Ten years on, we are proud to release our FY2026 Annual Impact Report.
In 2016, we set out to share Tasmania’s best-kept natural secret with the world, and to do it in a way that respected the land it came from.
This report takes a deliberately wider lens than a single year. We look back across our journey to date and share the initiatives that have shaped us through to mid-2026, reflecting where we have quietly made progress product by product. Progress, not perfection, remains the honest description of where we are.
I have shared some of my favourite highlights from the report below, and you can click here to download and read the full report.
A DECADE OF ZEA
From a single Kunzea cream to a family of natural health and wellness products across three brands, a decade of steady, deliberate growth, never at the expense of the values we started with.
In 2026 we marked our tenth birthday: ten years of natural health and wellness, built product by product, and a milestone we celebrated with the community of customers, stockists and co-owners who got us here.
B CORP RE-CERTIFICATION
In August 2025, we re-certified as a B Corporation, reaffirming our commitment across B Corp’s five impact areas and publicly committing to continuous improvement across community, customers, environment, governance and workers.
We are one of very few Certified B Corporations operating in Australia's TGA-regulated listed medicines category, a corner of the wellness industry that has not traditionally led on sustainable packaging or B Corp values. 100% of our Zea Relief products are made in Australia.
PACKAGING PROGRESS
Packaging is one of the biggest areas where a small company like ours can make a measurable difference, so we made progress product by product across the range, rather than chasing a single headline number.
Kunzea Pain Relief Cream tubes in 20g, 50g and 100g moved from 33% to 50% post-consumer recycled plastic, and the 240g and 480g sizes are in production at 50% PCR. MAGZEA Recovery Spray, Magnesium Oil Topical Spray and the Original Kunzea Cream are now packaged in 100% PCR plastic. 70% of our range is now in PCR or glass packaging, a meaningful step toward our 2027 goal.
We also launched our first completely plastic-free products, Vapour Rub and VasaCLEAN, each packaged in a recyclable tin and housed in an FSC-certified recycled paper box. A category first for us, and a template for where we are heading.
Our Kunzea Bath Salts also moved to a resealable pouch made with 70% recycled content, carbon-neutral and recyclable.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
We were honoured with the Small Business Champion Award at the Sustainability Tracker 2025 Impact Awards, recognising our long-term commitment to impact.
At the Clean + Conscious Awards 2025 we had two wins for Zea Relief. Our Kunzea Pain Relief Cream, our hero product and most-reviewed line, took Gold in the Family First Aid category. Our Women's PMS Support Blend took Bronze and an Editor's Choice mention, recognising a women's wellness formulation we have worked on since 2023.
We also took Gold and Silver at the Royal Tasmanian Fine Food Awards, launched our first-ever training and education platform, and moved into a new head office in Oakleigh.
SUPPORTING PEOPLE AND PLANET
We became a proud sponsor of the Bob Brown Foundation's work protecting takayna / Tarkine, one of the largest remaining temperate rainforests in the Southern Hemisphere.
During October's Musculoskeletal Health Awareness Month we donated 50c from every 100g Kunzea Pain Relief Cream sold online. Thanks to our customers, we raised $1,473 and proudly presented Musculoskeletal Health Australia with a cheque.
We also joined MHA's World's Biggest Sit In at Rippon Lea Estate, a world record attempt for the largest chair-based exercise class, and partnered with Neuromuscular WA to support Rob Storey's Long Walk Home, a 3,400km walk from Melbourne to Perth raising funds and awareness for West Australians living with neuromuscular conditions.
As a 1% for the Planet member since 2020, our lifetime giving to environmental partners has now passed $100,000. We have planted 2,818 trees with One Tree Planted and contributed toward 394 hectares of Australian bushland restoration.
NATIVE 9-SPICE WITH PALAWA KIPLI
On 9 July 2026, during NAIDOC Week, we were proud to support Palawa Kipli, a Tasmanian Aboriginal food business, in launching Native 9-Spice, their first-ever retail product, a blend of nine native ingredients echoing the nine nations of Lutruwita / Tasmania prior to colonisation.
Palawa Kipli led this product with culture, story and connection to Country. Zea's role was to stand alongside them with practical support, from product development and compliance to manufacturing and e-commerce. All profits are directed to Palawa Kipli, reinvested into Aboriginal-led initiatives through the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
Our Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan, launched in 2023 and endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, remains at Reflect stage, with Innovate as our next ambition.
The launch of Native 9-Spice by Palawa Kipli, NAIDOC Week 2026. Photography by Yasmin Mund.
LOOKING AHEAD
We are constantly making changes and improvements to help make Zea more sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly. Below, we have listed just some of our impact goals for the year ahead. You can find the full list of our goals by downloading the full Impact Report.
100% PCR ACROSS ALL FIVE KUNZEA PAIN RELIEF CREAM TUBE SIZES BY 2027
The 20g, 50g and 100g Kunzea Pain Relief Cream tubes are at 50% post-consumer recycled plastic today, and the 240g and 480g sizes are in production at 50%. Our public commitment is to reach 100% PCR across all five tube sizes by 2027.
EXTENDING PLASTIC-FREE FORMATS
Following the successful launch of our Vapour Rub and VasaCLEAN tins, we are actively reviewing plastic-free packaging for additional SKUs across Zea Relief and Zea Essentials.
DEEPENING INDIGENOUS ENGAGEMENT
Progress our Reconciliation Action Plan from Reflect to Innovate stage, with a particular focus on formalising our relationship with Tasmanian Aboriginal communities.
CARBON MEASUREMENT AND REDUCTION
Work toward formal measurement of our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, a foundational step towards setting science-based reduction targets.
B CORP SCORE IMPROVEMENT
With recertification confirmed in 2025, our next milestone is continuing to improve across B Corp's five impact areas ahead of our next recertification cycle.
THANK YOU
Our vision is to improve the quality of life and enrich the wellbeing of 10 million people worldwide by 2030. That is a big goal, and only one we are willing to achieve sustainably and responsibly. No matter how far we have come with our environmental and social efforts, we understand that there is more work to do. We know that in order to tackle the big challenges, we are better off striving for progress, not perfection.
There is a long way to go, but it is a journey we are grateful to be on, with our team, our stockists, our community of co-owners, and the customers whose trust we do not take for granted. Thank you for reading our FY2026 Impact Report, and for supporting Zea on our journey.
To read the full Impact Report FY2026, please click here.
AUTHOR - HAYDEN BRASS
For the past decade, Hayden has lived and breathed Zea. He has been the driving force behind turning what was a family project into a real business that could positively impact millions of people throughout the world. It's Hayden's personal mission to develop products that have a positive impact on people's lives and well-being. When he is not working and talking about Kunzea Oil, Hayden enjoys getting outdoors into nature and exploring the beautiful planet we call home.
