Building a business that makes a difference Annee de Mamiel, founder of de Mamiel
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ustainability has always been part of the business from the beginning. Although it’s become a very topical and talked about issue, it’s always been in our DNA and so is something that’s very authentic to us and who we are. When we built the brand six years ago, being organic was, if you like, very on trend and to be honest it would have been quite easy for us to get that stamp and use it to help tell our story. Being organic doesn’t necessarily mean you’re sustainable though and that was always the important issue for us. Being sustainable goes above and beyond just a label or a tick in a box. It impacts every part of the business, from how the ingredients are harvested and how we offset our carbon use to the conscious packaging we offer our customers. We also spend a lot of time working with other brands and organisations and sharing our knowledge; in fact, right now we’re involved in a project with the UN which helps farmers understand the process of intercropping to ensure they’re making the best use of their land and using their resources in a way that works better for the environment and themselves. It’s so much a part of who we are as a brand that if we come across challenges that have the potential to compromise our ethos, we will do everything we can to work around them. It happened recently with the Cape Chamomile we use in our products. We couldn’t find a supplier whose production methods we were sustainable enough for us so we went to a farmer we trusted and asked him to work with us on it. In doing that we funded the farm in the way that benefited everybody involved and got the right quality of crop that we needed.
It’s a constant challenge working in this way – it’s timely, restrictive and costly for us, but it’s one we were always prepared to take on. The brand is rooted in scientific fact, research and my expertise as a skincare practitioner, and in order for us to create products that genuinely work, I believe in maintaining the very highest standards in everything we do. Not just from a formulation and skin benefit approach, but across every touch point including how our products are made and manufactured. In terms of how we will continue to maintain our sustainability standards in the future, we’re investigating bio technology and looking at creating high quality actives and ingredients from sources including yeast, bacteria and sugar, things that that won’t deplete huge natural resources. We need to get to a position with this where we ensure we’re getting the efficacy, quality and performance that our customers are used to and deserve. My main aim for the business is to make a difference, whether it’s to the people that use the products or the women that help harvest some of the crops in South Africa. To know I’ve helped make a change, that’s my drive. If what I do doesn’t make a difference then there’s just no point in doing it.
By Ines Uwiteto, 7IM Ines is one of our Private Client Managers. It was fascinating to meet skincare guru Annee de Mamiel recently, and we very much enjoyed the evening with her as she talked about her journey to build a successful business in such a short space of time. It was inspiring to hear about her mission to make a difference. Annee’s passion for making an impact and a difference is one that every business can learn from. At a time when every product seems to get cheaper and cheaper, her loyal customers pay for a high quality and worthwhile product that drives change and is beneficial both for them and for the planet. In a world focused on lowering cost, here in wealth management the quality of service and whether it represents value for money over the long term is increasingly at the forefront. Ultimately, while we believe that costs are important, the service that is delivered and the difference it can make in helping you realise your financial aspirations is even more important. If you’d like to hear more, get in touch with your Private Client Manager, or one of our Financial Planners on 020 3823 8678.
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