Introducing Haeckels: The Margate Masters of Lifestyle Products

Haeckels is an award-winning independent British skincare, apothecary and lifestyle brand, established in 2012 when founder Dom Bridges decided to create a range of lifestyle pieces using pure seaweed extracts from the Margate coastline. 

The company offers an extensive range of natural skincare products for face, body and hair as well as home fragrances made from exclusively natural ingredients. 

Shop the latest Haeckels products here and discover our exclusive range of candles, parfums and lotions.

It took Dom eight months to start harvesting seaweed himself, but in 2013, he teamed up with a group of local people and began collecting seaweed that had washed up on the beach every morning at low tide. Today, Haeckels gathers over 140 edible species along the foreshore of Margate beach, which is transported to Haeckels' laboratory where it's processed and then infused into the ranges of soaps, balms and creams.

Producing 50% of the earth's oxygen by capturing carbon, seaweed consists of thousands of species of marine algae, rich in valuable vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It's the perfect natural material for high-quality skincare products.

Driven to solve a waste problem, Haeckels has been determined to protect marine life from pollution by creating fully recyclable and compostable packing for their products. Haeckel's is also concerned with how packaging is affecting life on land. They're currently looking into whether there is an option for regenerative solutions regarding their packaging. 

Formally a volunteer beach warden and coastal enthusiast, Dom is always conscious of the world around us, and lives by a piece of advice given to him by a Parisian exchange student, 'always take your boots off when entering a jungle; that way when you step on a snake it won't bite you.' Dom understands this to mean be respectful and take time to appreciate other people's experiences and culture. 

Since its inception, the brand has grown exponentially and now employs over 40 staff members on site at its offices, laboratory and factory in Margate, an area that has experienced a profound economic revival in recent years.

Urban Industry began stocking Haeckels in 2022, here’s a note from founder Dan explaining why he chose to work with the brand.

We’re super happy to get Haeckels in store at Urban Industry. I’d actually bought a couple of their candles as a Christmas present for my wife about 2 years ago and the scent from the St. John’s release was so unique and interesting that I wanted to find out more. Cut forward to 2 years later and we’re now stocking the brand, love it when that happens!