Skin-care brand stays natural
It’s always encouraging to find a brand that does double-duty, meaning an option that makes great products while also doing some good with a portion of its proceeds. One such brand using customers’ dollars to give back is the new Canadian skin-care brand Veriphy.
The company aims to create natural skin-care solutions — while also promoting women in the field of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). We caught up with co-founders Alison Crumblehulme and Jessica Kizovski to learn more:
Q For those who aren’t familiar, what is Veriphy?
Crumblehulme: Veriphy Skincare is a natural beauty startup led by a team of women in STEM. We are 100 per cent cruelty free and vegan, and proud to say all of our products are developed and manufactured in Canada. The power behind our high-performance skin-care line is plant-derived glycogen (phytoglycogen). Glycogen is naturally found in your body and skin as nature’s way of storing energy. When you fuel your skin, you increase its natural ability to produce collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid for optimal hydration and a silky-smooth complexion. In addition to phytoglycogen, Veriphy products contain other power-packed ingredients.
Q Why is promoting women in the STEM field so important to you?
Kizovski: Veriphy was founded by a group of women in STEM and is focused on and committed to promoting women in science. Women are under-represented in all of the STEM fields and to help change that, Veriphy has established a scholarship for young women entering STEM programs at a Canadian university.
Q I’ve heard the partnership came from unique beginnings. What can you share about that?
Crumblehulme: Jessica and I met while working at Mirexus Biotechnologies — the biotech company that was created to bring PhytoSpherix to the market. The idea of creating our own line from the ingredient had been floating around and was reignited when Jessica joined the team. I was immediately impressed by her passion and natural entrepreneurship and we realized, if we want to do this, now is the time. We put together a business plan and within a matter of weeks, Veriphy was born.
Q Is there a story behind the name?
Crumblehulme: The Veriphy name combines ‘vert,’ the French word for green and ‘phy’ from Greek origin meaning ‘from nature.’ The name is also a play on the word ‘verify,’ signifying our commitment to the scientific verification of our products.
Q What makes it different from other skin-care brands?
Kizovski: Consumers are paying more attention to what they are putting on their skin, and we found that a lot of natural alternatives did not have the clinical efficacy of traditional legacy brands. After the discovery of our revolutionary ingredient, phytoglycogen, we felt that we were holding the missing piece of the puzzle.