Hello Sunday Founder On Expanding Into The US And Busting Sunscreen Myths

0:00Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Skin Anarchy. This is your host Ecta and I'm really excited to welcome back this brand onto our show because the last time we spoke to another episode of Skinner. kind of lean on you know when it comes to your sunscreen options but um this brand um hello sunday is really redefining the category they've been doing it for a while um when i interviewed them last time it was a uk-based brand that was you know mostly available in the uk but now they've expanded to the us so i'm really excited to welcome them back and i'd love to introduce you guys again to amy ford who is the founder of hello sunday so welcome back amy i'm so thrilled to be hosting you again and to chat.

0:56It's great to talk to you and thank you so much for having me back. Yeah no it's truly an honor and we were chatting a little bit you know before and before the episode and I really I utilize the products every day. I love Hello Sunday. I love your range and yeah I'd just love to kind of reintroduce you to our listeners if you don't mind like telling us a little bit about the brand again. Yeah of course yeah my name is Amy. I'm founder of Hello Sunday and we've now been around for three years. And the premise of the brand is how we make it easier for people to incorporate SPF into their daily routine.

1:30And we do that by providing all-in-one products. So we combine skincare and SPF into one. It's such a cool brand, right? Because I, for me, I think the first time we spoke, I even like raved about this, I think for a solid half an hour, was the fact that literally it's everything you need in one product because, you know, the way that you've designed your products are so just innovative to me, you know, because it's a serum, there's a serum, there's a primer, there's all sorts of ways to incorporate SPF and it makes it fun. It's applicable to pretty much everybody, you know, so I really, really value that about your brand as a consumer.

2:07And I'd love for you to like talk to us a little bit about your vision and how this really came together. Yeah, well, I've spent all of my career working in beauty and I was first living in, as much as I'm English. I was living in Australia for a long time. And that's where it really became ingrained in my daily routine to be using SPF. And I moved back to the UK. And I was just surprised by how little people were using it. And obviously, the weather there is not the same as it is in Australia. But the biggest misconception that there is out there is that you only have sun damage when you're on a summer holiday.

2:41And actually, it's in every single day daily life, the sun and the UVA rays are there even on cloudy days when you don't know it so it's every single day that your skin is subject to uva and uvb rays so i felt like there was a real gap in the market uh because all of the brands out there were really targeting people towards their summer holidays they have that yellow and blue look and feel which makes you think of the sea and the sand and it felt like there was such a huge opportunity to create something that would really lead into the skincare element so create something that looked and felt a bit more like skincare and also to create products that you wouldn't typically see in a you know more traditional brand for example a hand cream an eye cream lip balm so encouraging people to use SPF all over their body both at home and on the go absolutely yeah I mean I really think that shines through the brand I mean at the end of the day for me as a consumer I find SPF to be something non-negotiable many many days I would wear products that just didn't feel good you know on my skin and I remember feeling like gosh I just wish somebody would get it you know like just make something that doesn't make me feel like my face is covered in like grease or whatever it felt like you know it was it was so so wonderful when I discovered Hello Sunday because when I tried the product I was like wait hold on you know like am i really actually this is an spf product now i want to ask you you are coming to the u.s finally i'm so excited that you're yes we're here we're here in the u.s yes we launched exclusively with sephora in march so it's been a really big year and so far with the brand so we yeah you can find us in 200 stores across the u.s with sephora so why did you like what made you want to expand at the u.s market i mean who doesn't want to be in the u.s and who doesn't want to work with sabora right it had always been an ambition but you know as a you know as a startup and being based in the uk it was like okay we're going to really focus on on owning our home market been in contact with them pretty much since the brand launched and they were really interested but the challenge that i had at the time was our formulas weren't FDA compliant.

5:04So the challenge with sunscreen is there's different regulations in different countries, because it's pretty impossible to have the same formula that works for all markets. But once we, you know, we had those conversations with Sephora, we felt that there was that real opportunity in the US, we worked to reformulate a whole new range with the same ingredients, but in line with FDA so that we could launch into the US, which took about 18 months. So what were some of the variations that you had to go through? Like, what did you have to, I mean, if there's anything big that stands out that you had to really change around?

