Entrepreneurial start: Falling down and never giving up
The initial idea for producing truly natural skincare nowadays sold under Swiss Toniq brand arose 4 years ago. “At the time I was a horse breeder and horse trainer and had spent my entire life competing in showjumping competitions around Europe. 4 years ago I was thrown from a horse and broke my spine which ended my equestrian career immediately and meant I would spend the year lying down, so I used my recovery time to study botanical skincare and do extensive research into skincare ingredients and also study everything I needed to learn in order to launch and run a business.”
As further pointed out by Fiona Nicholls, “I created my own skincare products because I was not happy with all the chemical filled products the beauty industry sells us and my sensitive skin needed special care. I made the products for myself and my family and as gifts for friends and family, nothing more.”
Swiss Toniq: The world’s only skincare brand using unrefined ingredients
Words like organic and chemical-free have become common catchphrases, often being quite far from the actual truth. The true meaning of these words within the skincare industry was however brought back by Swiss Toniq. “Our products are 100% organic and chemical free, unlike our competitors who claim to be natural/organic but still use a small percentage of chemicals. Even organic certified companies are allowed to use up to 20% chemicals in their products, defeating the objective.”
“We are the world’s only skincare brand that uses UNREFINED ingredients - ingredients that have not been cooked, bleached or modified. And the only brand to create concentrated products since all competitor brands dilute their products with water or cheap bulking ingredients to be more cost effective.”
Cost versus effectiveness of brand protection
“I thought about registering a trademark at the point of establishing the company in 2021 but with such a limited budget, I only obtained USA brand protection at that time. I would have proceeded to protect my brand in European countries earlier had I known Trama but to be honest it seemed like so much work alone to obtain protection country by country and time and funds were an issue being a startup.”
Understanding these challenges of emerging entrepreneurs and startups, Trama continues to follow its mission to ensure that all brands can be effectively protected through simple, fast and affordable trademark registration.
And how was the experience of Fiona Nicholls with Trama? “The company came across as very professional and safe right from the beginning. Plus the process was incredibly simple and fast with Trama and can all be done online with no fuss.”
