The Work Behind the Bottle: Building Maris Dae

If you've ever wondered what it takes to develop a new bran and product line, here's an inside look the development of Maris Dae over the past (almost) 2 years.

It hasn’t been for the faint of heart, but it has also been so much fun to explore the science of seaweed, work with seaweed farmers, biochemists and industry experts to learn and develop the product.

And most of all, it has been incredible to witness the satisfaction and delight of our customers trying and loving our new formulas.

The End of One Chapter

Before Maris Dae, there was Better Basics.

Better Basics was built on a mission to reduce plastic waste. It taught us that our standards were high and there were many folks out there who cared about clean and natural products.

We learned how to build and scale a brand, and also discovered where we would flail.

Winding down Better Basics was a slow, methodical process. We looked at margins. Customer acquisition costs. Retention. Market saturation. We asked hard questions about product-market fit.

And then we did something most founders avoid: We picked up the phone.

35+ Customer Discovery Calls Later

Over months, I interviewed customers, past buyers, wellness enthusiasts, busy moms, sensitive-skin sufferers, ingredient label readers.

I asked them to walk me through their morning and evening routines, to detail the products they use, why they choose them, where they get them. I was overwhelmed by the response.

These (mostly) women, were incredibly hard working, smart, ambitious and wanted the best for their homes and families. But, they were facing a considerable time constraint and decision fatigue, a slew of lack-of-information, and a lot of brands that didn't respect her or her time.

I asked her if I could give her more time, what would she do with it. Almost all of the women said spend more time outside with their families.

This sparked an idea. If I could make products that actually worked, valued her time and need for a little moment of self care, but also supported her goal of getting outside and spending time with the ones she loved, I knew I would be onto something.

Falling For Seaweed

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, seaweed was always part of summer life. Tangled around ankles. Wrapped around driftwood. A nuisance and a fascination.

But once I started reading the research, I became truly fascinated with the potential for seaweed to actually improve our health. Specifically the health of our skin and gut biome.

Marine algae are among the oldest living organisms on earth. They survive UV exposure, salinity, temperature swings, and tidal stress. To do that, they produce protective compounds, aka, antioxidants, polysaccharides, minerals, amino acids.

There have been scientific studies that show seaweed builds moisture in your skin and can reduce signs of irritation, redness or wrinkles. But, it's more than that. Seaweed can feed your skin, good stuff to help it regenerate and repair. AND, it can do even more in your gut.

A known prebiotic, postbiotic and antioxidant, we are starting to explore how a daily supplement of our BC seaweed could truly improve the lives of our community.

Finding the Farmers

This is where the real work began. We wanted traceable, Pacific Northwest species of seaweed. We knew it was not being well used in this industry, and that we had a distinct benefit of growing some of the world's best seaweed right in our own backyard.

Conversations with Vancouver Island seaweed farmers. Discussions with other founders about their goals and how we could support one another.

I discovered our seaweed farmer and was able to get access to BC's unique and exclusive species of Bull Kelp, and mix it with our more rare red algae. Both have their own unique benefits and properties and blended together, make a very potent, and exclusive blend.

To us, local raw material sourcing is one of things that separates our brand from everything else out there. It allows us to have

Ingredient transparency
Supply chain control
Fresher biomass
Lower environmental footprint
Supporting Canadian blue-economy innovation

This part took months.

The Lab Phase: Where Optimism Meets Reality

Seaweed sounds magical. Formulating with it? Not simple.

We worked with chemists and lab partners to develop an extract that maintained bioactivity but also included other rich ingredients that gave us the initial skin feel, and had known skin healing and moisturizing properties to ensure our formulas were packed full of powerful active ingredients.

There were early versions were a struggle. WE wanted to mix water-based active ingredients with oil-based slippery ingredients. And it was a bit of trial and error.
Some that felt sticky.
Some that were too thin.
Some that were too thick.

We obsessed over texture. Because our customer made one thing very clear: she does not want greasy. She wants fast-absorbing, lightweight, effective.

Pilot Runs & Real-World Testing

Then came pilot runs with real customer testing. We hand-filled bottles and tested our products with real customers to hear their feedback. When there was something they didn't like, we regroups, revised and tried again.

Fragrance was a challenge. We found our gentle essential oils were dissipating in the products over time. Then we tested natural fragrance oils but they just smelled fake. So, we went back to the essential oils and started playing around with the blends until we found something lovely and fragrant, but gentle and natural.

The best part?
Watching someone who struggles with dry, reactive skin tell you, “This feels different.”

That’s when you know the two years were worth it.

Ready to launch!

In January 2026, we finalized our product formulas, completed our packaging design, and placed our first raw material orders. After nearly two years of research, reformulation, testing, and refinement, we were finally ready to prepare for our first launch: Body Wash + Body Serum.

These are not ordinary body care products. They are functional, science-backed formulations powered by nutrient-dense BC sea algae. Designed to hydrate deeply, support the skin barrier, and absorb beautifully into busy lives.

But this milestone wasn’t achieved alone. It truly takes a community.

To every woman who took a discovery call.
To every tester who tried early batches and took the time to fill out feedback forms, sent late-night DMs, or told us honestly what didn’t feel quite right.
To the farmers, formulators, lab technicians, designers, and production partners who believed in the vision early.

Thank you.

You shaped these formulas + you made them better.

We are a small, founder-led, bootstrapped brand. That means we build intentionally. We don’t manufacture large volumes to sit in warehouses. Every batch is small, carefully produced, and designed to sell through.

We are launching with a pre-order model to ensure demand before production - allowing us to protect freshness, reduce waste, and grow responsibly.

If this sounds like something you’d love to be part of, we would be honoured to have you join our first launch wave.

Pre-orders for our Body Wash + Body Serum are now open.

We are ready to give you your healthiest skin yet.