5:42So the biggest thing is the filters that are allowed in the US and across Europe, Asia, Australia, there are newer filters that are now being used, which still aren't FDA compliant. And you read a lot in the news that the FDA are planning on changing this. They're planning on allowing new filters into the US market. But until they do, it just means that you'll find that the majority of brands will have two different formulations in the US versus the rest of the world. And what we've tried to do and what all brands try to do is, you know, you've still got all of those same key benefits, the same key ingredients, filters that you have to use.

6:27are different so we try to make sure you know from a consumer perspective it's very similar but of course when you're using different chemical filters there are some slight variations of course yeah i mean but i mean the formulas are still wonderful though they're like literally the same i don't really notice a difference i've tried i love i love them and actually it was we you know as a small brand we always are paying a lot of attention to customer feedback so when I evaluated all of the you know European formulas what do people love about them what could maybe be improved and we put that to out in our brief to the US range to make sure that they were potentially could be even better than our European formulas so no we're super happy with with them as well.

7:14Why Sephora I mean what was that whole partnership journey like for you like did you initially reach out to them I mean walk us through that. I think actually it was initially the skincare buyer had reached out to me as she'd seen an advertisement for Hello Sunday. And I think what I've loved about that relationship with Sephora is how supportive they are to indie brands. They see that you are identifying a gap in the market with your product and your brand. And they try to build an environment where you can succeed. And I think sometimes that can be a real challenge with when you're working with more traditional retailers and the reality is as a smaller brand as a startup you don't have the same investment and the same resource as these these huge companies so it can be really difficult but Sephora have been you know really supportive in that and I think as well just in terms of well their education but also the consumer that goes into Sephora they are looking for SPF they know the need to be wearing it all year round so we're in store and you can find us all year round whereas we find with some retailers still it's still that you know a bit stuck in the past where it's okay sunscreen you can find it in store between March and August and then it's gone but the reality is is still so many people are looking for it all year round so it's great to partner with someone that really gets that and invests in it not just during the summer yeah no it really I think it's just it seems very natural for you guys to be in Sephora because I mean I've discovered so many brands I think most of us have you know at Sephora and also more importantly when it comes to finding the right options I mean I think a lot of times you go in there for makeup right you'll go in there for a lipstick or something but you're like you know what I am out of my sunscreen just having more options available in such a wonderful store is really great you know from a consumer standpoint so I'm really I'm excited to see that partnership yeah I've definitely noticed that this year that there's been like a record number of like standalone SPF launches because I think brands are realizing oh this is a trend I need to launch a sunscreen and that's great because it does raise awareness that you know and gives consumer options but what we want to do is we don't want to try and do everything we want to do one thing and do it well and that's spf protection with skincare exactly no that's that's kind of what i was getting at too because you might love a brand but you hate their spf i mean that i'm sorry that's the truth you know like that's how it works and um i think that that's where you know obviously i i love hello sunday for many reasons but i think that's one of the big hard-hitting areas for me is that it is an SPF brand you know at the end of the day and you are getting amazing options yeah so I want to move on to like some education you know around SPF because I think that's so important I think when we spoke last we also kind of touched on this you talk to us a little bit about the critical role of sunscreen in skincare routines yeah I think it's a really good point because I feel like it's been a record year for having so much information out there particularly on you know TikTok I've seen these trends like people making their own sunscreen at home or the trend of like not applying it on your face so it looks like you have like a natural blush and it's it's crazy and I you know even comments like people not wanting sunscreen because it has chemicals in it well water is a chemical like everything is is a chemical so I feel like there's a lot of work still to do out there and that the education needs to shift more to why you should be using sunscreen and I think it just goes back to the science like it's scientifically proven that wearing SPF will help reduce your risk of skin cancer and also reduces premature aging and pigmentation and that's what we should be focused on.

11:20I think obviously it always comes to education but it's also just about like why are we doing it you know like that those questions come up because it's like I would understand if there were not like any options out there you know to in today's day and age but like I mean come on guys you know like why are we making SPF out of like whatever they're using you know starch or butter or whatever it just doesn't make sense like and when I see that it worries me especially for the younger generations because there hasn't really been a fun way to show them SPF let's be real you know I mean the younger generations, I think they are more prone to this misinformation and this like kind of hype, you know, mentality that they get drawn into because it's hard to buy an SPF product and be like, yes, you know, I'm super excited about this product.

