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The event will have a new date in May, thus opening up the opportunity for organic beauty to touch two points in the year.
In 2016, Organic Beauty Week achieved its best ever reach, with 21 editorial placements in key media – a 200% increase on 2015 by number of placements and 19% up by total reach. There was an eight million social reach, and #organicbeautyweek had over 1,200 tweets and more than 800 posts on Instagram, and #lookforthelogo had over 50 tweets and more than 1,500 posts on Instagram.
Lauren Bartley, business development manager, health & beauty, Soil Association Certification, explained the move: “With increased consumer awareness and demand for organic beauty, we will be moving Organic Beauty Week out of Organic September and creating a dedicated week in the calendar year to Beauty and Wellbeing. Organic Beauty & Wellbeing week will take place in May 2017 as a pop-up shop for consumers, press and beauty buyers to learn about and shop for certified organic beauty and wellbeing in an experiential way.”
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The Soil Association event will continue to build on the Campaign for Clarity, calling on brands to ‘stop the greenwash’ to enable consumers to be sure that what they are buying is genuinely organic or natural.
The campaign has been given a new look this year, with a fresh logo and creative, as well as a dedicated beauty Instagram. “We are completely revamping the creative and the materials around Organic Beauty Week,” says Clare McDermott, business development director, Soil Association Certification, “and we are taking it national – as well as hosting events in London for beauty buyers we will be holding events in Bristol and Glasgow, primarily to educate but also to allow people to sample brands.”
For retailers, the Soil Association will be offering a digital toolkit available to download, including free POS materials highlighting Organic Beauty Week with the sub-heading – ‘look for the logo’ and ‘we have the logo’. Retailers can place these over certified products to promote Organic Beauty Week and make the most of their offers.
Kim Allan of Botanical Brands, which is running a special promotion for retailers during the month, commented: “Awareness for natural and organic beauty is at an all-time high. More and more consumers are looking for natural and organic skincare but products they can trust and rely upon to deliver results. Certification provides that reassurance and that’s why the Soil Association is focusing on looking for the logo during Organic Beauty Week this year.”
Organic beauty brands partnering the Soil Association during the event include Neal’s Yard Remedies, Herbfarmacy, Spiezia, Natracare, Voya, Therapi, Bamford, Skin and Tonic and Terre Verdi.
Health, wellness and fitness blogger Niomi Smart is the ambassador for this year’s event.
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]]>The post Formula Botanica scholarship up for grabs in global pitch appeared first on Natural Beauty Yearbook.
]]>Partnering with the Soil Association, The Beauty Voice, Peridot Magazine, Melinda Coss and the Organic Herb Trading Company, Formula Botanica is running the competition as part of this year’s Organic Beauty Week (19-25 September).
The first prize is a place on Formula Botanica’s International Organic Skincare Entrepreneur Programme and a free place on The Beauty Voice Course Bundle to learn the crucial business skills to start their range. The winner will also receive free media coverage on Peridot Mag when they launch their business.
The second prize is two hour’s free mentoring with skincare business consultant Melinda Coss and a YOU beauty box, courtesy of the Soil Association.
The third prize is a goodie hamper of organic cosmetic ingredients from the Organic Herb Trading Company and Soil Association Charity membership.
For more information and to register, visit https://bit.ly/Organic2016. The entry window is from 1-25 September.
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]]>As this latest installment of my Beauty Buzz column goes to press, we are putting away the chairs and closing the door on yet another hugely successful Round Table discussion hosted by the Natural Beauty Yearbook and Natural Products News magazine.
Held once again on the first day of Organic Beauty Week, a select group of retailers, distributors, PRs, brands and industry experts gathered under one roof to share views and opinions on the future of natural beauty.
When the clock struck 12 the room was abuzz with animated voices and excited chatter as new and familiar faces greeted and jointly Tweeted for the Soil Association’s Thunderclap midday announcement. In a bid to get the organic message out to as many consumers as possible, the charity stored up hundreds of Tweets citing this year’s theme, Campaign for Clarity, and released them in one job lot.
Jumping on the pumpkin wagon of this Cinderellaesque announcement was successful organic beauty blogger Ailish Lucas from The Glow Getter, who recorded an instant ‘periscope’ interview with her fellow Round Table panelist Emma Reinhold, trade relations manager at the Soil Association before sending it off into the ether to be viewed by her thousands of followers.
To say the event was a lesson in the art of social media is an understatement. More importantly, it illustrated the international reach that organic beauty could potentially leverage. It is no coincidence that ‘going global’ was the first debate topic of the day, which proved to be one that came full circle, concluding the morning’s discussions as well.
“Unfortunately I don’t think there is a global understanding at all, and I think there probably won’t ever be a correct or in-depth understanding – nobody is ever going to agree,” said Sonia White, owner of Amarya and LoveLula.com. “However, it would be great, and hence why we launched the Real Beauty Manifesto just so that we can at least get the basics right. Defining the term ‘natural’ would be a great first step.”
Helen Lewis, brand manager at Neal’s Yard, agreed that there remains a confusion among consumers on a global scale regarding the varying different terminologies: “We find that consumers understand the term ‘natural’ more than they do ‘organic’, and tend to trust the term ‘natural’ more as well.
