The demand for clean, sustainable, and non-toxic beauty products is no longer a passing trend -- it's a movement shaping the beauty industry's future. Yet, for indie brands, delivering high-quality products that align with these values while remaining accessible to budget-conscious consumers is a formidable challenge.

This month, Indie Insights explores how indie beauty brands are navigating the intersection of clean beauty and affordability, focusing on the strategies and innovations driving success in this competitive space.

To delve deeper, we sit down with Dr. Casey Lau, DDS, and Belinda Lau, the husband-and-wife duo behind Elims. This sustainable oral care brand marries science-backed effectiveness with eco-friendly principles.

Combining Casey's 22 years of expertise in dentistry with Belinda's background in biomedical engineering, Elims has carved out a niche in the oral care market by offering clean, non-toxic products that prioritize health and the planet.

In this Q&A, the Laus share their journey of launching Elims, the challenges of balancing sustainability with affordability, and their vision for the future of clean beauty. From innovative ingredient sourcing to strategic cost management, their story offers valuable lessons for indie brands striving to make a meaningful impact.

Dr. Casey Lau, DDS: As a dentist with over 22 years of experience in Los Angeles, specializing in cosmetic dentistry, natural tooth restoration, and oral hygiene, I've always been passionate about helping people achieve healthier smiles. But one thing that's weighed on me over the years is the sheer amount of waste generated in dental offices -- from disposable tools to single-use plastics.

My wife and co-founder, Belinda Lau, is a biomedical engineer who spent over 15 years designing life-saving medical devices, and she often talked about the environmental impact of single-use medical products. At home, with our three kids, we started noticing just how much waste our family alone was creating from everyday oral care products.

It got us thinking: if we're seeing this much waste, imagine the impact on a global scale.

When we looked deeper into the oral care industry, we realized a major gap -- products were either clinical and effective or sustainable, but rarely both. Talking to my dental colleagues confirmed this; they felt that their patients using sustainable/natural options usually came in with more dental problems.

That's when we knew we had to create something that married the best of both worlds -- effective, dentist-crafted oral care that's also sustainable. That's how ELIMS was born.

Dr. Casey Lau, DDS: For us, 'clean' and 'non-toxic' boil down to one simple question: Is it safe enough to eat? While many people have switched to 'clean' products in their self-care routines, oral care is arguably the most critical area to prioritize.

Unlike makeup, skin care, or hair care, oral care products can enter your bloodstream directly through your gums. That's why I always tell my patients that what you put in your mouth matters so much.

At ELIMS, we define clean and non-toxic as products made with food-grade, naturally derived ingredients that are safe to swallow but also highly effective at protecting against gum disease and other oral health issues. It's about creating safe and scientifically sound products so you don't have to compromise between your health and living a low-waste lifestyle.

Belinda Lau: One of our biggest challenges has been navigating the rising costs across every aspect of our business -- a reality many in the CPG industry are facing. Since we started in 2019, the cost of materials and ingredients has increased nearly 40%, yet we've chosen not to pass those increases on to our customers.

It's been tough, but it's also pushed us to get creative.

We've focused on solutions like sourcing locally to cut down on import costs and currency fluctuations, reworking our formulas to incorporate alternative ingredients that maintain the same high quality and effectiveness, and simplifying our packaging to eliminate anything unnecessary. Balancing sustainability, quality, and affordability isn't easy, but it's a challenge we're committed to tackling for the sake of our customers and the planet.

Belinda Lau: Balancing the cost of sustainable ingredients and packaging with accessibility is a constant challenge, especially since we set such a high bar for using food-grade, clean ingredients and eco-friendly materials. Bio-based or recycled materials, for instance, are significantly more expensive than virgin plastic.

However, staying true to our mission to reduce plastic waste means we choose the more sustainable option, even at a higher cost.

To help offset these expenses, we've gotten strategic. We shop around for suppliers offering better pricing or higher volumes without compromising quality.

This sometimes means sourcing internationally, increasing our order quantities, or negotiating payment terms -- like extending from net 30 to net 90 days. After several years in business, we've built strong relationships and trust with our suppliers, which gives us more flexibility to work together on pricing and terms.

Another way we balance costs is through our product portfolio. Some products, like our toothpaste, use premium ingredients and have lower margins, while others, like our bamboo toothbrushes, have better margins to offset those costs.

It's about finding the right mix to keep our overall business sustainable while ensuring we're delivering high-quality, accessible products to our customers. It's not always easy, but staying true to our values and mission makes it worth the effort.

Belinda Lau: We love incorporating naturally derived, time-tested ingredients into our products that reflect ELIMS' commitment to clean, non-toxic, and accessible oral care. Some of our go-to ingredients include baking soda, coconut oil, essential oils, green tea, and xylitol -- a plant-based antimicrobial highly recommended by dentists and hygienists.

These ingredients have been clinically studied for decades and are widely available through US-based suppliers, which helps us keep costs down while ensuring quality.

