MARIA ÅKERBERG: The power of nature: perfected and bottled

MARIA ÅKERBERG has become a household name around Sweden and abroad for people looking for genuine skincare with deep roots in nature. For nearly 30 years, the brand has been trailblazing the market for skin- and haircare by providing solutions that make a real difference, extracting the power of pure and natural ingredients into products that win awards and new followers by the year.

MARIA ÅKERBERG – the brand as much as the individual behind the brand – lives and breathes a holistic approach towards the kind of products should be applied to our bodies: ”Stuffing our bodies with waste and poor-qualty products will only generate more waste and poor results. We need to ask ourselves: what does our skin really need to look and feel good? The skin, our largest organ, is made up of several layers that are affected differently by different ingredients, and our skincare products are created to work together by soothing, protecting and strengthening without harming the natural processes in your body,” says Maria Åkerberg, founder and CEO of MARIA ÅKERBERG.

Changing the narrative

Things have changed since Åkerberg embarked on her journey in 1995, in a time when the skincare market looked very different from today. Skincare brands didn’t list their ingredients and most options consisted of synthetic chemicals without any connection to natural sources. Åkerberg, who’d grown up creating her own concoctions in her kitchen with a grandmother who instilled an early interest in natural remedies, decided to be the change and started her brand to provide a groundbreaking alternative on the skincare market. ”My grandmother was a huge inspiration: she paid great attention to self-care and created her own creams and mixtures with pure natural ingredients. I’ve infused this into my brand by using the natural functions and attributes of plants, transferring these qualities to our products by extracting the beneficial effects that will work wonders on your skin,” says Åkerberg. Vitamins, antioxidants, salts, lactic acids and natural preservatives are distilled from the nature that surrounds us; red clover, nettle, juniper berry, horse-chestnut, honey, beeswax, algae, clay, sunflower oil and much more are bottled up in well-researched combinations to provide remedies that create real change. The philosophy behind is simple yet solid: to provide products that help the skin help itself with products that nourish, moisturise and restore the skin’s natural protective barrier.

Local presence brings greater impact

From development, administration and testing to warehouse and production – all activity takes place on the west coast of Sweden, in a factory in the small town of Frillesås. By keeping everything under one roof, it’s easy to make quick decisions and implement new products or campaigns. ”We’re a group of tight-knit experts who care deeply about our products and about developing new ideas that have a huge impact on the beauty industry. We’re a relatively small team compared to other skincare brands which makes it easy for us to be flexible and test new things,” says Åkerberg. The team has won multiple awards for its work and six of its products have been nominated the ”Product of the Year” in the Organic Beauty Awards. The natural and flexible philosophy has also enabled MARIA ÅKERBERG to be world-first with unique beauty treatments – one of them includes a treatment that consists of living stem cells from roseroot, offered in salons and providing improved resilience of the skin. The stem cells help kickstart the skin’s own reparation process and will leave an immediately smoother, clearer and brighter complexion, that improves over time.

Maria Åkerberg.

Products for hair, body and face

MARIA ÅKERBERG’s portfolio ranges from facial-, hair-, body-, and baby care to makeup and men’s shaving products. Bestsellers include the Scalp Treatment Rosemary which has become a viral hit on social media with thousands of testimonials attesting its near-magical ability to thicken the hair and leave it healthier and smoother than before. The Face Lotion More is another favourite for mature skin, with red clover extract it will create a regenerating as well as moisturising effect – a bestseller that’s been around for more than 20 years. New products are launched on a regular basis and Åkerberg is always on the lookout for new formulas that will enhance wellbeing and provide real effects on skin and body. ”I came into the business to make a difference and prove that natural ingredients can provide the same, if not better, body care than synthetic products. I wanted to bring some accountability into this industry, and I believe that our products and the response from our customers have helped prove my point: nature is our greatest ally and if we decide to utilise its attributes in an intelligent way, it’s bound to leave a positive impact on our bodies, minds and, in the long run, our world,” Åkerberg concludes.

The factory.

Web: www.mariaakerberg.com
Instagram: @mariaakerbergsweden