(Australian Associated Press)
Everyone knows to cover up with sunscreen before a long, hot session in the sun, but it won’t last all day. Sunscreen may be tough enough to withstand the sun’s harsh light, but it can’t stand up to an all-day playlist of swimming, running and towelling off.
Imagine if you could know exactly when it’s time to reapply. Not only would you avoid days of painful sunburn, but it might even save your life.
“It’s particularly important in Queensland, which is the skin cancer capital of the world,” says Sam Sheehan, Suncayr’s managing director in Australia and Asia.
“That’s partly why we made the decision to launch on the Gold Coast.”
The brainchild of a team of scientists and engineers committed to fighting cancer, the Suncayr dream began four years ago in Canada, far from the sunny shores of southeast Queensland.
A sticker made of synthetic skin may not seem like fashionable beachwear, but it’s the latest tool in the battle against melanoma.
“SPOTMYUV reacts to the environment in an accurate way,” Sheehan says. “You put it on, apply your sunscreen, then enjoy your day.”
Once your sunscreen wears off, the SPOTMYUV sticker begins to turn purple as it absorbs ultraviolet rays.
“If it’s turned purple, it’s time to put on a new layer of sunscreen,” he says. “Once you do, the sticker will turn clear again.”
Water resistant, unobtrusive, and subject to more than 13 clinical trials, SPOTMYUV is Suncayr’s flagship product and the result of years of research and development.
“When we launched SPOTMYUV last October, we did it on the Gold Coast,” Sheehan says.
The Suncayr team first came to the Gold Coast for the 2018 Investment Trade Show that coincided with the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m from Brisbane, so I knew the Gold Coast as more of a holiday destination,” he says. “I didn’t think it was a viable business hub.”
It was exactly the kind of view the City of Gold Coast Council has been working hard to change. The trade show was a part of Trade 2018, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Trade and Investment Program, which aimed to promote business, trade and investment for Queensland and the Gold Coast in particular, both at home and internationally.
An evaluation report released this week was overwhelmingly positive. A whopping 94 per cent of delegates surveyed indicated a positive experience, and 76 per cent of respondents said Trade 2018 had improved their perspective on the Gold Coast as a viable place to do business.
That was certainly the case for Suncayr: “It showed us there was much more support available from both the Council and the Queensland Government than we expected. Trade 2018 really clinched it for us.”
That support helped Suncayr to establish their Australian HQ on the Gold Coast in September 2018, something Sheehan was very happy about.
“I was a big fan of the move because it fits in so exactly with our mantra,” he says.
“The weather’s great, council and government support is terrific, and everyone’s so aware of skin cancer. We couldn’t have a more perfect home than the Gold Coast.”
