Sabbia Co was born after ocean loving Burleigh Heads Founders Katie and Dave found themselves on a remote beach in Sri Lanka and devastated over the amount of single-use personal items they were surrounded by.

Katie has a huge passion for skin health and well-being, while Dave is a surfer duuude and green-thumb. They both do their bit in their home to reduce their footprint, but wanted to do more. And that’s why they launched Sabbia Co in September 2019.

An ethical brand with minimal impact on the environment, that creates unique facial kits out of sustainable, biodegradable, reusable and chemical free tools. These kits cleanse, exfoliate and remove makeup with just WATER!

Along with sustainably sourced and packaged skincare that is formulated by Katie herself. Katie then works with 3 Australian labs to bring her formulations to life.

Hello #sabbiasquad ! I’m Katie, I am the Founder and Formulator here at Sabbia Co. For as long as I can remember I have been passionate about skincare and ‘making potions’ as my 5-year-old self would say.

I grew up in Port Douglas, Queensland with an Italian Mum and Australian Dad. I would say that my Mum taught me about self love/care and to choose fresh healthy produce to help my body flourish. My Dad is an eager adventurer and was the one that helped me fall in love with the planet, almost every weekend and holiday was spent on the reef or out west looking at the star. Every Sunday was spent at my Nonna’s enjoying fresh homemade meals from produce sourced in her backyard. My family and upbringing are where I found my passion for the planet and the importance of paddock to plate or more so seed to skin (I did just make that term up). 

Throughout my late teens and early twenties, I had many friends struggle with hormonal acne and even experienced a little myself when coming off contraception. I saw friends using products on their faces that were bleaching their towels and thought this cannot be safe! The redness and inflammation of their skin showed that in fact, the products were striping and harmful, not to mention what was happening once the products were washed down the drain and into our waterways. 

This began a little hobby ‘Katie’s Essentials’ where I would make scrubs, facial oils, and balms for friends to help heal their skin. I had just turned 20 and Europe was calling, so I up and left my life with a backpack and no plan. 

When I returned home in 2017 I met my now Husband Dave, who convinced me that a surf trip to Sri Lanka would be the perfect first trip together. Through long travel transfers, a few horrible hostels, hidden gems, and many samosas we hit it off. The trip was amazing until we arrived at the surf break that Dave hadn’t stop talking about. Not only were there no waves but the beach was littered with single-use personal care items (makeup wipes, toothbrushes, Qtips), my heart sunk.

When we arrived home we decided to minimise all single-use items in our home. As we started to research and test reusable products we fell in love with many amazing sustainable swaps. Our mission was no longer to overhaul our home but everyone else’s. And this is when Sabbia Co was born. 

We launched in September 2019, with 3 products. Our hero ‘face it face kit’, cleanse kit and tone kit, 3 kits that remove makeup/zinc, cleanse and exfoliate with just water. This was essential for us as we love to travel and pack light. 

As our community grew the need for sustainable skincare was a daily request, so for our first birthday, we launched sustainably sourced and packaged skincare. Something I had always dreamt of. Over the years I have studied Cosmetic Chemistry, Traditional Chinese Medicine (Gua Sha, Facial Massage, etc), and many other ‘alternative’ (as my Mum might say) practices.

I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to work in a role that lights my soul up every single day, to connect and help customers reach their skin health goals, and most importantly to educate, create change and help our planet.