Skincare brands from New Zealand have long punched above their weight.

Trilogy was first launched across the Tasman before becoming an Australasian-identified brand.

Last year, McPherson’s, Australia’s number one supplier in pharmacy, invested in Kotia, a world-first skincare range based on deer milk from the South Island.

The brand initially launched in Priceline’s top 350 doors last May.

Syrene is a luxury national skincare brand and has a 12-strong store network in New Zealand.

The company was founded in 2016 by Karen Yang and Jo Gilberd.

Yang previously worked in a health supplements company, specialising in manuka honey products for export to Asia.

Gilberd is a skincare developer, whose international client list includes Marks & Spencer and The Body Shop.

Syrene’s hero ingredients include seaweed, manuka honey, pohutukawa (an evergreen of the myrtle family) and kawakawa extract used in traditional Maori herbal medicine.

Packaging is manufactured from recycled plastic from ocean waste.

In addition to China, Japan and South Korea, Syrene is also looking to enter the UK and German markets.

Following a year of negotiations, the brand’s products launched online in Mecca recently.

From August, they will also be available in Mecca stores in New Zealand and Australia as the specialist retailer’s first New Zealand skincare brand.

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