like I love that they're creamy and they sink right into the skin, and it's so nourishing, like the feeling overall.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I completely agree with you, and I think you know, it really speaks for itself once you try the products because you can feel the quality that's gone into it, you know.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you for saying that.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: That that really is so lovely to hear, but it's so important to us, and I think that actually speaks volumes for formulating naturally, because we don't have kind of filler ingredients or any form of silicons.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, there are some types of silicon which are definitely fine to use, but we we've decided not to use those types of ingredients, and I think it's because it's these beautiful natural textures and blends and botanical oils, they almost kind of match with the skin, they fit with the skin's natural um structure and can absorb beautifully.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: You don't get that stickiness, um, yeah, nothing will ever roll away on the skin.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: You don't you don't get that kind of extra debris, you know, when you're applying too much uh product.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can keep layering Aurelia and not feel like your skin is overloaded.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I just absolutely love that.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: I know, and and and that's the thing is like the skincare and like balling up under makeup, or like if you put a primer on, that's a massive like I hate that, you know, especially if I'm uh investing in a in a line.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: I don't the last thing I need is for my skincare to cause makeup issues, you know what I mean?
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_02: So it's absolutely that part of it is so great that you guys have that down, and I think it always comes back to good formulation.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I mean, you guys are obviously you're using organic ingredients, but you have not compromised at all on the lab aspect, which is just really good chemistry and really good, you know, formulation.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I you know, I want to just commend you on that.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: You're welcome.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I want to talk about you know some of your best-selling products because I know that you know you guys have, I feel like something for everyone.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I would love to hear um what was like the first product that you came out with.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, what was the first big seller for the line?
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so when we first launched back in 2013, we only had five products in the range.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it was pretty small.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we had a cleanser, a serum, two moisturizers, and a face oil uh for nighttime.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it was a very dinky little range, um, but it was it was all um suitable for lots of different skin types.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it was about layering, it was about frequency of use, um, with some products, for example, like the Miracle Cleanser being your absolute everyday staple.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: And that I would say became a hero for us quite quickly.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the first of all, it looks really adorable.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's got this lovely um glass jar with a little cloth on the top of it with a little pink bow.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think people were drawn to that because it's just so cute.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: But um the actual product itself is genuinely still one of our top three best-selling skews.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: It is beautiful.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: You've got a cream-based hot cloth cleanser, so you don't have to worry too much about kind of waiting to steam the product off or the fact that the cloth is going to take ages to remove the product.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's a cream, it comes away really, really easily from the skin, removes all your makeup.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for me, the real joy of it is the smell.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it smells absolutely incredible.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, everything smells incredible.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: It does.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's really a sense, like a sensory experience, and that's what I meant with like the whole self-care aspect.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know, there's nothing better than like taking your face off at night, and the skincare you use just makes you feel calm and like you know what I mean?
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: Like that whole experience.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I and that's what I love.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: It's like I love the packaging, I love the way it looks on my vanity, I love the results I have with my skin.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really a 360, you know, a home run product.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I love it.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a big part, actually, of the whole Aurelia experience, exactly as you've said, it's that self-care aspect.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we we use essential oils, but we use them, we use them well, we use them gently.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: We've got very low, low levels of essential oils, but because our products are so natural, you can smell them really well.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you're not you're not overwhelmed by a kind of heady perfume, but you can absolutely smell that there is something in there that's giving you this lovely kind of olfactory experience.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: So with the you know, with the cleanser, you get this uplifting, energizing kind of sense from it with eucalyptus, chamomile, but uh bergamot, and rosemary.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then, for example, something like the night oil is blended with neuroli, lavender, rose, and mandarin.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: But again, in low levels, but it just makes you feel grounded, you feel in control.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's a real sense of kind of peace every time you use something like the night oil.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's you know, it's a massive part of Aurelia's ethos, is this kind of mindful attitude to skincare.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I I I'm a personally, I'm a big believer in the fact that if your skincare makes you feel good and you look forward to using it, it will actually work better as well.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's something no, that is a phenomenal point because I mean, let's be honest, all of medicine, I mean, the entire medical field can, you know, vouch for the fact that the placebo effect is there for a lot of other ways.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_02: It's not just about, you know, is my skincare working?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, how do I feel when I put this on?
