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Curiosity. Courage. And patience...a lot of patience.
Researcher's luck.
At the very beginning, of course, there was a great fascination for the sea for us marine researchers, that is clear. Using it without misusing it, without harming it, was quickly the next task. And in 1994, it was the starting point for the founding of CRM - Coastal Research & Management, which to this day develops solutions for sustainable coastal management. Which, as a researcher, you could actually be satisfied with. But we weren't. We wanted (and want) to be sure that our scientific results and the processes we develop are used sensibly - sustainably, ecologically and socially. So we first founded "O'well - Ocean Wellness GmbH" and then oceanBASIS, which is now the manufacturer of our Oceanwell cosmetics.
So much for the business framework.
Now to the active ingredients.
In 1998, we focused on the cultivation of Laminaria saccharina, a native seaweed. We knew that its ingredients contain enormous potential for health: minerals, trace elements, special amino acids, algal sugars (that is why it is also called sugar kelp) and polyphenols, among others. Laminaria itself needs these for wound protection and to avoid drying out, because algae are exposed to harmful influences much more directly than living organisms in the air.
Aggressive compounds are neutralized by polyphenols and the plant can regenerate more quickly. Polyphenols perform the same function on the skin - they reduce oxidative stress caused by environmental toxins and solar radiation, protect DNA and RNA from free radical damage, and therefore have an anti-inflammatory effect. Wow. Now how do you get that into a jar? By first thinking about cultivation.
By the way, you can find more about the active ingredients here:
A new approach to cultivation.
Laminaria algae farming was the idea. In a study for the German Environmental Foundation, we were able to prove that it increases biodiversity, removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus counteracts global warming. It also promotes the self-purifying power of the sea because it converts its excess nutrients and in return supplies the sea with oxygen. This form of sea use deliberately extracts only what has been planted beforehand. This makes our algae farming fundamentally different from the fishing of natural stocks, which destroys important habitats worldwide. An approach that was worth a research prize in the magazine "mare". And we put it into practice in 2000 with our first algae farm in the Kiel Fjord. In 2002 it was enlarged to 4000 square metres and we were able to celebrate the first big harvest. Done? Almost. What remained was the technology, the products, the logistics and: the turtle babies.