Our story

In 2008, Horst Rechelbacher, driven by his environmental activism post-selling AVEDA, envisioned creating a new beauty brand. Aligned with his ethos of practicing what he preached, he aimed for a brand meeting society's standards, earning the first-ever full U.S.D.A. certification. Thus, Intelligent Nutrients (I-N) emerged.

After Horst's passing in 2014, his life partner Kiran Stordalen and daughter Nicole Rechelbacher took the helm, continuing his legacy. They revamped the I-N range, enhancing product quality and design. In March 2021, they relaunched as I-N, Intelligent™️, reaffirming their commitment to excellence and sustainability in beauty care.

We select over 225 plant-based active ingredients from around the world, and we take equal care in how we process them. That means carefully selecting only non-toxic preservatives that ensure we get the most out of every precious ingredient.

We are keen to source all our ingredients ethically. Our suppliers are expected to meet certain requirements, with a view to obtaining the best ingredients. All this, with the best result for you and our planet.

You can find out which ingredients are used on each product, along with what science serves as the backbone.

We developed 6 sciences (formulas) - which in turn form the crucial backbone (or complement) of our products. These formulas are carefully crafted and contain a unique blend of ingredients. You can recognize the formulas by the color of our packaging or by the icon.

There is no planet B. Change in thinking and action now is urgently needed. In a beauty industry that is largely self-regulating, we choose to have our products certified and regulated by third-party organisations with the highest standards (and we tend to go beyond their standards). Transparency is in our DNA, as is our commitment to sustainability and our eternal sense of responsibility for the planet.

Our goal is to have a minimum of 85% natural content in each product formula with only rare exceptions. Our average across the board is 96.2% natural. This percentage can also be found on all our products.

All our products, except the Tousled Texture Matte Paste, are vegan. (The Tousled Texture Matte Paste contains honey wax - which also falls under animal ingredients). Furthermore, all our products are leaping bunny certified, which officially designates us as a cruelty-free brand. We are happy to explain the following logos.

100% CERTIFIED GREEN ENERGY
Green-e® is a renewable energy programme of the Center for Resource Solutions. I-N participates in the Green-e® Marketplace program. I-Nternational headquarters purchases wind energy through the local utility company. I-N Global also purchases wind renewable energy certificates (RECs) for the energy used on our behalf by our manufacturing partners.

COSMOS ORGANIC
This internationally recognised standard for organic and natural cosmetics requires that 95% of the product's agro-ingredients be produced organically. The remaining ingredients must meet strict criteria to ensure they are not harmful to our health or the environment. This standard also bans GMO, nano-ingredients, irradiation and animal testing.

COSMOS NATURAL
This certification applies when some plant ingredients or essential oils are not available as certified organic, such as the beloved jasmine. Although it is not compulsory, the percentage of organic is shown on the product label. We aim for a minimum of 65%.

U.S.D.A CERTIFIED
The United States Department of Agriculture awards its seal to products whose total content is certified 100% organic, or whose total content is certified 95% organic, with the remaining 5% of the content coming from a small, select number of ingredients that have not been organically grown, and pose no known risk to health or the environment.