THE FOUNDERS BLOG

I was on my bike coming out of the forest on the lower slopes of the legendary brutal climb of Mt Ventoux when my partner, who was driving our two small children up in support, shouted out of the car window that my daughter had come out in a rash. It was from the sunscreen that she had just smeared on her arms. By the time I reached the summit the rash had spread. It all started that day.

Over the following years the hunt for a sunscreen she wasn’t allergic to intensified. By the time we arrived to live in New Zealand we knew we had to do something.

We gathered together a team of kickass scientists and the most respected sunscreen testing lab in the world and spent four years developing and testing formulas to create a new type of sunscreen. We knew that we wouldn’t be able to create a formula using conventional techniques and so we looked to nature and the power of plants. Along the journey we sourced botanical New Zealand ingredients and built the foundation of the product around these, utilising their natural sunscreen qualities. We enhanced these natural formulas with cutting edge skin science to ensure they exceeded any SPF or dermatological claim. 

As lifelong outdoor athletes we knew that for the formulas to work they had to be tested in the most extreme environments. New Zealand’s tough conditions bring out the best in us and we love being out doing what we love in the intense sun, wind, rain, dust and saltwater. 

I am beyond stoked that not only have we created skin protection that is hypoallergenic and works for sensitive skin but that we have changed the game for sunscreen. We have been able to totally redesign the supply chain and create the world’s most sustainable sunscreen brand. We will continue to evolve and enhance our formulas and find ways to be better guardians of the planet. We will not let up on our promise to “Tread Lightly, Leave A Big Impression”.

Cheers, 
John (Founder ZOOP)