| | | | | | Burned
Out on Store-Bought Sunscreen, Entrepreneur Turns To Natural Products | | | | August
10, 2002 By ANNE BECKER SENTINEL CORRESPONDENT | | | |
After 14 years of surfing sunburns, local businessman Kevin Dunn was burnt out.
So in 1999, the 32-year-old UC Santa Cruz grad founded Sun Research, LLC to manufacture
his own line of sun care products called BurnOut Suncare. Through the company,
Dunn sought to fill a void in the sun care market by making safe products that
worked well under all conditions. "With the sunscreens I was buying in the grocery
stores and surf shops, I was getting burnt and the products burned my eyes in
the water," he said. "I started to research sunscreens and how they were made,
and I just thought, 'God, I can do this, I can make this product.'" The fair-skinned
and freckled Dunn studied environmental science in college and has been surfing
since he was 14. With no business background, he left a job in waste management
in Hawaii to return to Santa Cruz to start his company. | | | | Committed
to producing a natural waterproof and moisturizing sunscreen, Dunn collaborated
with a cosmetic chemist to test and re-test his formula before he sent free samples
to surf shops around the country. Before he knew it, BurnOut products were getting
national press. "I just started making sunscreen and giving it away, and people
really liked it," he said. "People were calling from all over the country." BurnOut
products are sold at more than 500 health food stores, day spas and surf shops
nationwide. Dunn just signed a distribution deal for Canada and Japan and is negotiating
with the top American health food distributor. The company has a local staff of
two and manufactures products at a lab in Hayward, but Dunn hopes to take on additional
employees and open his own lab in Santa Cruz within two years. | | | | Elfin
Saffer, assistant retail director at O'Neill Surfshops, has stocked BurnOut products
in his stores for two years and said they have blown other sun care products out
of the water. Impressed with BurnOut sunscreen's unique ingredients like hempseed
oil and the cancer-fighting Parsol 1789, Saffer first picked up the product to
support Dunn's local business. Since then, customer demand has been so high Saffer
sent part of another high-selling brand's shipment back to the manufacturer. "The
BurnOut sunblock goes a long way because you don't need to use a lot and it lasts
for hours while surfing," he said. "The product speaks for itself. It's well-known
among the surfing community. If you ask someone what BurnOut is, they'll know."
Saffer said not only does Dunn know how to create and sell a good product, but
he also has a heart; the two have worked together at O'Neill cancer clinics, with
Dunn providing free samples of BurnOut sunblock each year to get people screened.
"The guy is awesome," he said. "He's done nothing but good for us here, and we're
stoked to carry his product." Gabrielle Freedom, the nutrition and body care coordinator
for New Leaf Community Markets, has stocked BurnOut products for more than a year
and says they have sold famously. Freedom said she likes the products so much
she uses them on her 2-year-old daughter. "We've re-ordered the sunblock over
the past year numerous times in all three of our ocean locations," she said. | | | |
A San Jose native, Dunn grew up slathering on the sunscreen and says he wants
to make sure young people today do the same. Though his father had skin cancer,
Dunn tries to educate about the sun's effects on skin without threatening about
the disease. To this end, he posts articles on sun damage on BurnOut's Web site
and even allows visitors to e-mail "Ask Suncare Guy" about their sun protection
questions. "I don't like scare tactics about getting skin cancer, but I'm trying
to educate young people that you can have a balance of being active in the sun
and taking care of your skin," he said. A committed environmentalist, Dunn also
posts links to environmental news on his site. Additionally, Sun Research regularly
sponsors the Ride-A-Wave foundation, a nonprofit organization that takes disadvantaged
children to surf at the beach. | | | | Sun
Research WHAT: Sun care product manufacturer sold under BurnOut label. FOUNDER:
Kevin Dunn of Santa Cruz. PRODUCT: Natural, waterproof, moisturizing sunscreens
and a 32 SPF waterproof lip balm, containing beeswax, sweet almond oil and aloe
vera. WHERE: Available at more than 500 health food stores, day spas and surf
shops nationwide. INFORMATION: (800) 798-7970 or www.burnoutsun.com. | | | |
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