Meet: Laro

Founded by Beth Booker, Laro is the latest we are lusting over. Launched earlier this year, the Amsterdam-based founder is making waves in the world of dental care, producing high-quality, sophisticated toothpaste and mouth rinse that take pride of place on your bathroom shelf. Aesthetics, good business practices, and clean ingredients go hand-in-hand – all three elements are equally important, and none are overlooked. 

Get to know Beth, her inspiration behind the brand, and its origins.

It's a thrill to be chatting with you, Beth. Can you talk us through Laro? Laro is a new generation of premium oral care products that combine pharmaceutical-grade science with potent natural ingredients and sustainable business practices. Our products are free from sulphates, fluoride, and nasty chemicals with zero plastic packaging. It's time we demand more from the products we all use every single day. We’re on a mission to do better and bring conscious luxury to your daily practices.

What was your career before Laro? And what did you learn that has informed the way you run your business? Safe to say, I had quite a diverse career building up to Laro — I actually studied Economics and then did my Master’s in International Business Law. It turns out being a lawyer wasn’t for me! I ended up working for a bank and it was an amazingly quick learning curve into every angle of business. I took this knowledge with me in a move to Amsterdam and freelanced for Nike. My last role was as Head of Projects for a European hospitality scale-up. I learnt so many different things in each role that built up a holistic view of how to run a business, and I wanted to see if I could bring a bit more of a conscious, sustainable angle to whatever came next. I didn’t exactly intend to start something myself, but as the idea formed and grew, I couldn’t not take the leap!

Obscure career paths are so intriguing! Are there any products you’d love to add to the range in the long term? It’s not my intention for Laro to become a huge company with endless offerings - rather, we want to start small with the perfect all-rounder set of oral care and take all the heavy burdens and thinking out of consumer choice. You know our products are effective, you don’t have to do tons of research about whether there are harmful ingredients in there, and we’ve thought about the impact of our packaging, so you don’t have to. Not to mention, our packaging will look nice on a bathroom shelf! All that being said, there are a few things on the horizon. A children’s toothpaste will be one of the next things we do. I want to make the perfect toothpaste that I’ve been missing since becoming a mother, with the same principles. I would love to collaborate with brands that align well with our principles in the future rather than re-inventing products from scratch.

We await eagerly. What are the benefits of using natural ingredients? For the company but also the customer? We wanted to produce products that can be an easy choice — using natural ingredients that have been thought through and proven effective means that you don’t have to worry about putting anything unwanted in your body that could potentially have negative side effects. 

And what about sustainable business practices? I think the burden has been on the consumer for too long to research what they are buying, where it all comes from, what the impact is of producing it, and whether it’s recyclable or reusable. Now you see a lot of ‘greenwashing’ — leaving the consumer with even more work to do, trying to get to the bottom of all of the sustainable labels banded around and whether or not they mean anything. With Laro, I wanted to take all that thinking out of the equation and keep the burden with us. I’m not saying we’ve had everything 100% right with our first product, but we are constantly thinking about what’s best and how to evolve and improve, and we want to be transparent about it. We also hope to prove that being sustainable and using natural ingredients doesn’t mean you have to compromise on product quality, efficacy or design. 

Credit: Laro

How do you navigate the world of sustainability as a product-based brand? We know it’s embedded in Laro’s ethos. Is it still a challenge? Or do you find it’s becoming more accessible, affordable and understood in the world of product development? Actually, I couldn’t believe how difficult this was first starting out - all the packaging suppliers I was making enquiries with kept steering me back towards plastic options or ‘recycled plastic’ and trying to sell this as very sustainable without much grounding. I suppose because they are far easier and cheaper to produce, have better margins for suppliers and require less careful transport packaging. It was a hard battle to push for our aluminium tubes and glass bottles (and there’s still room for improvement) — we’ve had issues and setbacks with every step so far. It’s been the hardest part of getting Laro off the ground.

But we set principles from the outset, and I was determined to stick to them. There is no right answer when it comes to making sustainable choices; I think you have to constantly strive to do better and adapt the more you learn! As we’re learning, I also wanted to ensure we were doing something to offset our impact, hence the partnership with Greenspark ensuring that a certain amount from the sale goes back into plastic clean-up and global community initiatives. 

