Entrepreneur Spotlight: Meet the Women Behind Arbre

The entrepreneurial community around the world is growing, and with this growth, impressive female founders are at the forefront ready to redefine how we live our everyday lives. According to a Forbes article published in June 2022, “Women-led startups received just 2.3% of venture capital funding in 2020.” For this reason, we’re launching an Entrepreneur Spotlight Series to lift up other women in the sun safety space seeking change.

Meet Arbre:

Arbre, from the French word meaning tree, is on a mission to create sustainable, innovative and inclusive SPF products. The Arbre team is based in Toronto, Canada and just launched their debut product, Spruce, in early September.

The idea of Arbre came about after the two co-founders went on a summer cottage trip. That’s where co-founder, Stephanie, experienced a painful sunburn on her scalp. When Stephanie and Kristina got to talking, they realized there is a gap in the market for sun protection products for the scalp, and came up with the idea for their debut product Spruce.

“We started our product development by creating prototypes right in our own kitchen.”

— Stephanie + Kristina, co-founders

We had the opportunity to sit down with Arbre co—founders to learn more about their mission.

What is the story behind the Arbre brand?

We both have backgrounds in science and research. Stephanie has an MSc in Pharmacology and Kristina is currently a PhD student doing research in Psychology. We put our science backgrounds to use and decided to develop our own scalp sun protection product! We started our product development by creating prototypes right in our own kitchen.

What is Spruce and why is it a game-changer for the industry?

Spruce is a tinted powder dry shampoo with SPF 20 to provide optimal sun protection. It’s specifically formulated for the scalp to absorb any excess oils and blend into a variety of hair colours. It’s made with mineral-based sunscreen ingredients so it’s reef-safe, and also found in recyclable and sustainable packaging. Spruce can be applied to any exposed area of your scalp to provide protection from the sun’s UV rays.

Traditional lotion and cream sunscreen products are not formulated for use on the scalp and most women don’t enjoy wearing hats, so Spruce is the ideal solution for scalp sun protection. Many sunscreens on the market also contain chemical ingredients that harm coral reefs and life underwater. Arbre is committed to developing sustainable products that are safe for the environment.

Tell us a little more about Arbre’s mission

We want to disrupt the notion that sunscreen is a one-size-fits-all solution. Anyone can develop skin cancer on various parts of the body, and wearing sunscreen is the best way to reduce your risk. With this in mind, our goal is to develop a range of innovative SPF products that work for every body. Sustainability is also at the core of our brand. We plan to develop products that are gentle on the skin and the environment.