Our formulations blend these ingredients to enhance their effectiveness together. This approach is especially important because our hero ingredient, nano-hydroxyapatite -- a naturally occurring alternative to fluoride -- is quite expensive.

By balancing the cost of rare ingredients like nano-hydroxyapatite with more common, budget-friendly ones, we can create high-quality products that stay true to our mission without breaking the bank for our customers.

Dr. Casey Lau, DDS: As a dentist who sees thousands of patients every year, I've noticed a growing interest in more natural oral care options, especially fluoride-free products. Budget-conscious consumers often want products that are not just affordable but also effective in keeping their whole mouth healthy.

However, some of these "new age" products can be expensive, so one of the most frequent concerns we hear is about the price of our products compared to conventional oral care options.

And I get it -- my wife and I are parents to three kids, so we're always looking for the best deals, too. But we also prioritize quality and effectiveness in the products we buy, and that's exactly what we aim to deliver at ELIMS.

Our formulations use high-quality, science-backed ingredients supported by clinical data, and we're committed to our mission of improving oral health while reducing waste for the planet.

Ultimately, I believe many consumers are willing to invest in brands that align with their values. At ELIMS, we strive to make it clear that what we're offering isn't just a product -- it's a commitment to their health and a healthier planet.

Belinda Lau: As a biomedical engineer, innovation is at the heart of everything I do -- it's not just about creating something new but constantly exploring and adapting. At ELIMS, this means staying on top of the latest research, materials, techniques, and studies to see how we can integrate them into our products.

We actively seek input from industry experts, dental professionals, and consumers to identify gaps in the market and find creative, affordable ways to address them.

One area we're particularly excited about is greener packaging. Even in the past five years, we've seen incredible advancements in sustainable materials, and the progress is accelerating.

I truly believe the next two decades will bring game-changing solutions that will help us move further away from plastic. Being part of this movement and finding ways to incorporate these innovations into our mission is something I'm incredibly passionate about.

Belinda Lau: We don't compromise on the quality of our ingredients and formulations, but when it comes to packaging, we've learned the importance of evolving as new data becomes available. For instance, when we first launched our toothpaste, we used tubes made from sugarcane ethanol -- a byproduct of sugarcane husks that would otherwise go to waste.

This material reduced waste and had lower carbon emissions compared to virgin plastic.

However, after three years, we discovered that these sugarcane-based tubes were being mixed in US recycling facilities and potentially compromising the recycling process, making all plastic non-recyclable. Once we realized this, we switched to PCR (post-consumer recycled) materials, which promote the use of recycled plastics and are more cost-effective since they're sourced domestically.

We also eliminated the paper cartons from our packaging where possible. While our cartons were made from 100% recycled paper, we recognized they were still contributing to waste, so we decided to remove them when they are not required to protect the product during transit.

Packaging is a constant give-and-take, and we're committed to staying flexible -- adjusting and improving to align with both our mission to reduce waste and our need to maintain affordability. It's an ongoing journey, but one we're fully invested in.

Belinda Lau: Communicating clean product standards in oral care is definitely a challenge, and we're constantly refining our messaging and testing new ways to connect with consumers. Thankfully, the clean beauty movement in cosmetics and body care has paved the way over the past decade, so many consumers are already familiar with the idea of good versus harmful ingredients.

This allows us to use similar language to help convey our commitment to clean, non-toxic oral care.

One of the most effective ways we educate and build trust is by partnering with dental professionals -- particularly holistic hygienists and biological dentists. These experts are often doing the same research we are into natural, non-toxic, and effective oral care ingredients.

Collaborating with them not only helps us improve our formulations but also ensures our products reach the right audience: consumers who care about cleaner, safer oral care options.

We're also intentional about where we sell our products. By partnering with mission-aligned retailers -- like clean beauty boutiques such as Beauty Care Choices and natural grocery stores across the US -- we meet ingredient-conscious consumers where they're already shopping.

This strategy allows us to be part of an ongoing conversation with a well-informed audience that values both clean beauty and sustainability.

Dr. Casey Lau, DDS: I've been a clinician for over two decades, and I'm so incredibly proud to create something clinically effective and naturally derived for my patients. I've always wanted to improve overall healthcare, and I can do that through my practice and Elims products.

We're also very proud to have made it to 3.5 years in business! Statistically, 60% of small businesses don't survive past the three-year mark, and so many indie brands we've known have had to close their doors in recent years.

It's a tough space, especially with limited resources and rising costs, but seeing how far we've come from nothing -- building something meaningful and continuing to grow -- is incredibly rewarding.

Looking ahead, I'm most excited about the rise of science-driven products and brands. As a dentist, and with Belinda's engineering background, science, and clinical innovation have always been at the heart of ELIMS.

It's not easy to continuously test and prove our products clinically and with consumers, but we believe it's the only way to deliver truly effective, high-quality solutions. I think the future of clean beauty will see consumers demanding real data to back up claims, and we're ready for it.

It's a challenge we welcome because it aligns perfectly with who we are and what we stand for.