Kynder times

ONE OF A KYND

A little kindness goes a long way, when it comes to our bodies, each other, and the planet

WORDS LIZ McGRATH

Matt Stenmark was travelling the globe with his wife, Jade, when the idea for a health and beauty supplements business with a difference first took hold.

After growing up on Sydney’s idyllic northern beaches, the self-confessed fitness nut says he was hugely affected seeing firsthand the poverty in developing countries.

“Particularly in Africa and India, where there are enormous gaps in nutrition and where plastics and pollution is having such a devastating impact on the environment,” Matt, 30, reveals.

“Even travelling around Australia, too — we saw a world in need and that people’s health and the environment were struggling on so many levels. It lit a fire!

“After coming back to Sydney I wanted to do something that would make a difference to peoples’ lives, their health and the environment.”

Supplements based on science

Having worked in the health industry for 10 years, Matt founded a supplements brand, using ingredients based on scientific evidence to support health and wellbeing.

“I had a team of experts, people much smarter than me, working with us on the Kynd formulas and using only the highest quality ingredients,” he says.

After 12 months in development, Kynd launched last year using the national distribution network of iNova Pharmaceuticals.

The brand has a focus on sustainability. Rather than plastic, the Kynd range of tablets and capsules comes in recyclable glass bottles with a distinctive bamboo cap that’s naturally biodegradable.

“It took us over a year to get that cap!” Matt says. “We make sustainable choices in every way possible with our brand — all of our parcels go out in biodegradable packaging and we encourage all of our customers to recycle.”

ABOVE Matt Stenmark during a trip to Africa. BELOW Kynd has health at its heart.

Paying it forward

Not only that, Kynd has pledged that for every product sold, one immunity product is donated to an Australian in need, including the homeless and women in refuges.

The brand has already donated more than 25,000 immunity products to 16 charity partners around the country.

And, with all six Kynd products now available in more than 350 Chemist Warehouse stores across Australia, that number is set to skyrocket.

“At the core of the Kynd brand is the concept of giving back and I am excited that we can make a difference,” Matt says.

You can even track where your “kyndness” donation goes with the brand’s online tracker at kynd.life

With a 15-month-old daughter Asha, keeping him and his wife busy, as well as the new brand, Matt says he is excited about what the future holds.

There’s no doubt a big part will involve spreading some human “kyndness”.