Trilogy

Trilogy is a New Zealand natural skincare brand founded in 2002 by sisters Sarah Gibbs and Catherine de Groot, built around certified organic rosehip oil as its hero ingredient [1]. The company positions itself in the certified-natural segment, backing its natural and organic claims with third-party accreditation rather than marketing language. Since 2018 it has been owned by the private-equity firm CITIC Capital, which acquired its parent group and took it off the public markets [2].

The brand's founding date is given as 2002 by the company and in most sources; a single editorial meta description records 2003, though the body of that same profile and every other source say 2002 [3].

Trilogy grew out of Sarah Gibbs's earlier work in plant-ingredient manufacturing. From 1998 she ran a business producing plant-derived ingredients for the natural supplement and cosmetic industries. An African cooperative approached the company to process rosehip oil, which it began selling internationally in bulk; Gibbs went on to develop an extraction method aimed at isolating the purest elements of the oil [3]. In 2002 she and her sister Catherine de Groot established Trilogy as a contemporary natural skincare range, with rosehip oil at its centre.

The company's account frames the launch as a response to a gap the sisters saw as consumers themselves. "We began defining Trilogy by understanding exactly what women like us want from natural skincare," Gibbs said, describing an intent to make natural products that were straightforward and clearly explained [3].

Rosehip oil remains the brand's signature. Its Certified Organic Rosehip Oil is sold as 100% pure rosehip seed oil with no added fragrance or preservatives, cold-pressed from wild-harvested rosehips grown in the mountainous regions of Lesotho and Chile. According to the company, every batch is individually tested to confirm a minimum of 80% essential fatty acids. Related products include Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ and Instant Glow Rosehip Oil, alongside a broader range of face and body skincare.

Beyond rosehip oil, Trilogy's formulations draw on ingredients including bakuchiol — which the brand presents as a natural alternative to retinol — vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, and it names proprietary blends it calls Rosapene and Glycablend. The company states that its products undergo independent clinical trials carried out by third-party laboratories, and describes its overall approach as "nature-led science."

Trilogy's stated mission is to "elevate your daily skincare routine into a ritual of selfcare, a daily connection with nature." Its positioning centres on certification as a guard against loose industry claims. "Often seen as an industry of smoke and mirrors there isn't much regulation around the terms 'natural' and 'organic'," the company writes; "that's why we choose to back our claims with strict third-party certifications" [4]. It organises its values around authenticity, accountability, traceability and transparency.

In 2012 Trilogy became the first New Zealand skincare brand to achieve NATRUE certification, an international natural-cosmetics standard [4]. Its products also carry BioGro organic certification, and the company states its range is cruelty-free.

Trilogy says its corporate operations have been carbon neutral since 2007, certified under the New Zealand scheme now known as Toitū Net Carbonzero (formerly CarboNZero) [5]. On packaging, the company reports moving many products from plastic to glass, introducing post-consumer recycled plastic for tubes, and using cardboard certified to the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) standard. It also describes donating skincare to New Zealand charities, including the cancer-support programme Look Good Feel Better.

Trilogy's parent, Trilogy International Limited (TIL Group), was previously listed on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. In April 2018 CITIC Capital China Partners, the private-equity arm of CITIC Capital, completed its acquisition of TIL Group, after which the company was delisted from both exchanges [2]. TIL Group's portfolio at the time also included the brands ECOYA, Goodness, Lanocreme and By Nature.

The company states that its products have won more than 300 awards since 2002, and cites Allure magazine's "Best of Clean Beauty" recognition for Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ [6]. It also notes coverage in publications including Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Allure.

Trilogy remains commercially active and trades internationally, with the company describing itself as selling in more than 25 countries through some 6,000 stores, and maintaining regional sites for New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is classified here as acquired to reflect its ownership: since the 2018 CITIC Capital transaction it has been privately held rather than publicly listed [2], while continuing to launch new products.