12:11And so I think from that standpoint, there's a huge demographic of people that get excluded and they get left out. It's sad to see that, you know, in today's day and age. But that's also another reason I think you guys are really killing it because it's very approachable you know hello sunday is a brand that is very like easy to understand and it's easy to incorporate you know that's the biggest selling point for me as a consumer with you is that it's you're i think you're you're subconsciously educating consumers about spf because you've made great products you know that they can actually use you know so by using the products they get educated so it's a really cool yeah synergy i think one of the things we've tried to do as well and i've you know done across the socials is debunking some of these spf myths and sharing with people like the truth what what really is a difference between a you know a mineral sunscreen and a sunscreen that isn't mineral um what does it you know i think i don't know if you have if it's as much of a thing in the u.s but We have as well, particularly across the UK and Europe, like apps like Yucca, where they scan your product and it says it's good or bad.

13:21And it basically ranks all SPS products as bad. And it's not true. So we'll do a lot of education about why this isn't true and where you can actually find the real facts. But yeah, it's tough because there's just so much out there. And like you say, there's this whole generation coming in and they are getting a little bit more excited about sunscreen. There's a lot more products to use, but it doesn't help when there's all this incorrect information out there. And I see it as our job to educate people. I'd love for you to speak a little bit about the necessity of science-backed products and how you've really brought that forward in your own line.

14:00Yeah, I guess the key thing with sunscreen as well is it's so heavily regulated. like whichever country you're operating and you have to go through extremely strict regulations. So, you know, we have at Hello Sunday, OK, we we have the ideas. We know what we want to create. We we know like the sorts of ingredients we'd like to include. But we make sure that we're working with like the best R &D labs, chemists and experts to help us bring these these products to life so that, you know, consumers can have real confidence that they're getting the best formulas. yeah i mean that makes sense i think that you know with when it comes to like especially sunscreen i think there's been a lot of just i wouldn't even say you know i used to think it was misinformation but now i'm starting to think it's just like people are not looking for the knowledge you know because at the end of the day like someone will trust something that's not true quickly you know very quickly compared to i'm gonna give you just facts and all the right they're not even going to look at those posts I don't know why and I think it's become almost like a stigma you know and so that's where I feel like breaking it breaking through you know and getting to consumers and making them understand that like listen this doesn't have to be this rigid like you know rigid topic that you just feel like is too much you know and it can be fun you know it can be a lot of fun and kind of creative you know to think about it doesn't have to be just okay yeah this is spf it's like that white band over your nose when you were a kid you know like that kind of thing it doesn't have to be like that so i think though it's not just spf it's a problem across the beauty industry and it's this sort of clean beauty washing where people are told you know no nasties no this no that and we don't take that approach we're not here to to scare people into buying something we're here to tell them the facts and make sure that they have safe and efficacious products.

15:59But yeah, I think it's not something that's going away, unfortunately, and it's a challenge across the beauty industry. Absolutely. Now, when it comes to, you know, just the overall, like, just, I guess, trends that you do see on social media as a brand, I mean, how do you approach that? Because I'm sure that's hard to keep up with trends. I don't even know if you guys are interested in trying to keep up, you know. I just, I'm just curious, Like how do you approach that as a brand founder, you know, in today's space? Because skincare is such a cluttered space these days, you know. So I'm sure there's a lot of challenges there.

16:34Yeah, definitely. And I think, you know, when we first started as well, what you realize quite quickly is it can be hard to please everyone. Everyone, you know, skin care, skin needs are so diverse and very diverse across different countries. What works for people in the UK might work for people, you know, across Asia. So you have to take that approach and where it's been really important, particularly looking at trends and what might be coming up is we, our team and our, myself and our development team, we spend a lot of time abroad. So there's a lot of trade fairs across like the US, across Asia, Japan, Australia that we'll attend so that we can see what are the latest innovations coming out.

