SELF is 4. Celebrate with us!

SELF is blowing out four candles this month. How much has happened in recent years! A lot of beautiful moments, but also lots of lessons along the way. I would like to take you on a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

After two years of intensive research, I gave up my job as a psychologist in 2016, a job that I did for years with all my heart. The start of a great new adventure. I remember when I thought… “Will anyone ever buy my creams? Will my jars ever be in a bathroom? Will they ever be in a shop? … ” Today, as I look back on all our milestones, I am filled with a warm feeling. We owe you every step of the way, our wonderful SELF lovers. Without your messages, support and belief in SELF, we would never be where we are today. Are you celebrating with us?

2016

• The very first SELF products arrived with incorrect labels. Ouch!
• SELF is present for the first time on the famous press days. We are immediately included in media such as Nina, Sjiek, Elle, HLN, Vogue and Elle. A dream!
• The first SELF partners step on board: Ellen Van Damme and Fin du Jour.
• We win our first award at the Beauty Awards in London.

2017

• Many first times in 2017!
  • My first employee Emmy starts at SELF.
  • The first SELF workshops took place.
  • For the first time we are present at Cosmoprof, our very first trade fair!
  • The first USA retailer chooses SELF.
• This year, we also won the Mama & Baby Award.

2018

• Eager to grow even more, I participated in Leeuwenkuil. PMV and Jurgen Ingels sign as investors.
• We moved to a new office. We added our SELF touch, of course!
• Svenja came to join our team to keep all orders on the right track.
• The first pharmacists purchased SELF.
• We participated in the VIJFTV shopping day in Leuven
• We won the:
  • Knack Marie Jo award
  • EU award
  • Belofte van 2018 award
• I shared the story of SELF in “Made in Kempen”: speaking for the first time in front of a room full of people.

2019

• Working with an official board the first year! Strange and different, but also very valuable to be supported by people who help SELF grow.
• We participated in the first fair outside Europe, in Dubai.
• Emmy became a mom, moves and says goodbye to SELF.
• #TeamSELF is getting bigger, with Flavie, Lynn, Aimee and Tilly on board.
• We are expanding our range with a face mask.
• SELF is officially recognized as a vegan brand.
• SELF wins an international beauty award for the “sensitive skincare” category.

2020

What a crazy year, but fortunately there are also a lot of glory moments to celebrate:

• All our products are dermatologically tested and approved.
• We organized our very first Self Soirée. It was lovely, thanks to everyone who joined us!
• We launch our sun cream.
• We are moving to a larger office.

Maybe this all sounds like a walk in the park, but trust me, we’ve really had our share of bad luck.

There were:

• wrong labels
• boxes printed upside down
• lids that fell apart
• a lawsuit

This journey is one in which we continue to learn continuously. One that certainly does not always run smoothly, but it is oh so special to make them together with our close-knit SELF community.

Every time I meet a customer in a store, at an event or an exhibition. With every WhatsApp, email or card in the office.  Such moments keep reminding me why I keep going. That’s why for #TeamSELF we love doing what we do. Because it feels like we’re doing it with you. There would be no SELF without our customers. Thank you!

To celebrate you

Looking ahead to the future

Believe me, we still have a lot of exciting SELF plans in store. A tip of the veil:

• We are eager to organize our Self Soirées again and get to know our customers even better.
• We are working hard to make the switch to glass packaging.
• We would love to co-create a product with you. Which new SELF product do you think we should definitely include in our range? Let us know through this short survey.

Cheers, dearest Self fans. Thank you for everything!