Oneka, body care products with unique aromas

Oneka was born of Philippe and Stacey's entrepreneurial spirit. In 2007, this loving couple had one ambition: to found a company with a positive impact on the well-being of people and the planet. The body care range Oneka body care line is distinguished by the use of essential oils to create unique fragrances and certified organic ingredients grown on the family farm in Frelighsburg.

Discover the Oneka story in this interview with La Boite à Grains by co-founder Philippe Choinière.

Interview with Philippe Choinière, co-founder of Oneka

Can you tell us about the essence and beginnings of Oneka?

It all started a bit accidentally, I'd say, in the sense that we wanted to start a company, but not with a specific idea in mind. Our ambition was to have a positive impact on health. Then there was the desire to take over the family farms. An encounter in Western Canada put us on this path: the idea that body care had a link with human health got us excited. And then I was like at the end of my field hockey career, so it just made sense to take a 180-degree turn and make a big change in our lives.

Stacey and I are more spontaneous than structured people. We recognized and felt an opportunity, but we had zero knowledge of chemistry and hair health, zero connections in the industry, but this tenacious goal: we want a company that will impact people's health and the environment.

This required so much learning that we really got off to a slow start. Eventually, we bought one of the family farms, where we now grow our own plants. We grow and extract the plants, then harvest them in the wild. The farm is certified organic.

Harvesting, product formulation, production... How did you meet these challenges with Stacey?

Meeting a chemist gave us a good basis on which to work. There were formulas that were practically ready-made. I'd say our biggest learning curve was in marketing, running a business, understanding the market and branding. You can imagine the number of iterations we went through to get to where we are today.

Stacey has taken the lead in product development and flavors, and of course we've been surrounded from the start by herbalists, chemists and other talent who provide us with the necessary knowledge and expertise. I think our biggest contribution to this project is really entrepreneurship. It's launching the movement, having the stubbornness, persevering.

In terms of values, since day one, the word justice has been at the heart of our business. But we need to put it in context. I can see that society is a bit hostage to extra capitalism. I'm not just referring to mega-corporations. I'm referring to a mindset that basically says that business is there to make a profit first, and then we'll see what we can do. And I have a fundamental problem with that. I tell myself that the purpose of business is to offer a service, to serve customers, not to extract value for myself alone.

In my opinion, profit should be the consequence of good management, of a product that has value for people. We're in profit optimization mode, not maximization.

Three words to define Oneka?

First and foremost, unique flavors. It's the essence of the brand, we know it, we're told it. We accompany people in their body care rituals by offering an experience, be it olfactory, sensory or textural.

Then there's the whole botanical aspect, with our farm, certified organic plants, regenerative agriculture...

The third word is benevolence. Benevolence is the symbol of our actions, and encompasses our Bcorp certification. It doesn't make us a perfect company, but rather one that pursues an ideal of coherence. Benevolence for me means taking care, taking care of oneself, taking care of one's team, taking care of one's customers, taking care of the environment. In an imperfect way, I assume it, I name it, but it's an intention.

Oneka in a few words

• Founded in 2007
• 15 employees
• Certified B Corp
• Certified organic botanical farm in Frelighsburg, Quebec

What makes Oneka body care so special?

Number 1 is deeply and completely aromatic. There are many brands out there that use synthetic fragrances. Oneka uses only essential oils to flavor its products. That makes a big difference.

I can talk about one of our major commitments, which is plastic offsetting. We have a compensation program, which means that we finance the collection of plastic.

Basically, it's plastic that, over time, ends up in the ocean. We have a partnership with a company called Plastic Bank (from Vancouver). They work in countries like Indonesia, Haiti, Bali and Egypt. They work with local people to collect plastic from shorelines or other places that will eventually end up in the ocean. The locals benefit from this social contribution on a double level, it's really interesting. Since 2018, we've been offsetting our actual plastic use twice. Last year, we used 10 tons of plastic, but we finance the collection of 20 tons.

Which Oneka product should you try first?

Shampoos are our star products. People often have a lot of questions about natural shampoos. As well as being effective, they leave no residue. In Canada, we've become a benchmark.

Can you tell us a little about Oneka's local roots?

The notion of local can vary from one person to another. For some, it's 100 kilometers, for others it's the country, but for us, North America is local. We've had a real psychological block on the question of exporting around the world... a shampoo is 60% water, and that would mean shipping water to the other end of the planet.

For Oneka, of course, another aspect of local is the Frelighsburg farm. Many ingredients are grown and produced here.

What is your vision for Oneka in the next 5 or 10 years?

Our ambition is to be a leader in North America. We're also going to work on offering a more diversified range.

Many thanks to Philippe Choinière for answering our questions!

Find out more about Oneka's product range, click here.