17:17we make sure as well that we work with quite a broad range of suppliers so often you'll hear comments like australian formulas are the best or korean formulas are the best whereas we take more the approach that there are amazing formulas out there worldwide and it's our job to find them and bring those to people so you know we have some products made in the us some in australia some in the UK some in Europe so we have a very broad range so yeah it's really keeping ahead of those trends and also relying a lot of research agencies as well to help that and keeping in touch with what consumers are asking for.

18:00That makes sense yeah I like that and you know I want to actually take a minute to like highlight some of the products that are in the US market I mean I think that you've brought over some of my favorites, you know, from the line and the primer. I mentioned this earlier in the episode. I love your primer, you know, and I think that with the fall weather, you know, coming up on us so quickly this year and with everybody kind of gravitating more towards these new foundation launches everywhere, a great primer is just so important. And I'd love for you to discuss this a little bit, this product, because I've really been enjoying it for, I think, what, two years now.

18:36I mean, when I was introduced to it, it was 2023. So, I mean, let's talk about this one. I mean, what made you want to bring this over? Well, this is a great example of it's a very unique product that you don't really find in other brands. And what I love about this is it's a completely clear, invisible formula, very lightweight. It's a silicone-free formula, but still has that really nice, soft, smoothing effect. So your skin feels very velvety and soft. and you apply your foundation after and it just glides on and it's got it's your spf 50 it's also sweat and water resistant so it has everything in one in that in that formula so it's definitely one of my favorites and it is one of our best sellers which is why we brought that one across along with our face moisturizer as well that's our number one seller in sephora the everyday one and I think people love it because it's just such a you know it's an easy uh easy product to use it's often you know your first step into using uh SPF it's you know a very lightweight moisturizer works across all skin tones and it leaves a really nice natural finish to the skin so it really does work across the board for a lot of people so we're having we've had a lot of love for that product in in Sephora which is great to see that's awesome yeah I mean makes sense because I think you know I don't know I've been gravitating more towards the more minimal skincare approach you know especially I think as you get busier the holiday season and as it approaches things just seem to accelerate in terms of like how much time you have and so yeah when you're grabbing that one product you know I think it's very important to have that staple moisturizer in your routine so I can definitely see why it's a bestseller because moisturizers are just I think they're critical you know you need yes so definitely and we also recently launched a later launch in sephora a strawberry flavored lip balm uh and this one has been really popular as it's spf 50 and it's often one that people forget they forget to protect their lips you know we've seen like this huge surge in popularity of lip balms but nothing really with with spf and you you know your skin is still subject to aging and damage you get those little you know like the little freckles around your lip because you haven't put any protection on them so that product has been really successful in sephora and it's 12 as well so it's a really really great price i think no all of your products are though i mean like how is able to keep your prices so like like accessible and manageable i mean this is your you have great formulas like i mean how was that when you were transitioning over to the US?

21:20I mean, in general, for smaller brands, it's really hard because you don't have the economies of scale when you're purchasing versus the bigger brands. So really, it's a sacrifice in profit for the brand because we want to make sure that we're getting the best quality formula, but at an accessible price for the consumer. And one of the things that I always say is SPF is a right, not a privilege. And I don't believe that people should be having to spend so much money to protect themselves and particularly with SPF but it's something that you shouldn't be using sparingly you need to use at least two fingers worth to protect your your face and neck and you should be reapplying throughout the day so I think it's really important to try and keep SPF you know accessible for people so that you do break down those barriers of people that aren't using it and that's also why we add a lot of the skincare benefits as well to make sure that people are getting as much as possible from this one product as they as they can and they don't need to be buying you know five products in their routine they can buy one one or two absolutely no it makes so much sense and i love what you've done with the brand with the vision that you guys have created i mean it's it's such a unique and much needed addition to the space and i really i congratulate you wholeheartedly for your expansion into the US.

22:46I'm so excited to see your products here. And for everyone listening, if you guys haven't checked out Hello Sunday, I don't know what you're doing. You got to get your hands on their products. They're truly, truly amazing. You can shop them at Sephora, as we discussed here. And if you go to Sephora's website, you'll see them pop up right there. So check them out. Let us know what you think. And yeah, Amy, truly congratulations and thank you for your time and for the chat. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Hey guys, so I hope you loved that episode. Please make sure to hit subscribe if you're tuning in to us on any podcast platform.

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