My name is Amy Zapantis and I’m the founder of Amatus.
It’s still a very exciting thing to say – that I am a company founder.
And the reasons for being a company founder stem from the fact that I have not only been fascinated by skincare and beauty generally all my life, but that it’s an industry that I have always been in and around for as long as I can remember.
As an Aussie, I must admit that I am from a nation that takes a somewhat laissez faire attitude towards skin. And to that end, it was when I moved to the UK that my interest in skincare became a passion and from that passion came my voyage of discovery!
It is safe to say I became skin obsessed.
And that’s when I realised that not only do so many people, including me back then, not know exactly what ingredients they are putting on their skin or what the purpose of each is – the majority of brands also don’t even bother to tell you!
I was horrified.
It was nearly impossible to find out what skincare brands both large and small were using and when ingredients were in fact listed, they were often in impenetrable scientific language which did nothing to help clear up the confusion.
Then there was (and still is) the use of terms like ‘natural’ and ‘eco-friendly’ which create a feelgood sense that the products are somehow good for you and the environment but actually have no agreed meaning. And certainly don’t always mean what they’d like the consumer to think they do.
And in ranges, I just found confusion. Multiple similar products with little explanation about how they were different. Trying to pick one product became overwhelming. I wanted a simple skincare routine and an enjoyable experience with clear reasons for each product and ingredients, which was difficult to find.
I decided to do something about it and so, I launched Amatus.
Research has shown that while over 90% of Brits think sustainability and other ethical concerns are important when buying beauty products, less than 25% strongly agree that brands are transparent about the environmental and social impact of their products.
My goal, and Amatus’ ambition, is to reduce the number of ingredients in every product so they only contain what is necessary and effective and so all customers know exactly what they’re putting on your skin and why. Every product comes with an ingredients list explaining what each ingredient is and does.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? I wish it was! There’s a thought process in many industries, and beauty is no exception, where if you want to improve something, you need to add a new ingredient. It’s an obvious thing to do, maybe even a shortcut.
What has proved really difficult is isolating the properties of every ingredient so I understood what could be left out without losing effectiveness. You maybe didn’t expect a quote from Einstein in a skincare blog but “everything should be as simple as it can be, but no simpler”.
I have worked closely with manufacturers, dermatologists, suppliers, chemists and everyone I can possibly think of to create a product that is simple, clean and transparent. This has been a huge learning curve and involved finding people, sourcing ingredients, testing, looking for more and better ingredients and even more testing. Then, I, along with expert advisers would look at different combinations before undertaking yet more testing.
Finally, when I was happy with the products, understanding how to package them in the most sustainable way that did justice to the brand I want to create, is good to use and easy to transport was the next step.
And I did all this even before finding anyone who would stock the product, before I’d even built my website, or started my marketing or so many other things that keep me on my toes. And I do this because I believe in the quality of the products and the brand that they represent. Skincare is an amazingly competitive industry and standing out is extremely challenging.
I’m not complaining as I love what I do and would not want to be doing anything else. It is a wonderful feeling to see the vision I had come to life with Amatus products on the shelves of some fantastic partners and in the hands (and on the faces) of people who share my values and passion for healthy skin and quality products.
I have never been more passionate about anything than I am about Amatus and have built it with hard work and love. We’re growing fast and in the next few months we’ll be working exceptionally hard to get the Amatus word out, collaborating with bigger partner and available in more places. I’m thrilled to be on this journey and I can’t wait to see what it brings.
