On the surface, a collaboration between Indigenous-owned cosmetics company Cheekbone Beauty and tinned food brand Nice Cans is surprising, unusual, and straight-up a little weird. But the partnership that sparked their collaboration was a long-time coming.

Not only that, the launch of the limited-edition lipstick Haki is steeped in years of shared values among the companies and their women founders. 

“Haki marries so well with Nice Cans’s values of sustainability and the preservation of ocean-life,” says Jenn Harper, the founder and CEO of Cheekbone. “In an odd way, it’s exactly what our brand is trying to do.”

Nice Cans’ founder Charlotte Langley and Harper met years ago at a Toronto Chowder Chowdown, a clam chowder competition amongst local chefs. At the time, Harper worked with an organization that sold sustainable seafood, and Langley was a full-time chef. Throughout the early stages of launching their new businesses, the duo found comfort and kinship comfort in being two Canadian women going through similar experiences. 

So when Langley approached Harper about the collaboration earlier this year, the idea just clicked. Sustainable ingredients, sourcing, and packaging are all hallmarks of both brands.

The pair settled on Haki—meaning “land” in the Lenape language—to pay homage to the relationship between Indigenous communities and the earth. 

“When we come up with a colour, we think of a location for it and what Indigenous groups would’ve been there pre-colonization, then pick a name in their language,” says Harper. “It’s how we can honour them and get all of us, most of whom are settlers on this land, to get people to use these languages.”

Photo by David Pike

Plus, a cheeky hot pink shade in Cheekbone’s signature Sustain formula was right up both brands’ alleys. 

“It’s vibrant and bold, but it’s also rooted in the foundational elements of dreaming big but having your feet on the planet,” says Langley. “It’s beautiful all the way through to its sustainable packaging.”

Haki also already existed in Cheekbone’s toolbox, adding an element of ease to the project that allowed the companies to lean into their shared messages and values.

In support of Indigenous History Month throughout June and World Oceans Day on June 8, all proceeds from the collaboration will support Indigenous student scholarships through the Cheekbone Beauty Scholarship Fund. 

“Knowledge and education create a level of confidence in humans that they don’t have otherwise,” says Harper. “Education is a powerful way to rewrite our own stories as Indigenous people, and if there’s some way we can support someone on that journey, then we will.”

Find Haki on Nice Cans's website.
 

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