Incredible. Striving to do better is the main thing for sure. What do you hope to achieve with Laro? And now launched, what’s next? If we can bring more conscious choices to the oral care market and see something different on retail shelves amongst the sea of red and blue plastic tubes, I’ll be ecstatic! In my opinion, it’s a world that has been slower to transform than other product areas. What’s next? Well, watch this space. We have exciting new product developments, collaborations and stockists in planning for 2025, and we are looking to improve and do better continuously.

Let’s cut back to the beginning. When did you start working on Laro? How long has it taken to come to fruition? I feel like Laro as a concept has been brewing forever. It’s always been a bugbear of mine that you see all of these great trends in the beauty industry — more transparency around cleaner ingredients, better and more sustainable materials in packaging — and the world of oral care has been much slower to catch on. Not only that, but you take great care in the products that you put on your bathroom shelf aesthetically - why do we all still have old-school, non-design-focused oral care products? It’s not that sustainable, natural toothpaste didn’t exist. It’s just that I didn’t want a very green-looking tube of paste that tasted like some soapy fennel, and I wasn’t sure it had any effect. I wanted something that left you feeling minty and fresh, like your normal toothpaste but didn’t contain harsh chemicals or bleach derivatives. Oh, and it would look nice too. 

I was always missing something that stood up next to your classic Aesop hand soap in the bathroom. As a real-life product to bring into being, I started with developing our signature toothpaste formulation and with the branding last Summer. So, I’d say it took about a year of development before we launched this September, and there are already a lot of improvements I want to make with our next batches in terms of supply chain and packaging. 

It’s so refreshing to hear. Why do you think dental care isn’t quite there yet? It’s always been a bit of a mystery to me why people who are conscious and opt for using only clean skincare and beauty products wouldn’t make that same connection regarding oral care. Was this because there weren’t enough options for oral care products? Or is it just that the existing products on the market are so culturally embedded, always backed up by dentists on television, that nobody questions them? I’m not sure of the answer, but I was determined to create an effective and viable alternative. This gap also played a part in our pricing. I originally wanted our products to be ‘luxury,’ but when it came down to it, I didn’t want to give them too high a price point so they wouldn’t be accessible. What I hope we’ve landed on is a very premium product with excellent ingredients and an attractive design that is affordable in the wider oral care market.

We think you’ve nailed it. Where does your passion for dental care come from? It grew over the last few years as a combination of the frustrating gap in the oral care market and becoming much more aware of the ingredients we put into our bodies after having children. During pregnancy, for instance, you are given all sorts of guidance on the skin/body care products and particular chemical ingredients you should avoid. I just thought, why should we limit this level of care to certain periods? Shouldn’t it be the norm to take an interest in what our bodies absorb? So, I’ve spent a lot of time in recent years reading all sorts of dental journals and studies, learning and, of course, partnering with lab specialists and experts on our formulations.

Credit: Laro

Did you always want to be an entrepreneur? Or did it come through circumstance? I’ve always loved the idea of being an entrepreneur, but honestly never thought I would be brave enough to go for it! I suppose the push I needed was circumstance — when my husband changed roles a couple of years ago, I needed work for myself to be a bit more flexible, so I took the plunge doing this thing that I’d been thinking about for years. It was, and still is, a little scary, but I’ve loved every minute of it and have learned so much so far.

How does it feel to be a solo founder? And how do you keep yourself pushing the brand forward? It was definitely scary taking the plunge at first - there is absolutely nowhere to hide when every single development choice and spending decision is on you! But I’ve loved the journey, and I really believe in and love using our products. In that sense, I don’t have to keep pushing myself because it’s become part of me and my passions! I thought it would feel more lonely as a solo founder than it has - I’ve met a lot of other entrepreneurs as part of this journey and learnt so much from them and their stories. I’ve also had so much support from friends, family and a strong network of partners to team up with and bounce ideas off.

Your Instagram and visual identity are so strong, too. Where does your love for design and aesthetics come from? Thank you! I’ve always loved design (and pretty products), but with my studies and career path, I’ve never really had the opportunity to exercise the more creative areas of my brain at work. It’s been so fun designing something from start to finish and honing in on the type of look and feel we wanted to create. There were lots of directions we could have gone in. Still, I opted for a clean and minimalist packaging approach to align with the cleanness and simplicity we wanted to embed in our ingredients and materials. Through photography and lifestyle imagery, we’ve created more warmth and tried to showcase some of the natural origins of our formulations. Of course, it helps that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some very skilled people, and we have an absolutely incredible photographer - she’s very talented.

