Italy - UK Partnership

LIFESTYLE | 19 www.italchamind.eu Unmind and VeNice: two innovative wellness businesses From health to beauty, how start-ups keep up with the market H ealth and wellness represent an industry with big opportunities for start-ups in the beauty, fitness, nutrition and mind fields. It is a very competitive sector but is very interesting for consumers who are more demanding about their needs and who seek for fast solutions through technology, on Apps or online. UNMIND, FIGHTING STRESS AND SLEEP ISSUES The workplace can be a challenging environment for our health, as we spend a big part of our everyday life there. According to the BBC, each year around 300,000 British people suffering from mental health problems have to leave their jobs, as they are not supported in the right way. Unmind is a British start-up that created a B2B service provider to help companies and their employees achieve personal well-being through their digital platform. Founded in 2016, the company is usually referred to as a “workplace mental health app”. The platform assesses the workers anonymously through questionnaires and mood diaries and then offers them personalised exercises to deal with stress, focus and sleep issues. The service was designed by academics and psychologists and is available for its users 24/7 on any device. Unmind is being used all over the world and by well-known enterprises, with 89% of the employees claiming to have more confidence, awareness and better understanding of mental health thanks to the App. Their objective is to have workplace environments where mental health is addressed without shame. VeNice, ITALIAN GREEN BEAUTY Not only are people nowadays more considerate of their mental well-being, but also of their appearance. The beauty industry is currently one of the fastest growing markets in the world and is expected to be worth around €860bn by 2024. Beauty start-ups are constantly emerging to satisfy the consumers’ demand for new products. Italy is one of the countries with the highest consumption of beauty products and its market is extremely affected by consumers’ preferences, which now include the request of sustainable and environmentally friendly products. VeNice is an innovative start-up created as a spin-off of Ca’ Foscari University (Venice, Italy). Founded in 2018 by five women researchers, VeNice has the objective of developing “green” and technology-innovative products. The company uses the “DDS” technique, which was recently patented. DDS allows them to create products that gradually release the active ingredients, using less product and reducing the impact on the environment. The start-up creates multifunctional and versatile products – anti-aging and shielding creams, gels and powders. Thanks to the know-how acquired, VeNice can customise their products and use them for the pharmaceutical sector as well. VeNice is now looking for investments to improve their equipment and sell their products on a bigger scale. The firm has already been awarded for its results: in July 2018 they won the “MF Fashion Veneto award” as best start-up in the beauty field. ·