Next New Zealand – September 2019

As a child, Soraya Hendesi loved concocting botanical

beauty potions – and today she’s at the helm of her

own natural skincare brand, Snowberry

NewZealandskincarebrand

Snowberrywaslaunched 12 yearsago

bycosmeticianSorayaHendesiwhen,

determinedtocreateanuncomplicated

systemofnaturalbeautycare,she

beganmakingskincarewithoutmaking

compromises.ShespoketoNEXT

aboutsomekeyingredientsthat

makeherventuresuccessful.

EST

INTENTIONS

‘As I grew older, I’d realised my

ideal skincare products didn’t exist’

Turn your passion into productivity

Mylifelong passion for the beauty industry snowballed into Snowberry. I spent

manyhours as a child in our fragrant Persian garden making beauty potions for my

mother and grandmother. My family moved to England when I was very young and

laterto Spain, then when I came to New Zealand, I started my own small brand for

a cleansing bar that was as natural as I could possibly make it. I was never looking to

ll a gap in the market, but as I grew older, I’d realised my ideal skincare products

didn’t exist. The ones that had a bit of science behind them used ingredients

I’dnever touch, and the natural ones were nice but ineffective.

Time it right
I loveinteractingwithpeople,sofrom
mylateteensonwards,I developed
myskillsinmarketing,exhibitingand
promotions.I studiedtobecomea
cosmeticianearlyonafterrealisingI
shouldpursuewhatI wasmeanttodo.
I didn’twanttoworkasa cosmetician,but
I neededtoeducatemyselfinskincare.
I knewthatinordertocreatea brandof
Snowberry’scalibre,I’dneedthehelp
ofthebestscientistsandmarketers.I also
neededsignicantresources,soI worked
forothercompanieswhileI waitedfor
therighttimetolaunchSnowberry.
I followedmyKiwihusbandtoDubai
becauseofhisengineeringbusiness,so
hadtorebrandthecleansingbarthat
I’ddevelopedtosuittheMiddleEastern
market,plusI secureddistributioninVIP
roomsofluxuryhotels.Afterreturning
toNewZealand,westartedworkingon
Snowberryina bigway.Bythen,I had
theexperienceandresourcestobringthe
science,thenature– SnowberryGardens,
a plantationnorthofWarkworthwhere
someofourkeyingredientsaregrown

• andmarketingtogether.

Do no harm

A carbon-neutral ethos is an integral part

ofSnowberry’s values. We aim to ensure

everything we do helps to reduce our

carbon footprint. To this end, we offset

ourcarbon emissions, from ingredient

sourcing to product delivery, where

possible. Our New Zealand native planting

at Snowberry Gardens, so far 9000 plants

strong, also sequesters carbon dioxide,

andwe’re ensuring any new facilities are

notonly powered by on-site renewable

energy generation, but also built with

theenvironment, the ecology and our

waterways front of mind. Our commitment

wonSnowberry an Enviro-Mark Excellence

inClimate Action award in 2017 and a

nomination as a  nalist again this year.

Snowberry takes great pride in receiving

theEnviro- Mark certi cate every year,

nowit’s 12th, knowing that the company

is helping to meet the challenge of the

climate emergency. There’s more to do,

butwe’re headed in the right direction.

HAVE A POINT OF DIFFERENCE

Snowberry stands out because it has a

unique point of diff erence. This is why we

grow 9000 native plants at Snowberry

Gardens to extract ingredients for our

products, invest in research and development

to develop world-fi rst skin science,

undertake independent gold-standard

clinical trials to prove our serums work, and

strive to be environmentally friendly and

carbon neutral in everything we do.

As told to

Monique McKenzie

Photographs

Snowberry

I started

a business

74 NEXT / SEPTEMBER 2019