Aotearoa, New Zealand has the highest rate of melanoma in the world so we need to protect our whānau from the sun’s harmful rays. Conventional sunscreen sucks, for your body and the environment, causing plastic pollution and chemicals toxic for our Moana, as well as skin irritation, especially on the sensitive skin of our Tamariki.

The reason that Natalie is the right person to bring this product to market in her own words is “Despite my background in science, experience working in conservation, and passion for kaitiakitanga, I had no idea that the sunscreen I was wearing was polluting the ocean that I love! It was on a dive trip that I learned about the issue, and was inspired to create the world’s most sustainable sunscreen brand.”

The time is right to provide this solution, there is a new sunscreen mandate coming out in NZ in September 2022, which will tighten the rules for those selling conventional chemical-based sunscreen (Suncare NZ Report 2021).

There is also a growing awareness around sunscreen chemicals, and a groundswell of consciousness that plastics are negatively impacting the ocean, and “Sustainability” is a buzzword identified by Stats NZ this means an increasing demand from customers for brands to be more transparent about backing up their sustainability claims/reef safe certification.

The Seasick Sunscreen Co. has been operating since 2019, is SPF certified, and have been featured in a number of magazines and eco blogs along with nominations for awards.  To date, they have saved 5000 plastic bottles from going to landfill and counting. Natalie is currently manufacturing from her home kitchen in 8L batches but operations are about to upscale manufacturing to their first 100L commercial batch.

In the next 12 months, Natalie is planning to complete upscaled manufacturing, significantly increase sales including presales of 1500 tins to pay the $20,000 for reef-safe certification. Seasick Sunscreen Co. aims to take advantage of the growing trend toward consumer sustainable choices anticipating growing their market share to dominate the 10% of buyers that are currently seeking alternatives to mainstream brands.  The enterprise is also investigating exporting to the islands as a starting point for international sales, and is currently developing a new Vegan product to address demand from this market.

If you would like to tautoko/support Natalie in her mission to save our oceans from these harmful chemicals and plastics you can pre-order the new product from the website, and it will be delivered to you in time for summer, and encourage your friends to do the same!

Once your product arrives you can continue to grow awareness of this awesome product by tagging @seasick on Instagram when you use their product.

Being a part of Kōkiri has exposed Natalie to some amazing connections, opening up the Māoriverse of dynamic Māori-owned businesses for her.

On a personal level, the accelerator process has seen Natalie challenging her obsession with perfection – embracing the iterative process of Kōkiri.  She has embraced the teachings of pitch coach Michael Moka, “You have to have the humility that you can always be better tomorrow”.  Meaning don’t wait till things are perfect, execute with what you have and know today, then it’s okay to cringe at your past efforts because it means you’ve improved!

Participating in the programme has grown Natalie’s confidence, “In the past, I have doubted my ability to make this a ‘real’ business. Kōkiri has given me the tools and the confidence to make that big leap”

Natalie says that one of the biggest benefits is “Having Amy as a business coach has been amazing, sharing the journey with someone who is so supportive, and engaging with her wealth of knowledge”.

The key benefit of joining Kōkiri says Natalie is the speed that everything is done in – it feels like 10 years of learning in 10 weeks.

Participating in Kōkiri is like taking the plunge off the highest diving board, into the pool of mātauranga, connecting with experts, and enablers that broaden your network to a whole new level.