Meet the Founder: Sophie from Reia

At ByRuby, we love connecting with brands that share our passion for quality and ease. That’s why we were thrilled to sit down with Reia co-founder Sophie, whose mission is to make sustainability and beautiful design go hand in hand.

Over a ByRuby lunch, Milly and Sophie chatted about Reia's journey, the challenges of creating truly eco-friendly self-care products, and why both our brands believe that convenience and responsibility can coexist. 

We also got to try some of Reia's gorgeous products including their SILVA Hand & Body Wash and SILVA Hand & Body Balm as well as a little reflexology masterclass - check it out here. 

Tell us a bit about Reia. What inspired you to start your business?

The spark of the idea came from the fact that I was tired of throwing unnecessary plastic bottles out of my bathroom, but that when I looked to make the switch to something more sustainable, I found I had to make a compromise in the quality of my self care products or their design.

Reia was born from the belief that sustainability and beautiful design shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. Celia and I wanted to create products that not only look and feel luxurious but also make it easy for people to live more consciously and to leave less of an impact on our planet.

Reia proves you don’t have to choose between sustainability and beautiful design; you can have both. What challenges have you faced in making eco-friendly products that people genuinely love?

One of the biggest challenges has been staying truly sustainable in an industry where many brands only appear to be. We make decisions that often cost us more - from using glass and aluminium bottles, to paying for the return of every pouch to ensure they don’t end up in landfill, to sourcing natural ingredients and working with ethical suppliers. These choices protect the planet but eat into our margins. It can be tough competing with brands that cut corners or greenwash, but we’ve chosen to do things properly. In the long run, we believe integrity builds the kind of trust and loyalty that no marketing can fake.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start a business? 

Tell your friends you’re going to do it and they’ll hold you to it. Explore all of the options for financing - there’s so much more support out there than you realise. And then just go for it! There’s never a perfect moment, and you’ll figure out so much along the way.

 

Eat in or out?

Out (although rare these days!)

Favourite cookery book?

Trullo - the sardine pasta is next level.

Favourite recipe? 

Super quick butterbean and chorizo stew - I have it once a week, it takes 10 minutes and its’ totally delicious.

Favourite restaurant?

St John

Favourite kitchen utensil?

Wooden spoon

Coffee or tea?

Tea

Favourite ByRuby?

Thai Red King Prawn Curry (SO good)

What 3 items do you always have in your freezer?

1000 x ramekins of baby meals, Bolognese, fruit compote (my number one tip to make breakfast an event)

Favourite meal – starter, main and pud

Starter: A plate of jamon iberico Main: spaghetti aragosta, Pud: Chocolate fondant.

Dream dinner party guest (celebrity or otherwise!)

Jilly Cooper

 

Thanks so much to Sophie for chatting to us!

If you place a ByRuby order for delivery next week you'll be in with a chance of receiving a 30ml bottle of Reia's SILVA Hand & Body Wash. Go quick because once they're gone, they're gone!