Senior and entrepreneur Emma Kraft recently launched her sunscreen brand Coral Sunscreen. This SPF 30 product is not only water-resistant but also contains sustainable ocean-friendly ingredients.

Bored in quarantine, Kraft became curious about threats to ocean life and was shocked to discover the amount of coral bleaching damaging the reefs. According to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, coral bleaching is the loss of the coral’s normally vibrant color. The bleaching is caused by stressors such as temperature, solar radiance, sedimentation, nutrients and more.

“I think I googled the top ten ocean issues and I came across sunscreen and coral bleaching,” she said.

This sparked her idea to create an ocean-friendly sunscreen. While many products have reef safe labels,  the FDA has not put regulations on some chemicals that are detrimental to the coral reefs such as oxybenzone.

Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the planet but they house 25% of marine life. The oceans have become 30% more acidic in the last 150 years according to globalchange.gov. Coral sunscreen does not use oxybenzone, which contributes to the acidity in reefs, preventing them from growing and staying healthy. The company replaced oxybenzone with magnesium carbonate, calcium carbonate, and non-nano zinc oxide. These ingredients are pH increasing minerals which are beneficial for skin health and coral health.

“[For] People in Boulder, it doesn’t directly impact the oceans but you are educating yourself and raising awareness of this issue,” said Kraft. 

Though the sunscreen does not directly impact the ocean from Boulder where most consumers are located, all of the proceeds go to ocean specific organizations or CO2 reducing initiatives. Kraft plans to create a freshwater sunscreen in the future.

The Coral Sunscreen packaging is also environmentally friendly and recyclable according to Kraft. Her newly formed company is working with Ocean Waste Plastic (OWP) located in Denmark to reuse bottles made from ocean plastic.

Coral Sunscreen is currently working on getting the product tested in bigger labs for sun regulations and sun safety. The next step for Kraft’s company is to become verified by a third-party verification and manufacture the product in bigger batches to distribute in more states and stores. 

The sunscreen has been created and produced by Kraft in her house this summer. She tried various homemade sunscreen recipes. In the process of making the formula, she learned about how sunscreen mixes with zinc oxide to create full coverage. The best consistency for the product in her experiments was made of a lotion base. Depending on the size of the batch it takes an hour and a half to two hours to create. Though Kraft is making the product at home right now, she has a co-packer and manufacturer when she is ready to expand. 

“I’m creating something new that could hopefully spark creative ideas on how to help our environment,” Kraft said.

The 18 dollar sunscreen had over 100 pre-orders in the first week and Kraft’s main goal is to get past pre-orders. She is hoping the product will be available on Amazon and in Target in the next few months.

Coral Sunscreen is working to expand its advertising and reach a larger group of consumers. The company plans to partner with ocean conservancies. Some influencers have expressed their interest in helping promote the product although the brand cannot disclose their identities. However, the company did hint that one influencer on board is a female from Hawaii who is a diver, shark lover, and scientist. Kraft says other influencers willing to promote the product are big surfers.

“I have it in writing that they’re ready and excited! More to come on that, but right now I cannot give direct examples,” she said.

The biggest challenge for 16-year-old Kraft, as a young CEO and businesswoman, has been the skepticism due to her age. 

“Being 16, people are definitely more skeptical of you and they don’t necessarily believe that you can create something,” Kraft said.

She has faced these obstacles of not being taken seriously by holding herself in a mature way, making everything professional, and communicating professionally.

As Coral Sunscreen continues to develop, new entrepreneur and CEO Kraft expects to graduate in 2021 and take a gap year to expand her company. 

“It’s everything that I’ve really ever wanted to do,” Kraft said. 

To purchase and learn more about Coral Sunscreen’s product, visit https://www.coral-sunscreen.com.

This story was originally published as a print story in the October Issue of The Royal Banner. You can view the print version here. You can purchase a subscription to The Royal Banner‘s print editions here.