Founded in 2019, Waken is a UK-based mouthcare brand. Focusing on complete oral hygiene, the company’s deliciously effective formulas prioritise purity over strength, and are made to work with your mouth rather than just ‘targeting’, ‘killing’ or ‘fighting’ off bacteria. But, it’s not just oral hygiene it is here to take care of – the eco-friendly brand is 100 per cent vegan-friendly, recyclable and the mouthwashes are carbon neutral. Good for your mouth and good for the planet – and let’s not forget to mention the beautiful packaging. We chatted with founder, Simon Duffy, about what makes Waken different from your everyday oral care brand.
What sets Waken apart from other brands in the market?
There is a lot that makes us different, but first let me say that people can feel completely reassured that there is absolutely no sacrifice in terms of performance. Waken products are focused on amazing results. We use fluoride and other science-led ingredients in our formulations. We fully test everything and do a great deal of work on developing our products to make sure they really work. However, there is a lot that sets us apart. Waken is more sustainable than typical traditional brands. Our mouthwashes are bottled in fully recyclable bottles made from post-consumer recycled plastic. We take a lot of care on every new product to develop more sustainable solutions. We also prioritise natural formulations. Waken is actually the only major brand that uses real natural peppermint and natural spearmint while other brands typically use artificial fragrances.
What materials go into making Waken eco-friendly?
Packaging is vital. When you consider how much virgin plastic goes into typical dental products, it’s shocking. Waken takes a different approach. Our toothpaste tubes are packed in sustainable aluminium tubes and our mouthwashes are bottled in sustainable PCR bottles. We’re also more sustainable when it comes to our formulations. That is not just about the natural ingredients we use, it’s also about what we don’t use. For example, we don’t add titanium dioxide into our toothpastes. We don’t like the way this ingredient is mined and it’s only included to make pastes ‘whiter’ and serves no actual purpose beyond the cosmetic look and feel.
The packaging looks beautiful – can you tell us a little bit about this?
Stunning packaging has been a huge focus for us. With Waken, I want people to feel proud to have their dental products on display all the time. There shouldn’t be any difference between having cool dental products and cool beauty products. On Instagram, we’ve been overwhelmed by the content that people are posting of Waken looking stunning in their beautiful homes.
And lastly, what’s your favourite flavour?
Ha! That’s a bit like being asked which is your favourite child. They are all brilliant. However, if you really pushed me, I would say the peppermint mouthwash. It’s just so intensely minty and refreshing, but I also think you can appreciate the natural flavour notes coming from the real peppermint we use.
For more information, visit wakencare.com.
