The European Natural Beauty Awards (ENBA) have announced an industry collaboration with BioVidaSana, a leading Spanish organization recognized for its rigorous certification of natural and organic cosmetics. Through this exciting collaboration, BioVidaSana has supported ENBA in reviewing product eligibility for the 2025 awards, ensuring that all shortlisted entries meet the highest standards in natural formulation and ethical integrity.
We had a conversation with Nuria from BioVidaSana to explore the values behind this partnership, to gain a deeper insight into the evolving landscape of natural beauty, and their approach to certifying brands in Europe.
1. For those unfamiliar with BioVidaSana, how would you describe your mission and core values?
Nuria: Our mission is to offer a trusted certification and a recognized label so that natural cosmetics brands, especially small ones, can enter the market with credibility and purpose.
2. BioVidaSana developed Spain’s leading certification for natural cosmetics. What sets your certification apart from others in Europe?
Nuria: While similar to other European certifications, ours is characterized by its accessibility to small companies and artisans. Most of the brands using our seal are small producers, and we aim to offer them as much support as possible.
3. Accessibility seems to be central to your approach. How does BioVidaSana support smaller or emerging brands in the natural beauty space?
Nuria: Absolutely. When someone contacts us, they speak directly with me or another expert team member, no forms, no barriers. Together with our partner, the Vida Sana Association, we also help promote certified brands through our website, social media, BioCultura fairs, and other initiatives. We believe in these brands and want the world to know about them.
4. You played a key role in verifying the natural origin of the 2025 ENBA shortlist. What did that process involve behind the scenes?
Nuria: Our task was to verify the ingredients in non-certified products submitted to ENBA. Some ingredients simply aren’t natural, even in brands with a natural image. Others require deeper investigation, we check technical documentation and request further data to confirm their origin when the INCI name alone isn’t clear.
5. What made the partnership with the European Natural Beauty Awards a natural fit for BioVidaSana?
Nuria: The ENBA team’s positivity was a breath of fresh air. The genuine natural cosmetics sector faces numerous challenges, so it’s essential to remain hopeful and resilient. We also value ENBA’s commitment to identifying truly natural cosmetics, especially in a sector plagued by greenwashing.
6. In your view, what makes a product truly ‘natural’, beyond the marketing buzzwords?
Nuria: The ingredients. Consumers should look past trendy terms and focus on ingredient lists. Certification ensures these ingredients have been verified as natural. Producing fully natural cosmetics is more expensive, especially for small brands, and certification adds to the cost, so the temptation to rely on vague marketing claims is strong. It’s easier and more profitable to say “paraben-free” or “silicone-free” than to create truly natural products.
7. Greenwashing is a growing issue in the beauty industry. How does BioVidaSana help consumers and brands navigate this with confidence?
Nuria: By offering a transparent certification seal and clearly communicating what it means and what the certification process entails.
8. With over 100 certified brands, how do you see the future of natural certification evolving in the next five years?
Nuria: It’s growing, but not explosively. Greenwashing remains a major challenge, and while consumer awareness is increasing, it’s happening slowly. That said, more distributors, marketplaces, and retailers are becoming informed, and they play a key role by choosing what to sell and educating their customers.
9. Growing the presence of natural beauty in Spain has been a focus for BioVidaSana. What challenges or opportunities have you encountered when introducing European natural products to the Spanish market?
Nuria: As mentioned earlier, it’s still hard for many to distinguish truly natural products. Some sellers opt for cheaper products that look natural but aren’t. Still, we’re seeing gradual progress and more awareness.
10. Finally, what would you say to consumers trying to make more informed beauty choices in today’s crowded marketplace?
Nuria: Choose cosmetics certified by reliable seals. The evaluation work we do cannot be replicated by apps. Our criteria, and those of other respected certifications, are publicly available and transparent.
_______________________________
BioVidaSana aligns closely with the ENBA’s values by supporting small brands and combating greenwashing through clear, transparent certification standards.
We are proud to have an industry collaboration with BioVidaSana and to have them as part of the European Natural Beauty Awards community, a certification that embodies the ENBA values of transparency and naturality.
Get to know more about BioVidaSana:
https://cosmeticabiovidasana.org/