BCBUSINESS.CA APRIL 2017 BCBUSINESS 29
L I F E S T O RY: When Sara
Panton was growing up beach-
side in the farming community
of Metchosin, near Victoria, a
business career wasn't her first
choice. Interested in medicine,
she earned a bachelor of health
science from
SFU. Her enthu-
siasm for health and wellness
translated into a curiosity about
the sense of smell. In 2013, with
her brother, Sean, she launched
a blog and began tinkering with
combinations of essential oils.
"We started gaining traction on-
line," Panton recalls. "We didn't
have a product line, but we had a
solid concept."
The siblings are now propri-
etors of Vancouver-based Vitruvi,
which she describes as the"first
direct-to-consumer essential-oil
business." The son and daughter
of a policeman and a school-
teacher have succeeded thanks
to their closeness, Panton says.
"We can have very frank con-
versations and make decisions
quick," she explains. "There's
zero politics, and at the end
of the day, we know we have
each other's backs."
THE BOTTOM LINE: Vitruvi
sells its cleverly designed
products in 300 stores in Canada,
the U.S. and Australia, including
retailers like Holt Renfrew and
Urban Outfitters, but most of its
business is online. The profitable
10-employee company is partly
funded by local investors such
as Charles Chang, founder of
plant-based nutrition specialist
Vega. —J.P.
S A R A PA N T O N
Co-founder and CEO
VITRUVI
A G E : 2 7
