About BumbleBalm
Most skincare products have more ingredients working on the label than on your skin.
Pick up almost anything at the pharmacy or the beauty counter and work through the ingredient list. Past the first few, you'll find fillers — synthetic fragrances to cover the smell of the base, thickeners to give it the texture of something substantial, preservatives to keep the fillers stable. The ingredients doing any actual work are often so far down the list they barely count. And you're paying a premium for all of it.
We got fed up with over-priced, over-hyped, over-processed products. Mark had eczema that the pharmacy options wouldn't touch. Evelyn had spent enough time pulling apart product claims to know why they weren't working. So she started formulating instead.
Mark and Evelyn's great-grandparents raised young families through the Great Depression and two world wars. The generations that followed were taught to be resilient and pragmatic, learning how to grow and preserve their own food, make medicines from plants, take things apart to understand how they worked, and build what they needed from whatever was at hand. Evelyn grew up knowing what certain plants were good for before she knew their Latin names. Mark grew up expecting things to hold up and pulling them apart when they didn't. That independent streak runs through everything they make.
Every plant we infuse is hand-picked — locally grown, pesticide-free, and sustainably harvested. When we use beeswax, it's pure Canadian beeswax. Not because it makes a better story. Because we know exactly where it came from and what's in it.
Our first product: a balm built around dandelion, chosen because it reduces inflammation and supports skin barrier repair — not because it took over the lawn that spring. Mark's hands got better. His heels got better. He started using it every day. For him, that's the highest possible endorsement.
Evelyn forages and formulates. Mark runs the operation and is the product's hardest critic. Every formula gets thoroughly tested to ensure the final product is safe, effective, and compliant with Health Canada Cosmetic Regulations.
Why BumbleBalm.
The bee in the logo doesn't mean we sell honey. We get that question.
Bumblebees look like plump, fuzzy rookie flyers. They're not. Bumblebees are among the most effective foragers in the garden and important pollinators for both wildflowers and food crops, with a reliable instinct for finding the best flowers available.
That's the honest version of how this started. A specific problem (Mark's hands), a specific plant (dandelion), a formula that worked. Then another problem, another plant. Nobody sat down and decided to build a skincare company. The company is just where the bumblebees led us.
We do use beeswax sometimes. In balms, because it works. Not for the story.
We build every product the same way.
Start with the problem. Find the plant that addresses it. Use as few other ingredients as possible, and only ones with a clear benefit. Write the label so you can actually read it.
That's it. No proprietary complexes, no mystery blends, no fillers.
We use herbal ingredients because of what they do, not because of what they're called. Dandelion because it's anti-inflammatory. Horsetail because it delivers vitamins directly to the follicle. Wild yarrow because inflamed, sensitised skin needs both an anti-inflammatory and an astringent and yarrow does both at once. Red clover because it supports the skin changes that come with age in ways that most ingredients don't address at all.
We make everything in small batches in Ontario. Small batches mean fresher product, tighter quality control, and the ability to change a formula when we find something better.
What we're not.
We're not a lifestyle brand. We don't have a morning routine to sell you. We're not going to suggest that better skincare will make you a better person, or that our ingredients were sourced on a particularly meaningful Tuesday.
We're also not trying to replace your dermatologist. If your skin has a serious medical condition, see a professional. Our products are for everyday protection, repair, and maintenance — the kind of skin problems that don't need a prescription, just something that actually works.
We're not for everyone. If you want a ten-step routine, a celebrity endorsement, or a brand with a chakra alignment philosophy, there are plenty of excellent options. We genuinely mean that — go find the one that's right for you.
If you want to know exactly what's in the jar and exactly why, start here.
We also work with businesses.
If you buy lip balms in bulk for a commercial event, source gift sets for employee recognition, stock a gift shop, spa or barbershop, or want a private-label option for your brand — we're set up for that.
We manufacture in Ontario, work with Canadian suppliers wherever possible, and can produce custom formulations, unscented variants, and branded packaging for business accounts. Minimum order quantities are reasonable. We're not trying to be your biggest supplier, just a reliable one.
What we won't do: reformulate a product to hit a lower price point by swapping in inferior ingredients. If your budget requires that, we're probably not the right fit, and we'll tell you so upfront.
If you're the right fit, learn more about trade and wholesale.
— Evelyn & Mark
Founders, BumbleBalm
Ontario, Canada