Lab&Co.

A start-up with 40 years behind it
Speaking about Labcare means telling my life story. Projects, changes, new beginnings, but also memories, like the first workshop, in Genoa, where I made the creams and shampoos, I sold next morning in my little store in the old city centre. That’s where I started out, from the Albero della Vita (Tree of Life), the first natural cosmetics store in Liguria. It was beautifully kept, highly fragrant and very exciting: because it was all real, genuine, in the sense that it perfectly reflected my way thinking, working and being. This was at the end of the ’70s: I can’t have been much more than 20. I soon began to study and consistently practice a green philosophy that I’ve always been faithful to. Now, as in the past, I always aim to grow harmoniously, imitating nature. Which doesn’t take shortcuts and teaches us never to be hasty or overdemanding.

The next step was to integrate the cosmetic products with the herbalist side of the business. If I close my eyes, I can still smell the fragrances emanating from the sacks of medicinal herbs and the incredible energy you breathed in those shops I was opening one by one in town. It was a heady period!

Another important turning point was when I sold the herbalist shops to embark on a new adventure as a consultant and full-service provider. I produced ideas and projects for companies wanting to enter the cosmetics sector, contributing to the growth of some top Italian and international brands and giving me great satisfaction in the process.

Things went well on this front too but at a certain point I realized I was yearning for something, something of my own that would sum up my lifetime’s work. So I created Labcare Cosmetics, the brand owned by Lab&Co, where “Co.” refers to my sons Gianmaria and Nicolò (in alphabetical order).

The former looks after communication and marketing. The latter handles the commercial side of the business, but their roles are never that clear cut. My experience and sense of innovation and their enthusiasm: the perfect recipe for achieving ambitious but realistic goals. Like establishing ourselves in Italy and expanding in Europe over the next five years.

We’re an Italian cosmetics business with a strong belief in natural ingredients, six employees and 2,500 pharmacies served all over Italy thanks to the invaluable work of some 40 agents who share our philosophy.

But figures make the subject dry, arid, soulless. The exact opposite of Lab&Co and Labcare Cosmetics brand products, which are exclusive in terms of their research and formulation. A start-up with over 40 years of experience. Or better, of stories.

Giovanni Remonato