From bush to bottle. How Kolorex began.
Here at Kolorex, we take wellness seriously. So it’s no surprise that the Kolorex story started with research – and some incredible discoveries about our hero herb, Horopito.
Making you feel phenomenal – since 1985
At Kolorex, we have one mission: to help you feel confident and comfortable in your body.
It all began in 1985. And we’ve been driven by this goal – every day since.
That’s decades dedicated to empowering women. Decades spent creating new products and fine-tuning our faves… to perfection.
Woah, Horopito really is a hero
We always knew Horopito was special. But our jaws dropped – when we realised how unique Horopito is.oropito, Pseudowintera colorata, is a 65-million-year old-herb, endemic to New Zealand. It is commonly known as pepper tree and is an ancient & medicinal shrub used in Rongoā, a traditional Māori healing system.
Horopito has intelligently adapted to thrive in the damp, dark conditions of the rainforest by building up natural chemical defenses to protect against attacking pathogens and microbes e.g. fungi. The active compound, polygodial, is extracted for Kolorex products.
And it was all thanks to our founder, Peter, who stumbled across it while researching traditional New Zealand plants.
Although he found that several plants that had beneficial uses, Horopito was the clear standout.
Turns out, this little herb has special properties – making it especially talented at helping people manage their wellbeing.
Only the best, for the best
You deserve the cream of the crop. Or as we like to say, the pick of the plant.
That’s why we grow only the best Horopito crops for our products.
How are we sure? Because we inspected all wild populations of Horopito across New Zealand – and now know that some have up to five times higher activity than others. Quite the over-performers, right?
Almost 30 years of R&D has gone into sustainably growing a potent form of Horopito and learning how to extract its bio-active compound Polygodial. We transform nature’s wisdom into the Kolorex women and men’s intimate care collection, derma range and gut care products.
The Kolorex collection adheres to the highest standards of what is truly natural. The product range contains no parabens, mineral oils, synthetic preservatives, synthetic fragrances or SLS/SLES. Instead, Kolorex uses a natural Vitamin E preservative system.
We like to keep things clean and simple. It’s in our nature
Horopito’s Bioactivity
horopito’s bio-acivity
The red leaf colouration is a bio-active compound called ‘Polygodial’.
The red Polygodial has been sent by the plant to where it’s being attacked by pathogens, fungi or insects. (see the insect holes in the leaf).
Polygodial works by breaking down the cell walls of pathogens and microbes, quickly rendering the cells fatally damaged.
