This couple want to change the way you think about sunscreen
Founders of Beachfox, Robbie, Dani and baby Bonnie
Here’s a fact: Melanoma is the third most common cancer in Australian women. And even if you’re not concerned about melanoma, here’s another thing that’s true: sun damage is cumulative, so it’s just there building up every time you leave your skin unprotected, and accelerating ageing (which is why you still need to wear sunscreen in winter). Yet as the brilliant, sun safe initiative Call Time On Melanoma so aptly says, “sun safety has an image problem”. And it’s true. Even growing up at the height of the “Slip, Slop, Slap” era I thought it was cool to tan since I was half-Italian and could go a nice golden colour with an hour or so of baking. I liked the way I looked when I was browner, glowier. And I wasn’t the first teenager to have that thought – nor was I the last. In fact, it was this kind of bolshy teenage attitude that sparked the idea for BEACHFOX sunscreen, an Australian owned and made brand created by husband and wife duo Robbie and Dani Wood who live in Sydney’s Manly.
Robbie says, “the initial idea came about via a fairly standard conversation with a colleague. She was stressing out because her teenage daughter had started to refuse to wear sunscreen because it was uncool. In fact, they were actively washing it off!” He started thinking about ways he could make sunscreen cool again, and to help with that image problem, and so, BEACHFOX was born.
We sat down with Robbie and Dani to talk about the responsibility of leaving a conscious, sustainable legacy, changing mindsets, and how (and why) sunscreen is the greatest act of self-care.
Tell us a little about your backgrounds and how it lead to thE creation of Beach Fox?
Robbie: I moved to Australia way back in 2007, having fallen for the place whilst travelling the year before. Back then the recruitment industry was one of the easiest ways to secure sponsorship and so like many other Brits that’s the path I went down (and am still in today).
From a personal perspective, I have always been aware of the need for good sun protection. I have pretty fair skin and freckles and can remember getting terrible sunburn on my forearms a couple of times when I was a kid – to the point where my skin blistered and cracked - it was pretty rough! I also lost my father to brain cancer when I was 17 and discovered that he had a melanoma removed 10 years prior and the subsequent ‘secondary cancer’ was what ultimately cost him his life. As you can imagine this had a fairly profound effect on me at a very formative age. I have always tried to be sun smart living in this climate, but it is not always as easy as it sounds.
Dani: I graduated in a masters Marine Biology and moved to Sydney with the hope of finding work in the environmental field. While sending my CV to every man and his dog, I took up a traffic role in an ad agency and quickly became interested in data analytics in marketing. I have worked as a data consultant for several years now so am a strong advocate for taking a customer-centric approach when creating a brand and subsequently marketing a product. However, when BEACHFOX became a vision, my initial thoughts and excitement came from the idea that we could create product that would make a difference.
Why sunscreen?
Robbie: After hearing about my colleague’s teenage daughter and her disdain for sunscreen, I made an off-the-cuff comment that someone should make one that people would want to wear – nicely branded, maybe scented and not a thick white gloopy cream – and that’s where the seed was sown. Over time I shared the idea with few people and pretty much all of them felt it was a good idea, plus it would be a fun project from a branding perspective to ‘make sunscreen cool’, provided we could create a formula that lived up to the brand. We wanted to make a sunscreen that people wanted to apply daily. If Beachfox does that, then we will have more than achieved our goal.
Dani: As a brand, our goal (and challenge!) is to change people’s mindset on an entire product category, from a laborious “suppose I have to” task, to a daily labour of love.
When you moved here, were you aware of our Ozone layer problem OR melanoma rates?
Dani: I was aware of the Ozone layer problem and high skin cancer rates – I didn’t realise quite how high though. But I wasn’t really aware of quite how powerful the sun would feel on my skin until we came over to see family in 2001 when my family, who never got burnt were like lobsters by 10am. It definitely played a big part in launching the brand. We wanted to create something that people would be able to wear daily, as sun care goes so far beyond a couple of hours on the beach at the weekend. Even now, I have friends who don’t lather up when we’re strolling round Manly in the high heat because “we’re not at the beach, ergo I don’t need sunscreen…”. Despite the wealth of information available and increased awareness of sun safety, we have accepted that there is a big need for us to take part in education as well.
Was there a ‘moment’ where you knew this is what you needed to be doing?
