Groom & A is our latest interview series with some of the key brains and people behind the brands you see on Humanery. The products that feature on our platform share our ethos of encouraging men to activate healthy self-care routines, and to integrate personal grooming into their lives.
Supper Club Skincare's founder Ziad shares not only how he established the brand but also his ultimate vision of giving back, thus ensuring fewer people go hungry around the world. Take a look at how meticulously Sabzi has been developed to provide salvation for tired skin.
Tell us a a bit about yourself and your involvement with Supper Club Skincare, where you originally come from and what is your favourite TV show?
My name is Ziad Halub and I’m the founder of Supper Club Skincare. I’m Iraqi-British – I most enjoyed Nine Perfect Strangers recently.
When did you start Supper Club Skincare?
Supper Club has been a labour of love. I originally started to work on Sabzi Multi-Action Face Serum Oil around 4 years before launch. In 2017 I went on what seemed like an endless quest checking out farms around Europe and Asia, finding unconventional manufacturing and extraction methods, formulating and finding sustainable materials for the packaging.
How did Supper Club Skincare come about? What inspired you to launch this brand?
I have been in the skincare industry for over a decade. There are very few products out there that I wouldn’t modify in some way to suit my personal taste. The idea of “what if” always crosses my mind when I buy something and I will always make a mental note of what I would have done differently at any stage of the process.
Supper Club was born pretty organically. I already had that desire to innovate – and as I was cooking for the spring equinox (Nowruz), I realised that all of the ingredients I was using would be fantastic for the skin but underutilised in the industry. Supper Club was born from that split second thought.
What is unique about your products?
Sabzi is pretty unique in most aspects. Let’s start from the source – Every ingredient in Sabzi can be traced back to the farm. I hand-selected each harvest and batch to ensure only the best ends up in the bottle.
Not all ingredients are made equal – wine is a good example of how one ingredient can have a multitude of qualities and outcomes. This is no different, so I wanted only the best.
From a formula standpoint, it has 79% dermal absorption (in comparison to the 10-20% absorption conventionally seen as “fast-absorbing”). That means most of the formula is working deep within the skin rather than sitting on the surface.
The formula itself doesn’t have a “base” – Most products have active ingredients in small percentages sitting in an inactive base like water or grapeseed oil. With Sabzi, the entire formula is active, all of it.
The method of manufacturing is food grade. This means that the product is much “purer” and of a much higher quality than cosmetic grade products.
The packaging is made from sustainably sourced materials. The bottle is violet glass which keeps the formula active and is inlaid with real gold. The outer packaging is made from sustainably sourced wood and it is milled in the lake district.
Describe only in a few words what your brand means to customers?
Indulgent not Wasteful or Exclusive not Arrogant
Do you have any upcoming product launches? If so, can you tell us more about them?
There are some products in the pipeline, but it may take a while before you know what they are ;)
What is your favourite product from another brand that is not currently available in your own product portfolio?
Aesop Moroccan Neroli Shaving Serum – One of the best shaving products I have ever used!
What’s one career you wish you could have?
I love ingredients. It would either have been food or skincare.
5 years from now, if money were no object, where would you like to see your Supper Club Skincare and what would it represent?
I often ask myself this question. In a perfect world, the first thing Supper Club would eliminate is all plastic – no pipettes, no caps, no pumps. I would want to create waste-free refills.
The most important mission for Supper Club, though, is to give back – the ultimate goal is to set up food and agriculture initiatives in lesser developed areas so that fewer people go hungry around the world.
If you were helping a man get started with a grooming and beauty ritual, what are the most basic steps you'd encourage them to follow?
- Never shave against the grain of the hair – as a bald man I learnt it the hard way.
- Stay away from products that smell like menthol or peppermint– you deserve better.
- Cleansing should never make the skin dry or feel tight – be gentle.
- Less is more – keep the skin nourished with one or two products – a seven step routine isn’t necessary.
Let's make sure you're taking not just good but great care of your skin. At Humanery, we're here to introduce you to new products alongside newer methods to ensure your wellbeing!
