True Stories
In harmony with nature: meet Trilogy
Kerry De Villiers – Trilogy Product Research and Compliance Manager
Innately inspired by the wonders of nature and equipped with a Master of Biomedical Science and an undergraduate degree in Biological Science, Kerry De Villiers is at the forefront of product development for globally awarded natural skincare brand Trilogy.
Her passion for natural skincare formulations began at leading New Zealand Manuka Honey brand Comvita, where she worked for two years on an industry awarded scholarship. Her curiosity for the link between humans and the world we live in served her well as she flourished while mastering her craft.
Today, Kerry has a fundamental understanding of how important healthy skin is at making a woman feel confident and beautiful. She is an advocate for the future of beauty to be inspired by nature and proven by science. She eats and breathes natural beauty daily, from monitoring industry trends to researching new ingredients and packaging to create simple yet cutting-edge natural skincare products, ensuring Trilogy is at the forefront of innovation in the natural skincare category.
NATRUE: How was Trilogy born?
Kerry De Villiers: Trilogy was founded in 2002 by New Zealand sisters following their discovery of the skin-loving properties of rosehip oil. After several months of trials and research, they decided they had a future cosmetic star on their hands and so they decided to launch Trilogy with Certified Organic Rosehip Oil and four other skincare products, each formulated with our hero super ingredient – rosehip oil. Today, the range consists of over 40 New Zealand made products loved by customers and celebrities throughout the world. We have an international reputation for producing ethical, sustainable, high-performance natural skincare.
We are a perfect example of a beauty brand that, from the get-go, decided to do some good. From unassuming entrepreneurial beginnings to the global brand we are today, Trilogy shows that the sky is the limit and that the elusive glass ceiling can not just be broken but be smashed apart.
NATRUE: What are the values of Trilogy?
Kerry De Villiers: While our business is fundamentally based on the performance of our products, our culture is based on our philosophy of sustainable, ethical business practices.
Building a meaningful business is not just about making high-performance products in a sustainable manner. It’s about being responsible with every choice we make, big or small, and trying to do better ethically, environmentally and socially.
NATRUE: What do you think consumers look for in natural and organic cosmetics?
Kerry De Villiers: There’s a huge and growing demand for skincare which is non-GMO and free from petrochemicals, silicone oils, parabens and other nasties. People are becoming concerned at the chemical overload inherent in our modern world and are looking for simpler, more natural alternatives to their favourite products. As a result, we’re seeing increasing demand from customers for end-to-end transparency, from ingredient sourcing and packaging through to marketing of the finished product. They’re savvy about greenwashing and dubious ‘natural’ claims around ingredients.
There’s an entire generation of millennials who truly care about the impact we’re having on our planet. They’re demanding more accountability and transparency from brands and making purchasing decisions based on it.
NATRUE: What is the “star ingredient” in Trilogy’s products?
Kerry De Villiers: For over a decade, we’ve promoted the remarkable skin-renewing benefits of rosehip oil, our superhero ingredient. With its excellent ability to nourish and moisturise even the driest of skin, rosehip oil is super rich in skin-loving nutrients that improve overall the skin’s condition. It’s a great source of essential fatty acids (Omegas 3 & 6) and fatty acid (Omega 9), making it intensely nourishing and hydrating and one of the best plant oils for helping restore and rejuvenate skin.
NATRUE: Where does this ingredient come from?
Kerry De Villiers: We’re very particular about the quality of rosehip oil we use, which is why we source a majority of our rosehip oil from the mountainous regions of Chile and Lesotho where rosehip bushes grow wild and flourish in a dry, high-altitude climate.
As with any natural skincare ingredients, quality can differ depending on the source, the extraction method and other factors. Our rosehip expertise ensures only the finest quality oil is used in Trilogy products. Every barrel of rosehip oil we use to make our products is individually batch-tested and certified to ensure a minimum 80% fatty acid content.
NATRUE: How is Trilogy adapting to the new trends and consumer demands in the natural and organic cosmetics sector?
Kerry De Villiers: You don’t have to sacrifice performance with natural. The science of beauty already exists in nature, so why create synthetic versions? We’re seeing a revolution in both the performance and acceptance of natural skincare. I think there’s growing realisation that products by committed natural brands can deliver results at the same level (or better!) than their big-brand conventional counterparts.
Innovation in natural and organic ingredients and technology has moved so rapidly in recent years that you can get the same or better results without synthetic ingredients. There are some incredibly effective botanical ingredients, backed up with strong clinical data, which simply weren’t available a few years ago. The growing global demand for truly natural skincare is evidence that people are seeing these results for themselves.
NATRUE: How do you perceive the role of NATRUE in the natural and organic cosmetic sector? What would you say to brands that want to join NATRUE?
Kerry De Villiers: Customers are becoming savvier about skincare ingredients and marketing claims around natural credentials but there is still a lot of confusion about what ‘natural’ really means. The ‘natural’ skincare category continues to grow rapidly and it can be challenging for consumers looking to make a clear choice about what they put on their skin. Independent accreditations such as internationally recognised NATRUE’s Label help to differentiate authentically natural products and enable people to make informed purchasing decisions. When consumers and manufacturers see the NATRUE logo, they know what they’re buying is authentically natural or organic certified cosmetics.
For more information on Trilogy, visit https://www.trilogyproducts.com/
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