TIARA: Raising the bar for personal care products
Zuly Matallana is no stranger to overcoming resistance. Safety concerns drove her to leave her job as a community manager in Colombia and ultimately immigrate to Canada, but she saw it as preparation for a greater mission – making the world a better place.
Zuly is passionate about wellness and helping families make informed decisions about the composition of their personal care products. In 2016, she founded TIARA and began selling reusable shower caps. In 2023, she set out to revolutionize the global market with safe, natural deodorants.
“You have many products on grocery store shelves being marketed as safe. But if you do your research, you’ll see they are full of synthetic ingredients that can impact your health. I’m giving families peace of mind – I am giving them a safe and effective natural deodorant.”
– Zuly Matallana
Founder and CEO, TIARA
Zuly’s entrepreneurial drive first manifested on Dragons’ Den, where she made a winning pitch for TIARA’s sustainable shower caps. She pivoted to researching personal care product formularies after losing loved ones to breast cancer.
“When I look back at the many things in my life, something good always seems to come from something bad,” Zuly says. “My life has been a path for better health.”
As Zuly grows her distribution network, she aims to spread her message further and put her products on grocery store shelves across North America. She’s excited to pitch to buyers at Newtopia Now, the trade show with the motto where conscious products grow.
Spending the last decade launching new products has not been without risk – Zuly knows the pain of repeatedly hearing “no” and the challenges of funding your own venture.
“That’s where BMO has been amazing,” Zuly said. “The bank has provided me with financing since 2017, giving me the time and resources to grow my business. I’m grateful for the support of BMO’s senior leaders, especially Jamie Doolittle and Sheri Griffiths – women who know their power and care about their communities.”
Zuly counsels patience to other entrepreneurs, noting “movements don’t happen overnight.” In the meantime, she’s on the ground, continuing to advocate for safer personal care products.
Zuly encourages everyone to shop smarter and to make one positive switch – and if it works, to tell family and friends: “Little changes can actually have big impacts that benefit your health and the environment.”
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