Hello

He is Ross and I am Sarah. We are a man and wife team and the founders of Palm & Pine. Here's our little story about Palm & Pine.

It took us 3 years to get here and before we take you back to the beginning, here's a little summary of how we got to where we are now. 

It started with a search

Like most things, it all started with a Google search. Ross became increasingly aware of the issues surrounding some of the ingredients in traditional sunscreen and set about making his own. After making a couple of batches, (tested on me), we started to think that there could be something in this little idea...

I need a lot of sunscreen and found myself reaching for the same old supermarket products after being repeatedly disappointed with the natural options available. I didn't like the whitening effect and greasy feel, and as my wardrobe and beachwear are mostly black, they were just too messy for daily use. 

Palm & Pine is born

I started to see an opportunity and got to work researching the sunscreen market. After a conversation at the beach one day, we decided that we were going to create the product that I was struggling to find and bring the idea to life.

Although the original batch was great, it still had some of the issues that mineral-based sunscreens tend to have - thick, greasy, and whitening. So, we knew we had to find a manufacturer that could develop a more sophisticated solution whilst sticking to our values, and focusing on natural ingredients. In addition, we would need support with the legal and certification aspects to enter this highly regulated market. 

It's all in the name

People ask us where the name came from. Ross and I are avid nature and sports lovers so the palm tree and pine tree represent our two favourite playgrounds. We love living amongst the palm trees here in Portugal, and the pine tree represents our love of mountain sports - snowboarding, mountain biking, and road cycling. Originally from Scotland, we have spent most of our adult life living in the mountains in France but we now live in a small surf town. We have taken inspiration from both locations and the brand was very much built around this.

Plastic not fantastic 

After moving to Portugal and living beside the Atlantic coast, our passion for ocean preservation and awareness of plastic-pollution has grown. We are actively trying to reduce our own plastic consumption and immediately realised that sunscreen could be our opportunity to try to make a change. Providing a plastic-alternative became a core goal and one that we were not prepared to compromise on when defining our packaging solution.

So this plus the formula became the basis for Palm & Pine and the start of the journey to what you see here, today.

Crowdfunding

After a year of research, planning, devising the strategy, and figuring out where I was going to position us in the market, I set about on the numbers. We decided that the best approach would be to use crowdfunding. This would give us a great chance to test the response and try to raise the minimum finance required to bring this to life.

Go fast, go alone. Go far, go together.

I knew that no matter how many spreadsheets I made, strategies I devised, to bring this to life I was going to need help. This group of humans deserves a special mention and I will be introducing you to them one by one. 

There is one crucial person missing from this photo and she will be the first introduction. Our superstar designer and now creative director of Palm & Pine, Lois Vero

She is responsible for taking my vision and turning it into a brand. She created the stunning imagery on the Palm & Pine Instagram account and we are excited to introduce her to you.

The end

We are excited for each chapter of Palm & Pine as it unfolds. We would like to thank you each and every one of you who have believed in our vision and invested your trust and support in this project.

Want to be the first to own Palm & Pine?

You can order yours here!