After formally parting ways with Procter & Gamble in July 2018, Paul and Barbi Schulick, founders of the P&G subsidiary New Chapter, have unveiled their next venture, byOM life, LLC.  Thirty-five years ago, Paul Schulick’s vitamin and herbal formulations initiated a paradigm shift in the natural products industry towards fermentation and whole food supplementation.  Now, Mr. Schulick plans to use the brand byOM to radically innovate botanical skin care while simultaneously preparing for a return to the nutraceuticals market in the summer of 2020. 
 
byOM, named for the ecological term “biome,” (a “naturally occurring community”), will focus on nourishing and helping to heal the body, work-culture, and the entire world community. Appropriately, the name honors one of the most revered sounds in spiritual lore, OM—thought to be the source of creativity and intelligence in the universe. The first byOM products are scheduled to be released the end of Q1 of 2019.
 
According to Mr. Schulick, “Our first products will represent a radically transparent approach to skin health. We hope to call out the beauty industry and inform consumers about what they’re putting on, and therefore in, their bodies. Too often, skin care lines ignore the complexity and biodiversity of the skin. They may mean well when they include healthful botanicals and extracts in their formulas, but then they offset the benefits with potentially irritating compounds.”
 
To leverage their success, the Schulicks welcomed Kelli Rooney Hanzalik, a key sales executive behind the $100 million growth of New Chapter, as president at byOM. Ms. Hanzalik started working with the couple in 1997 and made enormous strides within the organization until she left in 2016 after becoming disappointed with P&G’s culture and approach. “Paul’s concern has always been to make a genuine contribution to healing and to treat the consumer with the same care as he would give to his own family. He is recognized in the industry for his uncompromising and disruptive approach to formulation. Working with the Schulicks and their mission-based ethic really inspires me.”  
 
“We return Kelli’s enthusiasm manifold,” said Ms. Schulick. “She beautifully rounds out our team with her immense intelligence and business expertise.”
Through byOM, the team vows to “give back” to their community and global biomes by donating a robust percentage of actual gross revenues to housing and climate initiatives. Also key to their company philosophy is raising consciousness through meditation and consumer education, creating a culture of ownership for employees, and offering true solutions to the current healthcare crisis.
 
When asked why 65-year-old Mr. Schulick was starting up his next enterprise at least two decades later than the average entrepreneur, he responded, “There is more need now than ever for our individual and world biomes to heal. Age and experience can actually work to our benefit towards making an even more powerful contribution this time around.”