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: Do I feel more like replenished?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, um, just you know, for example, you guys, I love the that you guys use the word revitalize because it's such a beautiful like way of explaining exactly, you know what I mean, like what your skin feels like.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's a revitalization that you're doing at night or you know, whenever your skincare routine is, and you and you walk away feeling that way.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: So that's very, very important, you know.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that definitely there's a lot of like, you know, other effects that we're experiencing, like you know, reduced stress and who knows.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I completely agree.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: One thing I, you know, one thing I'm really curious about though is that, you know, um, since you do have like such a large demographic of consumers, um, is there, you know, have you what kind of like have you noticed like different kinds of feedback from like different um, you know, age groups of people, or or has it been like kind of across the board just you know the same?
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, really, I mean it is across the board, we're getting amazing feedback for different skin concerns as well as age um demographics.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: Because, for example, we've got people who are utilizing the probiotic concentrate, for example, which has the highest level of the protia technology.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: People with acne-prone skin, um, all the way through to hyperpigmentation and rosacea, are finding that that is amazing for soothing, balancing, and just kind of keeping their skin in check.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: But that that kind of covers lots of different age groups, if you see what I mean.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah, you might have someone, yeah, you might have someone who's 25 who've suffered with blemishes, all the way through to someone who's 55 with with, I don't know, um hormonal acne and potentially rosacea.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: But it's amazing to see that lots of different people can um can see results and benefits.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: But equally, you know, you've got those people who are just more concerned by um premature skin aging, and they've found that their skin is brighter, it's more luminous, you've got this dewiness to it, um, which is all kind of related back to not only the probiotics, but those beautiful botanical extracts that we use as well.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, across the board the results are pretty amazing.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, yeah.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm I'm glad to hear that.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_02: I really am because I think you know that tells me that you're approaching skin health the right way because we all have skin and the skin is going to work the same way in everybody.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we leave we lose things like elastic inculsion over time, but the mechanism and the, you know what I mean, like all of the things that go behind maintaining a good, you know, skin barrier or good skin health is all is the same for everybody.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_02: So that makes sense.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, one thing I want to I want to dive into is the the education behind your brand because I know that you know on the website you've got a beautiful section that's you know uh dedicated to the science of everything, and I love that.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_02: But um, in terms of like the consumers being more educated these days, I think that's really buzzing in the skincare industry, and people are really craving knowledge, you know, like they want to know why, you know, uh cellularly or mechanistically, why something works.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_02: So you have some great technology.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_02: So, what are some you know steps you guys have taken to like you know educate your consumers more?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, have you do you have a program that you launched, or I mean how has that been?
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, when we started out, um, as you can imagine, people weren't really talking about probiotics.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and when they were, they always would say, Oh, what you mean like yogurt?
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and you'd say, Well, or yogurt, as you might say in the States.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's my English accent coming out.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, and and people were so confused by the fact that we had probiotic technology in our skincare that we ended up, I'd say for around 18 months to two years, we avoided too much conversation on probiotics because we found that it overcomplicated things, and our consumers basically just wanted to know is this skincare gonna help me?
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: And we focused quite a lot on the natural side of things, um, which we realized at the time, you know, we're talking eight years ago, people were a bit wary of the fact that natural skincare could be anything more.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Than just nice to smell and nice to feel.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they weren't really familiar with the fact that you could have such a scientific approach to a natural formulation.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: But over time, and this is you know exactly to your point, with the fact that people are becoming more and more educated on skin.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I think to a certain extent, something like social media has a huge part to play in that because there are so many um beauty influencers who've got and educators who are just so well informed, and they're making their followers more informed.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: But what we've noticed over time is that those questions did start to come up.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what does probiotics mean?
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: How does it work at a cellular level?
