Why I started Maris Dae: from our founder, Sam
Life can be so unexpected. And yet, when you look back, it all somehow aligns into putting you in the right place, at the right time.
Welcome to Maris Dae. This company is a true labour of love. An intersection of science, seaweed, nature, and my aspiration to create a company that cares and truly helps people live their healthiest, best lives.
My passion for the wellness industry started with loss.
After losing both my parents to cancer, and being challenged with a 5 year infertility struggle, I was faced with the reality of how fragile our health truly is. But I also began to understand that wellness isn’t just about avoiding disease, it’s about optimizing how we feel, function, and live during our precious days on this earth. How we can live life, better.
I really started examining everything I was doing in my life. Even though I was "healthy", I had (and still do) have many unhealthy habits. I realized how some of my daily choices can stack up. I dove into different modalities for supporting my mind and body, including yoga, meditation and outdoor fitness; I started to prioritize time with my family more, realized how time outside always made me feel my best, and took the time to research good quality nutrition and household choices like organic foods, natural cleaning and personal care products, plastic(less) living, and a good e-bike :)
Loss also sparked a fire in me. I wanted to use my limited and precious time to build something that mattered. That fire gave me the courage to leave a great job and start a business from the bottom up.
In 2020, we launched Better Basics, a brand dedicated to reducing plastic in everyday products like dish soap and cleaning supplies. But as we scaled, we realized something important, our customers really want natural products that work. And while sustainability was important to them, the ingredient performance mattered most.
So, we went back to the drawing board. And that is where I found seaweed.
The sea, our most powerful carbon sink, oxygen generator and biodiversity magnet, a place where I feel most at peace and alive, and part of the reason I just can't leave Vancouver even when the cost of living is through the roof...
All along the slimy, underrated plant life has been ripe for the picking. Once I began researching seaweed, I got so excited about its potential for our health. It’s full of vitamins, minerals, and complex polysaccharides that hydrate, reduce inflammation, and support the skin barrier. It’s regenerative for the body, and for the planet. It's a superfood that is just not being used to its full potential.
Maris Dae is about science, performance, and health. We're a wellness company disguised as a skincare brand.
Our products heal, hydrate, and support your body through every season of life. I know our community is busy. And like me, they feel their happiest outside, whether that's trail running, diving into the ocean, skiing or sitting out in the garden. So, I wanted to create products that protect your skin from the elements, have amazing healing properties, and connect you back to nature.
I believe wellness is a full-circle practice: personal, environmental, and community-based. When you care for your body and the planet, you feel more alive, and more connected to what truly matters.
This is more than skincare.
Welcome to the Dae + thank you for joining me on this mission.
Sam Rayner
Founder, mom, gardener, brand builder, wannabe professional dancer.
