Sḵwálwen Botanicals celebrates ancestral plant knowledge
Leigh Joseph, Indigenous ethnobotanist and founder of Sḵwálwen Botanicals, has been drawn to connecting with the natural world and her community throughout her whole life. Joseph said she pursued a degree in biology and botany because she wanted to understand more about the biochemistry and ecology of different plants.
Although she didn’t grow up in her home Squamish territory, during her post-secondary schooling she went home to Squamish Nation Lands to carry out her research, studying the cultural interrelationships between people and plants in her community. “That was a really meaningful way for me to bring together this deeper connection with nature as well as community,” Joseph shared.
“From there I got so inspired and captivated by the creativity and beauty of working with plants in the context of skin care, as well as the opportunity to increase Indigenous representation and storytelling and imagery within this space of skin care and beauty. The direct impact for why I set out to do my academic work in ethnobotany really intertwines with Sḵwálwen because so much of it is about renewing Indigenous knowledge and increasing representation as well as offering a gift back to Indigenous communities which we do through a couple of key programs.”
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Sḵwálwen Botanicals is a plant-based skin care company that celebrates ancestral plant knowledge and ingredients. The company honors its Indigenous roots with sustainability and regenerative practices that include striving to build an Indigenous supply chain, using botanicals native to Squamish Nation lands, and using a portion of sales each year to provide seeds of native plants for use by an Indigenous community partner.
Joseph started Sḵwálwen in 2019. It is based in Canada and they sell direct to consumer on their website. The brand has placement in 85 retail locations in Canada and recently began expanding into United States retailers. Best sellers in facial care include the Kalkáy Wild Rose Nourishing Facial Oil, Tewin’xw Cranberry Rose Glow Facial Serum, and the Kalkáy Wild Rose Refreshing Toner.
Joseph started by making salves. “Creating salves uses a folk method of extracting botanicals into carrier oil and then mixing the oil with beeswax which thickens the product to the consistency of an ointment. They have continued to be some of our top sellers and they’re a unique entry point to the brand. We get incredible engagement and feedback, everything from how people are utilizing them on themselves, their kids, or pets — and we’re not formulating them with all of those uses in mind — so it’s been surprising to me.”
Although the company is looking to simplify and eliminate some of its SKUs, they also have new products in the works. “I love the formulation and product creation process and because the brand is still small and growing, I’ve been able to experiment with different products. We will be building out some of our key lines,” Joseph said. In August the company will launch a facial serum in the Shkweń line, and in 2025 a facial essence in that same line. “That is our rainforest botanicals line and I’m really excited about both of those.”
Joseph said customers are interested in learning more about the ingredients and plants. “We do a project each year with native plant seeds, and although it isn’t a standard sort of reward program, people engage with it and learn quite a lot about native plants. Another focus is broadening education around wildcrafting and harvesting and how to do that sustainably.” Joseph wrote a book that was published in March, Held by the Land, which has an accompanying card deck which promotes planting and taking advantage of the benefits of native plants.
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“A big part of the work I’ve done overall has been to sit and learn from elders, and often the themes of those conversations are around responsibility and carrying forward and sharing knowledge that’s connected to cultural plants. I keep these conversations very close to my heart in terms of making decisions about how to grow the business.”
“There are really pillars in terms of reciprocity when we’re gathering something from the earth and how we give back through either an offering of replanting seeds, root segments, or cuttings, so we’re ensuring that what we’re harvesting is not diminishing the population for other people as well as animals and pollinators that rely on these plants. Then the sustainability piece also translates into how we’re sourcing all of our ingredients and what materials we’re utilizing for packaging.”
“During our recent rebrand we did a deep dive into what kinds of materials to utilize and we’ve been focusing on glass and aluminum tubes and post-consumer recycled materials for our cartons. We’ve learned more about what it means, especially within this industry, to do our best. It’s not perfect and it’s really hard to be fully plastic free, for example, but it’s really important to tell that story.” Joseph said they definitely could be choosing less expensive materials, but the goal of being sustainable means having to source packaging materials that are more expensive.
As a member of the Ulta Beauty MUSE Accelerator cohort in 2023, Joseph said it was a wonderful experience. “I learned so much from the Ulta team and other participants. One takeaway is that Indigenous businesses don’t even make the charts at this point and I intentionally set out to make the business a lux, clean, plant-based beauty brand that is landing in what retailers would call a ‘white space.’ There’s not only a lot of opportunity, but it’s a really exciting way to also create a pathway for other brands and bring a broader awareness.”
“It was really important to me how I positioned Sḵwálwen because often when we’re talking about Indigenous representation, there’s still a lot of focus on trauma, there’s still a lot of negativity, and I really want to highlight the beauty and brilliance and strength within Indigenous knowledge and communities.”
Megan Moyer is a 20-year retail industry veteran and HRG’s corporate marketing manager. HRG is in the details of retail, working with product manufacturers, distributors, retailers, technology partners, and other industry organizations to provide data & analysis, shopper experience, brand development, fixture coordination, and retail communications solutions. HRG reviews new health, beauty, and wellness (HBW) items every month and assesses their potential for longevity in the monthly Products to Watch feature in Drug Store News as well as the annual Future 50 list.
