Fashion Insiders Launch Oovii to Turn Kids' Sunscreen Into Daily Routine

Newly launched British sunscreen brand Oovii aims to capture a niche that established sun care brands have largely overlooked: securing a daily spot in children’s morning routines rather than being reserved solely for beach trips or outdoor play. “We want SPF to become a part of their routine, like brushing teeth,” says Oovii co-founder Lucia Dailey.

With its flagship SKU, the £28 ($38) Face First SPF 30 mineral facial sunscreen, Oovii is tapping into one of the fastest-growing segments of children's personal care. Of the estimated $38.6 billion global kids’ personal care market, skincare represents the largest share at 34.2% of global revenue in 2025, according to market research firm Dataintelo. As beauty brands show heightened interest in Generation Alpha, Oovii joins a growing cohort of upstarts—including Stellar Beauty Co., Prereq, Erly, and Sincerely Yours—aiming to build early brand loyalty. Meanwhile, major industry players are taking notice of youth demographic shifts, such as Frida entering the older kids' personal care category with dedicated product lines.

Within the children's skincare space, sun protection is expanding quickly. Dataintelo estimates the global baby mineral sunscreen market alone reached $1.82 billion last year and is projected to compound at 7.4% annually to reach $3.47 billion by 2034. Mineral formulas relying on zinc oxide, like Face First, represented over 62% of those category sales.

Oovii—a play on how a child pronounces "UV" that rhymes with "groovy"—launched direct-to-consumer following two years of product development. The brand idea originated when Dailey’s daughter developed noticeable facial scars, leading her dermatologist to prescribe daily facial sun protection.

“We were told that if we wanted to avoid more invasive surgeries, she should be wearing SPF on her face every day,” Dailey says. “Up until that point, I had very much been one of those people who would only apply it for the pool or beach, despite being a daily SPF wearer myself as an adult.”

Dailey searched for a mineral sunscreen that avoided chemical filters without leaving a heavy white cast or greasy finish. Her co-founder, Harriet Haskell-Thomas, was experiencing similar frustration with existing options on the market. “She had been using mineral sun cream for years, but never quite found a product that she felt really happy with,” Dailey says.

Both co-founders transitioned into beauty from senior roles in the fashion industry. Dailey led public relations for British jewelry label Boodles and founded fashion brand Seren London, while Haskell-Thomas served as global head of styling at Net-a-Porter and market editor at ELLE UK. To formulate Face First, they partnered with dermatologists and cosmetic chemists.

Formulated for children aged 6 months to 14 years, the product utilizes non-nano zinc oxide to deliver broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection without the heavy texture associated with traditional mineral lotions. The formula is enriched with barrier-supporting ceramides, hyaluronic acid, soothing allantoin, vitamin E, jojoba esters, and olive glyceride.

Despite incorporating popular active ingredients, Oovii deliberately separates functional sun protection from multi-step skincare. “There is obviously a huge amount going on within the wider industry around children and skincare, and we fundamentally disagree with children wearing skincare,” Dailey says. “They don’t need it. They need protection, which is what we’re giving them.”

Packaging design plays a crucial role in Oovii’s brand positioning. Moving away from standard squeeze tubes, Face First comes in a pastel-toned airless pump jar designed to help young children dispense and apply the cream independently.

Each jar includes customizable sticker sheets. “Our customer is definitely the parent, but the child is obviously our user,” Dailey says. “By making it feel almost toy-like, we hope to encourage children to put it on their skin themselves.”

As the UK prepares to enforce social media restrictions for minors under 16 next spring, Oovii directs its marketing strictly at parents. The brand pairs sun safety education with editorial-style visual storytelling across its primary channels.

The co-founders' fashion background informs Oovii’s visual identity. Its debut campaign features the founders' children filmed at Dailey's Oxfordshire home, generating early traction among fashion and beauty industry editors on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Our customer is definitely the parent, but the child is obviously our user. By making it feel almost toy-like, we hope to encourage children to put it on their skin themselves.”

“We felt very strongly about the brand and curating that really beautifully in an aspirational and inspirational way, so people would feel it’s a brand that they love and also have kind of known,” Dailey says.

Positioned at a premium £28 price point, Face First reflects the higher cost of mineral active ingredients. To improve long-term affordability and reduce packaging waste, the company plans to introduce a refill system utilizing replaceable cartridges.

Oovii is currently available exclusively direct-to-consumer in the UK. Having previously sold her fashion label through wholesale channels, Dailey chose to focus initial operations on building direct customer relationship loops before expanding into retail partnerships.

“We really wanted to learn from customer feedback and grow from reputation rather than trying to scale at all costs,” Dailey says. “Unless you have really understood your product and owned your market, it’s very easy to get lost [at retail].”

Oovii operated as a self-funded venture until June, when it closed an undisclosed angel funding round from 10 private investors.

Looking ahead, the brand plans to expand its product lineup with additional children's sun care SKUs and explore international retail distribution.

For now, Oovii's chief challenge lies in shifting daily consumer habits. While the National Health Service recommends sun protection whenever the UK UV index reaches 3 or higher, routine daily application remains low among families.

“Parents might find it overwhelming to put sun cream on their kids every day, but if they’re just increasing the amount they are using it…then we’ve done our job,” Dailey says. “Harriet and I are both mothers ourselves. We know what is important to us and what our children need and want, and hope that we will be able to deliver a brand that can do that for others, too.”