How Kenna Whitnell created the brand Altilis Beauty
Cruelty-free, sustainable beauty is a huge market, and one that has many faces; one of those faces is Altilis Beauty. While many of us undergraduates are perfecting the art of the grilled cheese sandwich, fourth-year biochemistry student Kenna Whitnell has perfected the art of natural skincare. Her start-up brand Altilis Beauty is not only sustainable but features a PETA certification (meaning no animal cruelty). Whitnell sat down with The Ontarion to share just how she did it.
Like many kids growing up in the city of Guelph, green initiatives were a part of daily life. With so much focus on the green Whitnell’s love of natural beauty was inspired. As a teenager, she quickly moved away from commercialized skincare products because they didn’t suit her sensitive skin and instead began creating products for herself. Upon entering university, Whitnell saw that there was interest in the niche market of sustainable beauty — as a result she launched her first startup Soleluna Cosmetics, a client-centered skincare line.By interacting with her clients — most of whom were family, friends and residence roommates — on a one-on-one basis, she started to improve her working knowledge of natural skincare ingredients. Using different combinations of natural products — especially various essential oils — Whitnell created specific skincare products to address the different needs of her clients. With increasing demand for her services, she recognized that there is a need for better natural skincare in the market and aimed to meet it.
Whitnell’s business ventures were on hold when she left her hometown for a co-op placement at the University of British Columbia. But, as many entrepreneurs do, she kept her company on her mind. As part of her co-op research project, Whitnell was asked to look into some potential ingredients for natural industry use. The project was centered around finding natural healthcare ingredients that could be harvested without the environmental costs of adulteration (e.g. cutting costs by filling products with cheaper/diluted oils) and unsustainable sourcing of materials. In her research, Whitnell came across breadfruit, a plant native to the country of Samoa that has been used in the culinary market.Breadfruit flower was then being thrown away as a byproduct in the culinary industry, making it a perfect candidate for a sustainably sourced material. According to Whitnell, a large body of literature pointed to breadfruit’s potential benefits in skincare. To test this she began conducting potency research on it.
Returning home to Guelph, Whitnell made the decision to use breadfruit as a skincare ingredient. She named her startup Altilis Beauty because it features her decision to use breadfruit; Altilis is the species name of the breadfruit plant.
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To get this start-up off the ground, Whitnell first applied to the Hub Incubator, a program created by Centre for Business and Student Enterprise. This program provides U of G students and alumni with industry mentorship, access to office space, and funding. These tools helped get the product of the breadfruit-based skincare line off the ground.
Whitnell’s next step was applying to Innovation Guelph’s fuel injection seed funding program. This program provides awardees with grants and access to industry professionals with the aim of growing local small businesses. With a combination of expertise, confidence, and dedication this small business is thriving, operating not only a production plant in Cambridge but also employing several part-time employees.In Samoa, Whitnell’s company has been able to provide employment for local women, who are paid to collect breadfruit flowers before they get discarded as waste — thus building lasting international relationships.
When asked what the future looks like, Whitnell shared that with the growing consumer base and the vested interest of the community she is sure to have many more products in development and out on the shelves soon. To any young entrepreneurs Kenna Whitnell says: “When the opportunity comes you’ve just gotta take it.”
Photo Courtesy of Altilis Beauty