Dani: I don’t know whether there was an exact moment, but an important point in the BEACHFOX journey for me was when we were sitting in Hong Kong airport after our honeymoon. We had time to kill so went and had a few beers in one of the bars and, inevitably, got back onto the subject. We’d already been playing around with the name and we started doodling logos on napkins. I could suddenly see it in a handbag, on a towel on the beach, on a table at a BBQ. From that moment it was real.
Robbie: I think there have been more than a few moments where we have come to crossroads, as I suppose is the case with any new business, especially when the subject matter is so far outside your normal comfort zone. But from the start that we always said we’d stick with it as a project as long as it remained exciting and fun. I think in many ways our naivety probably kept us moving forward when others may have hesitated, we just didn’t know what to expect which probably protected us somewhat.
When formulating, what was most important to you?
Robbie: First, we knew that we had to work with experts as our knowledge base was pretty basic. Getting it made in Australia was a must due to the excellent reputation of the TGA’s testing standards, as well as wanting to be a 100% Australian brand. The other non-negotiable was wanting only SPF50+ formulas as we didn’t want to compromise on protection levels. Instead, we had fun with the other elements we could control, such as texture and scent.
From there the list just got longer; non-stick, fast drying, clear spray, non-aerosol, waterproof, sweat proof, broad-spectrum, and so forth. We definitely did not want any Oxybenzone in the formula as too many studies have deemed it potentially harmful to human health and sea life alike.
Tell us about the decision to go with a “chemical”(organic) rather than a “physical”(inorganic) sunscreen?
Robbie: This was driven by the desire to have a clear spray sunscreen that didn’t leave the skin sticky – and was sweat proof. We went on the advice of the lab technicians because they couldn’t meet the brief with a physical sunscreen. While Dani initially wanted to push for a mineral based sunscreen, I personally hate wearing physical sunscreens as they feel really heavy on my skin, are hard to rub in.
“Our goal is to change the mindset of how people view sunscreen. If we can encourage people to incorporate it into their daily routines, then it should become second nature, like brushing your teeth”
What do you think is the biggest barrier in getting Australians to use sunscreen?
Robbie: I think there are a few social barriers to using sunscreen daily, the biggest of which is probably the perception that being tanned is more attractive. Australians seem to get a fairly good level of sun education at primary school level (no hat, no play etc.) but then it seems to tail off a bit in secondary school when they have a bit more free choice.
Dani: The smell and feel of 95% of products on the shelf right now. People associate high SPF sunscreen with gloopy, greasy, white cream. It’s seen as a laborious task rather than part of a daily routine.
How do you hope to change, or be a part of that conversation with Beachfox?
Dani: Our goal is to change the mindset of how people view sunscreen in general. If we can encourage people to incorporate it into their daily routines, then it should become second nature, like brushing your teeth.
Robbie: If people don’t mind applying as they might a perfume or lip balm, then that is a huge win. We just want more people to protect their skin by using daily SPF. If their brand of choice happens to be BEACHFOX - fantastic! if it’s another brand then that’s fine too, but just please apply something as figures are heading toward two out of three of us getting some sort of skin cancer by age 70. Those are not good odds.
Founders of Beachfox, Dani, Robbie and their daughter, Bonnie.
How has having a daughter changed your worldview, especially in relation to launching this brand?
Robbie: Being a parent definitely makes you think more deeply about a whole range of things on a daily basis – everything we do now is really for Bonnie and her generation. We are acutely aware that we need to do all we can to leave the planet in as decent a state as possible for the next generation but also that we are responsible for their education around things like health and lifestyle (and sun safety!).
We made the decision to push forward and launch BEACHFOX around the time we found out that Dani was pregnant, so in a weird way they have grown up together. Perhaps one day Bonnie will want to be involved with BEACHFOX herself, perhaps not. If nothing else she and her friends won’t run out of sunscreen in a hurry!
Dani: Having Bonnie has changed me in far more ways than I expected, but one of the big ones is worrying about the future. I want her to grow up in a world where she sees people doing things for a greater good. I have a lot of hope that we can help raise awareness of sun safety, but if we manage to build a successful brand then it should make getting involved in various other initiatives close to our hearts more tangible!
What’s next for the brand?
Dani: This is where I get really excited! I would love to create a broad-spectrum face cream. As a woman in my ‘30s I am becoming increasingly worried about ageing so my skincare is more of a ritual than just a daily routine. We’ve also spoken about limited edition scents and various other fun ideas, but right now we need to focus on establishing our brand and making our first range a success!