5 Minutes with Juliet Blair

Five Minutes With… is an interview series about people making strides in organics and sustainability.
BioGro chatted with Linden Leaves CEO, Juliet Blair on the challenges of running a sustainable business, what natural means to her and why beauty businesses should consider the NATRUE certification.

What does natural mean to you?

To me natural is the best choice for our bodies and overall wellbeing, and how things are meant to be! Living in New Zealand we are lucky enough to have a close affinity and daily relationship with nature, and it’s easy to forget how this isn’t the case in some of the world’s most urbanised, densely populated places.

What have been some of the main challenges to running a rapidly growing sustainable business?

Logistics and cash flow management, in particular through recent global disruption, are an ongoing challenge. Early, cost-effective access to some of the newer sustainable innovations from around the world can also prove challenging due to the comparatively small scale of our industry here in New Zealand.

And what have been the highlights?

It’s a never-ending pleasure to meet the lovely people who live with and love our brand and products, and to watch this community grow. Many of our New Zealand customers have been on this journey with us for nearly 30 years, and we can’t thank them enough for their loyal support!

What are the core values that guide what you do?

My personal values are actually very closely aligned with those of Linden Leaves, where we value people & nature, authenticity and continuous improvement, as we seek to enhance lives and well-being and do our best to contribute to a brighter future for all.

Why should businesses look to get NATRUE certification?

NATURE is an internationally respected certification that offers customers security. Amidst a landscape of ever-increasing complexity and green-washing the NATURE stamp of approval helps validate claims as authentic and create trust.

What are the benefits? 

-        Customer trust

-        International Accreditation

-        Clearly defined Natural & Organic standards

-        Respected, audited endorsement of product credentials

What’s next for Linden Leaves?

We are currently working on some exciting new product development and have some great new things in the pipeline including new sustainability innovations. We are also excited to be growing our brand globally again this year, after several difficult and stressful years under COVID, both here in New Zealand and for many of our overseas partners.

Anything else you would like to add?

We love being part of a movement concerned with both personal well-being and the health & well-being of our homes and world.

As a New Zealand family-owned lifestyle brand that has been in business for 28 years now, we’re excited to see attitudes shifting towards a more collaborative, positive approach across most industries, to better support sustainability and ‘good’ business practice - where people and the planet matter.