Featured Brands: NIOD
Based in Toronto, innovative beauty brand NIOD is changing the face of skincare as we know it. With a highly scientific focus on the ingredients that go into their products, NIOD is a fresh approach to skin health. We chat to founder Brandon Truaxe about what makes his products so special and how he found himself wanting to strip away the marketing of beauty and get right to the science.
Photos by Arden Wray
Hi Brandon! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you first became interested in skincare?
I studied Computer Science and was a computer geek in every sense of the word. During a co-op term as a software developer in a lab at a leading beauty company, I became angry quite literally at the disregard the beauty industry has for science. In my technology world, everything was black and white, whereas in beauty everything is a big convoluted promise. I never thought back then I would get into this business but one thing led to another and here we are.
How did you build up such a vast, scientific knowledge of everything from hair to skincare?
I spend more than 30% of my time working on products with the lab. Over a decade and across many brands, this effort becomes a PhD in its own regard. Many criticize that this time is wasted for a "CEO" but I have no clue what a "CEO" is supposed to do and, quite frankly, the only thing that ultimately matters is good, genuine products––without them, no level of marketing or service will build a sustainable relationship with customers.