I’m Amy Zapantis, the founder of Amatus and this is the second part of my Founder’s story. If you’d like to read the first part, it’s here.

After I’d decided I had to do something about the confusion and lack of information around what’s actually in skincare products, I had to be clear about what my solution would look like. I knew that simplicity and transparency would be the keys because that’s what I felt was missing in the market.

So I spent a ton of time researching ingredients and their properties until I had a really clear vision of where I wanted the brand to go and the formulation of the products. I became skin obsessed! But it meant I knew exactly what I wanted before I went to potential manufacturers and could be very precise about what I was asking them to do.

It turns out this bespoke approach meant I would need to work much more closely with a chemist, making the process of finding the right team longer and more challenging. I met so many people who were wary about working with a new brand on bespoke formulas or wanted to offer a totally different solution. I really believed in my vision and my passion drove me until I found someone who wanted to work with me.

Simplifying products has a whole range of benefits, from making sure you know what you’re putting on your skin to reducing the impact of what Amatus is doing to the planet. I decided there would only be two ranges, one for sensitive and normal skin, which we call Gentle and one for deeper skin concerns and normal skin, which we call Complex. 

There is a Super Serum which is suitable for all skin types but the whole Amatus range only consists of five products and choosing either the Gentle or Complex skincare routine means people only need 3 core products. And every product comes with a full ingredients list explaining why each one is included.

In the beauty industry, its simply not enough to have great products, there are so many out there and standing out is incredibly difficult. Skincare is also such a personal and emotional area, its not just about products and what they do, its how they make you feel. I had to create a distinctive brand.

The story behind the branding of Amatus started from the meaning of my name, Amy, which is ‘beloved’. The brand name became Amatus which is the translation and the tagline is ‘skin to be loved’. I feel such a personal connection to what I’m doing, it was important for me to keep my name in the identity and this was how I could do it in a very meaningful way. Its about the confidence you feel from loving your own skin, treating it well and doing it for yourself, not for anyone else.

Our brand runs through everything we do from the product packaging to our website and the experience has to be consistent, its difficult enough building a new brand without confusing people along the way! We’ve had a very positive response to our packaging which is simply designed but also uses the minimum amount of material to keep the product secure and is completely recyclable. 

So far, I’m a couple of years into my Amatus journey and approaching our one-year mark from launch, and I think we’ve made a good start! We’ve found some wonderful retail partners to work with, we’ve had some really lovely testimonials from people who’ve used the products and I’m convinced there are plenty of other people who feel the same way I did when I decided to create the company. Keep ingredients clear, keep products simple and we’ll hit the right spot!

I won’t pretend there haven’t been times when I’ve doubted myself as a sole founder, but my passion and some great people who’ve believed in my vision have kept me on track. I’m so looking forward to what the next few months and years hold for Amatus and I hope you’ll be coming along with us as we build on what we’ve started.