WORDS
VIRGINIA IMHOFF
BACK IN 2002, brothers Jeremy and Keston Muijs were
looking to launch Grown Alchemist — their revolutionary
anti-ageing skincare brand — within the year. Already
backed by years of research and development as product
consultants, little did they know that it would take another
six years to bring it to fruition. It wasn’t until 2008 that
they were ready to launch the brand, first to the Australian
market and then to the rest of the world.
“We had the intention to launch within about six
months, worst case 12,” says Jeremy. “Having been product
consultants for years, we had little idea of the ‘business’
of getting to market. Every aspect ended up being quite
a project: we learned far more about the commercial
realities of launching a brand than we ever thought.”
The formulations are based around certified organic
botanical extracts and natural non-toxic ingredients. Some
of the time-consuming hurdles the brothers encountered
included developing the slick apothecary-style packaging
— made from hardened, non-chemical-leaching PET
and recyclable glass bottles, with microbe-resistant
valve systems on hand pumps. The result: cutting-edge
technology and a look that sums up the company’s
philosophy of science meets nature.
The truth is, the Muijs brothers are passionate about
what they do and unwavering in their persistence.
“We get excited about products and just want to create
them. For us, the hardest part is to say no,” Keston reveals.
Manufactured in Melbourne, Grown Alchemist is now
a global brand sold in around 30 countries and in some
of the world’s most prestigious retail outlets. The current
range of 60 skin, body and haircare products is expected
to increase to 80 by early next year.
Both born in New Zealand, Jeremy, who is CEO, has
a background in business management, while Keston’s is
in product development design. In the 1990s they formed
a consultancy business, working together in the United
States for companies including traditional beauty brands.Then, in the late nineties, a client asked them to look into
the connection between wellness and beauty, touted to be the
next trillion-dollar industry. They consulted with a range of
health and science experts including a human biologist and
nutritionist to formulate a skincare range that replenished
and nourished with natural non-toxic ingredients.
“We said we need to have ingredients that are molecularly
found and recognisable by the body and they must be
healthy. You can’t get function without health,” says Keston.
“When that symbiotic relationship between the body and
the product is right, the utilisation of your ingredients
goes up significantly. Basically, it comes down to the
handshake of a cell with an ingredient.”
The client lost interest, but Jeremy and Keston were
fascinated. “We had a very casual conversation: ‘Is this
something we should pursue ourselves?’” Keston says.
The brothers returned to set up in Melbourne, where
their parents lived and where now they and their families
are based. With a starting point of ‘cleanse, tone and
moisturise’, they soon added ‘detox’ to the parameters.
Toxins are introduced through oxygen metabolism,
pollution, things like food additives and toxic skin and
hair care, explains Keston. “We had to go into something
we call detox because in a modern environment, we’ll all
be exposed to toxins depending on where we live.”
As for that insider knowledge on their personal
favourite items: “I spend a lot of time working in product
development, so it’s the more sophisticated products that
are my favourites because of their capability,” says Keston.
“I love the Age-repair Serum, and products with peptides
that repair the skin with a beauty outcome.”
For Jeremy, who travels frequently, it’s the products
that replenish and moisturise. “We have Hydra-repair, an
intensive treatment cream combining oil and water that’s
emulsified and that releases over time.”
Grown Alchemist is available online at grownalchemist.com
and at David Jones and Myer stores around the country.“Basically, it comes down to the handshake
of a cell with an ingredient.”
FROM LEFT
Hydra-repair Day
Cream (65ml, $44.95).
Balancing Toner
(200ml, $34.95).
Lip Balm twin set
(12ml each, $24.95).
Age-repair Serum
(30ml, $94.95).
Hydra-restore Cream
Cleanser (100ml,
$44.95). Intensive
Body Exfoliant
(200ml, $44.95).
Deep Cleansing
Facial Masque
(75ml, $39.95).NOVEMBER 2017 COU NTRY ST Y LE 135