Almost a year ago, after a long preparation process, we launched our skincare brand Bakr&Berg. After an incredibly fun and educational time, we proudly share an article about Bakr&Berg in the magazine of the VJA (association of young pharmacists). In the article you can read how our scientific knowledge, clinical experience and shared passion for beauty have formed the basis of our beautiful brand.
Read the article from the VJA Magazine below
In addition to our work as a pharmacist and general practitioner, we, Sawen Bakr and Margreeth van den Berg, have always had a passion for skincare and cosmetics. The dream of developing our own skincare line regularly surfaced. Through our scientific knowledge, clinical experience and shared passion for beautiful skincare products, we found each other. We joined forces and founded the brand Bakr&Berg, a unique skincare brand that is specially designed for the self-conscious woman or man who cares about their skin and health and loves quality and beautiful things in life. Bakr&Berg in a nutshell: Skin care with a medical twist for people who care about their skin and health, but do not blindly grab a product from the shelves. And last but not least: A touch of gold!
How it all started
It started with a passion. With theoretical knowledge, clinical experience and above all a great personal interest, the idea quickly developed into a plan. We developed the plan through brainstorming sessions, consultations with various parties involved and a great deal of market research. From the very beginning, we have paid a lot of attention to the development process of our products. Where we lacked knowledge, we have brushed it up. The development process often goes ten steps forward and then eight steps back, but in the end it is the result that counts! We have created formulas that are fully supported by our scientific knowledge and clinical experience. With this we have developed formulas and combinations of ingredients that do exactly what they promise.
Sustainable entrepreneurship as a conscious choice
The process of developing a skincare line involved more than we initially thought. In addition to developing the formulas, we were confronted with the business side and became familiar with the world of materials and packaging. Sustainability and veganism are aspects that we wanted to implement in our products. However, finding suitable packaging turned out to be quite a challenge. We never thought that it would be such a long, but especially interesting process to find the perfect packaging for our products. We are very aware of the surplus of plastic in the throwaway culture in which we live. Even with our products, there comes a time when they run out and the empty packaging ends up in the trash. That is why we really wanted to package our products in bioplastic and sat down with numerous producers (virtually) to ultimately find packaging material that is 100% recyclable. We ultimately opted for cane sugar plastic, a bioplastic that is completely recyclable. This was very important to us.
Sugarcane is molecularly identical to oil-based plastic. It was essential that the packaging met the correct requirements of the Food and Drug Administration, as well as European guidelines and legislation. That is why many tests were carried out, which resulted in the 100% recyclable packaging, which has a CO2 footprint that is 50% less than that of normal plastic. For our first launched products we have chosen 75ml tubes, because this has proven to be a handy size from the market research we have done. It is compact and easy to carry, making it suitable for daily use or on the go. It is a nice size that contains enough volume for use over a certain period of time without being too big or unwieldy.
Another important aspect of Bakr&Berg is that our products are registered in the G-standard. This gives pharmacists and doctors confidence to offer them in pharmacies.
For now, Bakr&Berg is currently available in a select number of clinics and pharmacies in the Netherlands, but our goal is to expand this. This ambition goes hand in hand with the commitment to sustainability. Bakr&Berg will continue to consciously choose sustainable processes and materials.
We are constantly developing new products and are looking forward to the further growth of Bakr&Berg and the expansion of our range. Our ambition is to be able to offer Bakr&Berg products to every woman and/or man worldwide.