Maria Nila
Maria Nila Brand Story
From a Garage in Sweden to Global Beauty Innovators
Back in 1999, in a humble garage in the South of Sweden, the entrepreneurial Wikström family began their journey into the world of haircare. Inspired by founder Ann’s great-grandmother Maria Nila, who showed great respect for the planet and animals, the philosophy of providing the world with vegan and friendly beauty was born.
A Growing Family Business
Today, Maria Nila has expanded far beyond the garage and can be found in over 45 countries across three continents. Despite this growth, the brand is proud to remain a family-run business, now with a larger family that keeps growing. Together, they work towards the vision of leading sustainable beauty and continually moving the industry in the right direction.
Heritage and Vision
With a rich heritage and clear vision, the brand strives to provide the world with professional beauty products in a friendly, curious, and honest way. They achieve this by developing 100% vegan products with color-protecting formulas and using CO₂ compensated packaging.
Foundations of Being Friendly
The Maria Nila brand is built on three core pillars that represent history and guide them into the future: Family Culture, Innovation, and Charity. These values lead their daily work and guide them in building a friendly, innovative organization that continually strives for excellence in products, processes, and people.
- Family Culture: At Maria Nila, they see everyone as equal. They believe that a family spirit within their organization fosters a supportive and collaborative environment.
- Innovation: Innovation is key to the future. They continuously explore new ways to enhance their products, materials, and services.
- Charity: They believe that giving back enriches us. Their charity initiatives, such as The Friendly Year, allow them to support projects worldwide, promoting a friendlier world.
Together Towards a Friendlier World
As they journey towards a friendlier world, they encourage their values in everything we do – to be friendly, stay curious, and act honest.
- Be Friendly: They believe animals should not be part of human vanity. Their products are designed to be friendly to your hair, the animals, and the environment. They ensure this by using thoughtful active ingredients that protect and care for your hair. Their commitment extends beyond products to caring for the world around us through their charity initiatives.
- Stay Curious: In the ever-changing world of beauty, they embrace change for the better. They adapt, explore the unknown, and let innovation and playfulness lead the way. An example of this is their launch of the Minerals range, the world’s first professional 100% vegan wax collection.
- Act Honest: Honesty and transparency are fundamental to ensuring the community can rely on the product’s performance, quality, and promises. Their commitment to a friendlier future is guaranteed through certifications by PETA, The Leaping Bunny, Vegan Society, and Plan Vivo.
Innovating Beauty
At their custom-built factory in the South of Sweden, they develop and produce the next generation of beauty products, always adhering to GMP and ISO 22716 standards. Their R&D, purchasing, and design teams constantly explore and review the world’s newest ingredients, formulas, and packaging materials to create a friendlier offer for nature, wildlife, and humanity.
Towards a Friendlier World
Maria Nila is committed to marketing beauty products with minimal harm to our planet, donating 2% of their net revenue to charity. Through the products, they aim to create a friendlier world for:
- Nature: By monitoring, analyzing, and reducing their emissions according to Scope 1, 2, and 3. For emissions they cannot reduce, they work with climate compensation by planting trees through Plan Vivo.
- Wildlife: By actively protecting animals from the beauty industry, they only develop 100% vegan products certified by Vegan Society, PETA, and Leaping Bunny. Their charity program, The Friendly Year, raises awareness and funds for endangered species.
- Humanity: By working with social charity organizations to ensure that basic personal hygiene needs are met in local communities. We also actively secure a thriving work environment through policies, employee health benefits, and team-building days.
Impact
To provide the world with professional beauty in a friendly, curious, and honest way, it all starts with the product. Maria Nila provides millions of beauty units each year, and each smart upgrade has a significant impact on the bigger picture.
A Maria Nila product must always:
- Be 100% vegan
- Be certified by PETA, Leaping Bunny, and Vegan Society
- Have climate-compensated packaging
- Have a clear purpose
- Use friendly ingredients for the hair, animals, and the planet
- Be designed and developed to use as little material as possible
- Aim for recycled material when possible
By staying true to these principles, Maria Nila continues to lead the way in sustainable beauty, ensuring that their products not only enhance your beauty but also contribute to a friendlier world.