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, is it just tackling bacteria?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so we came up with a bit of a campaign to almost re-educate our customers, and it was a really good exercise, actually, for us as a team, because it made us realize that the way that we were talking about our technology was almost too complicated initially.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: We had you know a lot of complicated uh terminology on the site, um, and we needed a way basically to sort of simplify it, but also not to patronize, you know.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we ended up creating uh a really useful little animation, um, which is still on the site.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's on the science section.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's on the science section.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, right there.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: It's a really good animation, too.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_02: So great.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm pleased to hear that.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it really sort of talks to the fact that our probiotics work at that deeper level in the skin.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's showing you what happens when your skin is exposed to different environmental aggressors, and then what that means in order to um actually help reverse that that process and that damage.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: So we came up with a bit of a sort of I guess science campaign a couple of years ago, and um we've just sort of built on that.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, the website is full of information as well, and we've got a sort of science glossary, and um what we do find is that people feel, and we we actually did a survey recently, and people feel quite well informed on what probiotics are doing for them, which is great to hear from a sort of skincare perspective.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: And now, as we've kind of moved into this slightly new phase of the brand, so we are already at London now.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have ingestible supplements, which are probiotic, as well as our topical skincare, and we are going to be doing much more when it comes to that kind of scientific education as well.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: So um, I'm really excited for the next few months.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to be launching uh a new film, a brand new film.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yay! I love it.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then lots more content relating to it because you know, as you said, people are actually asking us their um really, really well informed now, but also want to be more and more educated.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it's exciting, it's really nice to see, actually.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's really, really nice to see.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's it must be rewarding, right?
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you have a product that is rooted in science, you know, regardless of the fact that it's organic, that should just add to it, like you mentioned earlier.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: But the science is just a beautiful, beautiful thing to learn about.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, especially the way you guys are approaching probiotic um, you know, like care in skin health, it's very, very, you know, novel and and cutting-edge, you know.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: So I would love it as a consumer to read, you know, just to hear more about it and to hear about how, you know, just the whole products are working.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I made some points earlier in my earlier shows about how I think skincare is at a is at a very interesting junction right now because the products that we have and the lines that we're seeing, such as yours, like, you know, you guys have some amazing technology and science.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: And that could lead to so many more innovations, you know, even on a lab level.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if a PhD student comes in and says, you know what, I want to figure this out and see how it works in my, you know, in my cell cultures for whatever I've done, they could do that.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_02: So it's like like skincare isn't just about how many, you know, people can buy it, it's also about how much, you know, uh curiosity have we elicited in our consumer base and people and scientists that are, you know, looking into our brand.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_02: So I think you guys are just beautifully positioned for that.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, I completely agree.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, we have had numerous um PhD students come to us and just ask a little bit more information about what we're doing.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: As this topic, I know it's so good, isn't it?
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: But as this topic becomes more and more um, I guess, researched, written about, talked about, as I'm sure you know, you know, probiotics have been cropping up in more and more brands and um individual products, even from the the huge skincare houses, we're seeing probiotics being um highlighted as ingredients now, um, which I think is actually a really good thing because um, you know, we've I feel like you know, without tooting our own horn too loudly, we really help pave the way for that by pioneering it so so early on.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: So it's amazing to see that technology growing um and becoming much more well known.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And and actually now we don't get those questions about yogurt on the skin.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um people say, well, what on earth does that mean?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is it just like a you know, a yakolt or something?
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually um people kind of give it a little bit more credit, I would say.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_02: No, I I completely agree, and I I completely see how you guys have paved the way.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you're talking about, you know, the technology you're using is not just like you said earlier, um, okay, you're gonna slather on more bacteria on your skin and that's your probiotic care.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_02: It's a very, it's a very intricate um, you know, approach that you're taking.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_02: So I think you guys are still paving the way.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_02: And I think there's a lot of brands that could, you know, really benefit from realizing that you know, you have to learn more about the microbiome and you have to really think about it more deeply, like you guys have before we attack it from with you know what I mean, over-the-counter um product.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I I I think what you're doing is extremely unique.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, when it comes to like if I want to shop probiotics, like as a consumer, I feel safer, you know, trusting your line because I know that you've done the homework.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_02: So I I love it.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, Antonia, I want to just thank you so much.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: This has been so educational.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_02: I've loved talking to you and um everyone everyone listening.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: I I really urge you to check out Aurelia London.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_02: It is a beautiful line, every product is phenomenal.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you can feel it as soon as you put it on your skin.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_02: So go check them out.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: I will tag everything in the concept art for this and leave us some comments.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_02: Have you tried probiotic skincare?
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, do you like it?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_02: And what has your experience been?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_02: We'd love to take this conversation further.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you so much, Antonia.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_02: This has been wonderful.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_02: You're so welcome.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Ecto.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: I've absolutely loved it.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 28:35
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• 28:40
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• 29:23
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• 29:40
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