If you’ve recently revamped your beauty routine to include as many natural, toxin-free steps as possible, oral care is probably next on the list — that’s where Tash Scutts’ LOVEBYT comes in. The Australian-made botanical, vegan and toxin-free toothpaste and mouthwash is reinventing the oral care game. On top of its toothpaste and mouthwash, the brand offers biodegradable dental floss and bamboo toothbrushes to give your daily clean a complete transformation. The brand's overall goal is bridge the gap between chemical commercial toothpaste with lacklustre natural toothpastes, and create not only natural products that work and taste delicious but also look chic on your counter while doing it. As part of HER BLACK BOOK’s Festival of Her, a shopping event to support female-founded businesses, Scutts shares some insight into her business journey so far.
“I researched commercial toothpaste for 12 months. Investigating every single ingredient that goes into toothpaste and all the variations. I was quite horrified by what was going into our mouths. Then I researched natural toothpaste and started buying all the natural ones available on the market. They all left me feeling very flat and not fulfilled with using them in my oral routine. They either tasted terrible, didn’t foam and were very unattractively packaged. I realised then that there was an opportunity to make a natural toothpaste that filled the gap between the commercial and the natural on the market. Why couldn’t I make one that tasted good, foamed using a natural surfactant, was effective at cleaning teeth and then why not make the packaging attractive?”
“If you want to start your own business, then find a product that is not being done very well or not at all. Then get to work and researching your competitors, ingredients, packaging, costings, markets, distribution channels. Find a friend or family member to help you with advice.”
“I was in my late 40’s when I left a fabulous job to start my own business. I didn’t ever want to regret not having a go and I wanted to create a brand that I could work with my daughters Liv and Lucy on.”
“In the beginning I would go to three farmers markets every weekend rain, hail or shine to set up a stall for the morning. Sometimes getting up at 3:30am to travel to Newcastle, Melbourne, Bowral, Bondi from Newport in Sydney. It was tiring, stressful and hard work. But so important to talk to and meet your customers and to get your product into the hands of your early adopters.”
“My Botanical Peppermint Mouthwash is so good. Everyone who buys this tells me they think it’s the best natural mouthwash they have tried. My Cinnamon & Clove toothpaste is great for sensitive teeth and gums. With teeth bleaching becoming more and more popular, this is a great toothpaste to calm sensitivity whilst giving an excellent clean. Charcoal & Mint will help to buff and remove surface stains from your teeth. Then for a sustainable alternative, use the bamboo toothbrushes. These are unlike any bamboo brush currently on the market. They have DuPont nylon bristles infused with Japanese Binchotan charcoal to help absorb odours. The bamboo handle combines the best quality of hardwoods (hardness, looks, stability) with the immense growing capacity of the highly renewable MOSO giant bamboo species. Therefore, the handle won’t go mouldy and feels smooth to touch.”