We love that Laro’s products look timeless and can take pride of place in your bathroom – a space that can often turn messy! How intentional was it to create a product that elevates an often mundane chore? That was intentional to the very core! These are products that we literally use twice a day every day of our lives; I can’t believe there are such limited options for beautifully curated toothpaste and mouthwash products. Not only with the outer packaging, though, we wanted to create a toothpaste that had an elegant twist on that wonderful fresh feeling you are looking for — I hope we’ve done this with our wild mint, lemon and bergamot flavour blend.

It sounds divine. And for Laro as a whole, why now? I think we’re at a time when consumers are a lot more aware of what they’re buying, want to know the kinds of ingredients being used in products, and care about the impact products are having on the world. In general, we are far more educated than ever before. We know a lot more than we ever did about how to nourish our bodies with lots of information out there about our gut microbiomes, and I want to expand on this when it comes to oral care, adding our oral microbiome and the impact that can have on overall health and wellbeing into the mix.

Finally — we'd love to get to know Beth behind Laro. So tell us a little bit about you. Well, 2024 has been one of my busiest years yet. I’ve had lots of projects, launched Laro, emigrated, moved house again, and gave birth to my second baby a month ago. It’s certainly a different experience the second time around. Especially with lots of exciting Laro things going on — no time for maternity leave this year! We love to travel and took a month off last Christmas road-tripping around New Zealand with our toddler. We now split our time between the UK and Amsterdam (my husband is Dutch), and I’m excited for my kids to grow up in the Netherlands. A more sustainable lifestyle is almost a given here, and my 3-year-old girl can already bike herself to daycare. Now, I just have to add learning Dutch to my 2025 to-do list!

One last thing! Can Laro products be found as a stockist anywhere outside your website? Or, if not now, coming soon? In the UK, it’s just our direct website for now, but we hope to expand into a number of retail stockists next year, so please keep an eye out!

Check out Laro online or explore their products in person at The Art of Giving: 

A Modular Festive Market

Fri 29 Nov, Sat 30 Nov, Sun 1 Dec 2024

Fri: 3pm - 5pm | Sat, Sun: 10am - 3pm

SERCHIA Gallery, 24 Elmgrove Rd, Redland, Bristol, BS6 6AJ

SERCHIA Gallery and New Journo are delighted to present The Art of Giving, a new approach to seasonal shopping in the form of a Modular Festive Market. Join founders Christine Serchia and Emily Birkett, respectively, to celebrate the season, championing women and timelessly designed products in a low-key setting. Located in Bristol, the gallery will act as a shop floor showcasing a carefully curated selection of twelve highly coveted female-founded brands, a nod to the Twelve Days of Christmas, personally chosen by the curatorial duo. 

Happening on the traditional Black Friday weekend, the pop-up event challenges the perception of consumerism, offering a more tailored, considered outlook on gifting. It’s about the ceremony and rituals you share with others rather than the product itself: interactions, utilitarianism, and sentimentality, with quality and beauty taking front and centre. A small gathering will be held on Fri 29 Nov, in addition to the regular weekend opening hours, as a chance to meander the gallery and chat with the organisers, surrounded by ambient music, mulled wine, baked goods and festive scents. It is free-entry with community at its core.

Stocked

Naturally Whitening Toothpaste [£8.99]

“Our original toothpaste formula uses hard-working, naturally derived ingredients to gently whiten and re-mineralize enamel. We have created a signature flavour with a blend of wild mint, lemon and bergamot oils that will leave your mouth uniquely refreshed.”

Active Mouth Wash [£17.99]

“Laro's Active Mouth Rinse is a calming and refreshing mouthwash containing the same hard-working whitening and remineralizing ingredients as our original toothpaste. Instead of undoing any of your brushwork, the mouth will build upon the caring layers of protection throughout the day or night, looking after your oral microbiome. Currently available in our signature wild mint, lemon and bergamot flavour.”