A beauty store selling only supplements has landed in Aus

Is this the future of skincare?

A short time after embarking on a nutrition and dietetics degree, Claudia Nathan had a ‘penny drop’ moment.

“The planet is beginning to require more conscious effort, resources, care and science to heal and maintain,” she says. “While Mother Nature gave us everything we needed to live full, happy, healthy lives, we’ve changed what Mother Nature gave us.”

As a result, Claudia explains, we too now require more conscious effort to maintain our health and wellbeing.

Spurred by this and other learnings through her dietetics degree, she turned more closely to supplements. She realised that although some of the major players seemed to be prioritising money and false marketing over genuine results, there were equally some brands prioritising research and efficacy.

But unless you went to the brands direct, they were difficult to come by.

“There’s currently no one-stop shop providing a platform for brands that need to be separated from the traditional ‘Swisse and Blackmores’ supplement narrative,” she explains.

As a result, Claudia took matters into her own hands, opening Inner Earth in May this year. It’s an online store dedicated to selling a specialised selection of supplements; taking a holistic approach to beauty and wellness.

She calls it the ‘mecca’ of the supplement world, not for its extensive range but because it is highly curated (the reference is a comparison to the cosmetics dynasty that has dominated Australian beauty retail for years).

The store sells a range of products that have recently met acclaim (Bear, for example). But it also stocks some lesser-known names, selected purely for their efficacy.

“There are companies out there… making supplements that are deeply intertwined with scientific and traditional research to supplement for what we’re starting to need a little extra help with,” explains Claudia.

These areas we need “a little extra help with” include elevated cortisol and adrenaline levels, which in turn impact cardiovascular, digestive, muscular, sexual, reproductive and immune system.

Claudia says that often these impacts can feel minor and, as a result, many don’t feel they warrant treatment. “There are so many other people out there who are struggling with life due to health and mental issues that aren’t bad enough under the conventional medicine canon to warrant any real help,” she says. “Conventional medicine is reversative, which is both a necessary and incredible feat, but being tired, or being sad, or breaking out, doesn’t generally make the cut.”

For Claudia, supplements are an effective way to address individual health concerns that don’t feel important enough to warrant medical treatment – provided they are used in conjunction with appropriate diet, exercise and lifestyle behaviours, of course.

Claudia has identified eight key problem areas commonly faced, and grouped Inner Earth’s offering under each of these categories. They are brain and energy; metabolism and digestion; skin and beauty; stress and anxiety; free radicals and ageing; mood and libido; sleep and relaxation; immunity and wellbeing.

The idea is to make Inner Earth’s offering as simple as possible to navigate.

The platform also offers consultations free of charge, to ensure people are buying the products best suited to them. Afterpay rounds out the offering.

“Rather than marketing our own opinions, we put the facts and the products out there for consumers to make their own decisions about,” says Claudia.

“Not everyone should have to start a nutrition degree to get the info they need.”

Explore Inner Earth’s offering here.

innerearth.com.au