"Coming from big beauty, we understand what goes into making great products," said Jayme Jenkins, Chief Brand Officer at Everist. "We also know and care about the impact that the beauty industry is having on the planet. To make eco for the masses we had to do things differently. Our approach is not to solely focus on the ’desire’ to be conscious, but to have formulas that are best in class and maintain sustainability throughout their entire product lifecycle. Our haircare concentrates will change the way people look at eco beauty."

Waterless concentrates

The Toronto-based brand business model is to create new products that are modern and sustainable in performance and design. Driving the concept for their first launch in haircare was the insight that most shampoos and conditioners on the market are more than 70% water and packaged in single-use plastic. “So basically, it’s about shipping plastic bottles of water around the world. This didn’t make sense to us”, added Jenkins.

Everist therefore invented a new concept: shampoo and conditioner concentrates. “We found shampoo bars to be messy, powders clumpy and performance has always been our No1,” she said.

The brand’s debut line of haircare products features a Waterless Shampoo Concentrate and a Waterless Conditioner Concentrate, both of them being packed in a 100ml travel-friendly aluminum tube. As the products are three times concentrated, this is the equivalent of 300-ml sizes of traditional shampoo and conditioner. “A first of its kind in the industry,” according to the brand.

Preservative-free clean formulas

The products are formulated with coconut-derived cleansers, aloe vera and peppermint, amla, and rosemary oils among other ingredients. Developed to be ’super clean’, these plant-based formulas are free-from parabens, sulfates, silicones, dyes, synthetic fragrances, as well as being vegan and cruelty-free. Completely waterless, the products are free from preservatives and offer a creamy paste texture that is ‘activated’ with the water in the shower.

The brand said the goal was to keep the experience of the new haircare concentrates as close to traditional shampoo as possible. To use the products, consumers simply need to wet hair and hands, and squeeze a 1-inch strip of product onto palm (for medium length hair), rub wet hands to activate and build up lather in the hair as normal.

Zero-waste concept

In order to avoid generating non-recyclable packaging waste, Everist has opted for infinitely-recyclable aluminum tube. For optimal use, the products are sold with a key enabling customers to squeeze out all the formula from the tube.

As far as the plastic caps are concerned, Everist will run the so-called ‘CapBack’ closed-loop program to collect them. Made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the caps will be recycled or upcycled.

In addition, Everist has committed to 1% for the Planet and Climate Neutral certification.

Pre-seed financial support

Everist was built by two women with a collective 25 years of experience working in the beauty industry. Jayme Jenkins started her career at Procter & Gamble before spending nearly a decade at L’Oréal and The Body Shop where she worked in Europe launching global beauty innovations across multiple categories. Co-Founder Jessica Stevenson began her career at General Mills before leading marketing for Revlon’s professional division, and ultimately serving as General Manager for Australian clean beauty brand Nude by Nature.

The brand has received financial support from several investors, including Wonderment Ventures, social impact firm Good & Well, and the female-founders of Canadian brands Knix and SMYTHE among others. However, the amount of this pre-seed funding round has not been disclosed.

"We were fortunate early on to have people who saw the potential of our big ideas," said Jessica Stevenson, CEO of Everist. "In a world of misinformation and greenwashing, zero-waste and clean beauty requires a great amount of thoughtfulness to ensure it is done right. We are committed to discovering new ways of doing things across the entire supply chain and creating better, higher performing products as the result. We are lucky to have partners that believe in us and understand the rigor that it takes to bring this to life."

Everist is taking pre-orders now and will begin shipping their patent-pending shampoo and conditioner haircare concentrates in early 2021 across the United States and Canada. Products are priced at USD 24/ CAD 28 per tube.