“From an international perspective we are seeing the level of organic understanding growing, but there are differences. For instance, in Japan consumers are very hot on what is good for your skin, on healthy eating, and they’re leading the way in Asia; whereas in Korea, where we’ve just opened up, it’s all about cosmetic surgery. In order to get that organic message across you have to make sure that your products are effective. We have to show that organic isn’t just a fluffy word – it actually does something beneficial for your skin.”
Once again it all comes back to efficacy and brand transparency. It was agreed that getting the retail message right is also vitally important, particularly in light of the rise in online sales. But if ever there was a succinct way of reaching an international audience with one clear message then the Internet is just that.
The untapped potential for natural beauty is overwhelmingly large. Forming key partnerships, agreeing on a clear message, producing efficacious products and reaching a wider audience is the way forward. The ingredients are elementary, the question is, how long until we get there?
A full write up of the Round Table discussion will be available to read in the 2016 Natural Beauty Yearbook, published in November this year.
Julia Zaltzman is a freelance writer and editor of The Natural Beauty Yearbook
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]]>Made using responsibly sourced biodynamic ingredients, the Éminence Eight Greens Starter Set is designed to clarify hormonally imbalanced skin and includes Stone Crop Gel Wash, Eight Greens Phyto Masque, Eight Greens Phyto Masque Hot, Eight Greens Youth Serum and Eight Greens Whip Moisturizer. Incorporating yucca and hops extract to fight free radicals, the anti-oxidant rich products are formulated to soothe, calm and promote skin regeneration and increase hydration to give a more youthful complexion.
The Éminence Youth Shield Starter Set aims to provide age preventative care for normal to combination skin. The set comprises Red Currant Exfoliating Cleanser, Red Currant Rapid Infusion Masque, Red Currant Balancing Concentrate and Red Currant Protective Moisturizer. The inclusion of red currants along with tee tree oil is designed to nourish, balance and protect as well as hydrate and invigorate the skin.
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]]> https://www.naturalbeautyyearbook.co.uk/eminence-aims-to-kick-start-organic-skincare-regimes/feed/ 0The post Get set for Organic Beauty Week appeared first on Natural Beauty Yearbook.
]]>This year’s theme is based around the Soil Association’s Campaign for Clarity, and the Soil Association is encouraging all organic beauty retailers, brands and producers to get involved during this event as well as the wider Organic September campaign.
In addition to point of sale (POS) materials that can be used in store to drive awareness of the campaign, the SA will be sharing a digital tool kit with the key messages, suggested tweets and all the campaign assets to ensure the message is amplified consistently. This central online hub will be the main point for offers, competitions, blogs and interviews and will be underpinned by a targeted media campaign.
There are loads of ways to get involved:
You can download everything you need – the digital toolkit, POS materials and the Campaign for Clarity assets – here. Please email [email protected] to register for login information.
To kick off Organic Beauty Week, the Soil Association is holding an event, in partnership with Whole Foods Market, featuring The Hemsley Sisters.
Taking place on 8 September from 7pm-9pm at Whole Foods Market, Kensington High Street, the event will see Jasmine and Melissa talk about their life in food, their philosophy and relationship with organic food and beauty.
There will also be a Q&A session, a book signing of The Art of Eating Well, and goody bags packed with organic brands.
Tickets for the evening can be purchased here.
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]]>Keep it clear. Keep it transparent. And no, I’m not just referring to your well-cared-for complexion! That’s the mantra this September when the Soil Association embarks on yet another emboldened Organic Beauty Week, focused this year on the theme, Campaign for Clarity.
Running from 14-21 September the aim, as always, is to “raise awareness of the importance of certification in a very unregulated market,” says Emma Reinhold, trade relations manager at the Soil Association, “and why consumers should look for a certification symbol to ensure they are buying truly organic beauty products”.
Every year retailers, brands and campaigners alike join together to celebrate and promote the world of organic beauty. And this is achieved in a variety of ways, from pop-up shops to consumer-friendly discounts, from promotions to competitions and events. This year over 60 brands, from large stalwarts like Neal’s Yard to fledgling start-ups, and over 20 retailers, including independents, multiples and online stores will be singing the praises of all things organically beautiful, and engaging with shoppers in a variety of ways.
And that’s the hard part. Engaging with consumers who have heard it all before, but haven’t necessarily bought into the idea yet. For those of us who have been not only talking about it but living it for years, it can on occasion feel as though we’re repeating ourselves over and over again. But it is only with continued repetition that the message will eventually sink in and become the norm and greenwashing will finally be something that no longer washes with the general public. Until that realization occurs, certified organic is a mark for consumers to trust, and it’s this trust that gives momentum to things such as the Campaign for Clarity.
“We believe that organic is the future, and this year we’re going to campaign for brands to be better and for consumers to understand more,” says Reinhold. “It’s time to reclaim organic and stand up for the consumers who deserve to know what they’re buying.”
Seizing the power of social media, a number of hashtags have been set up to “educate and motivate” consumers over the week, such as #OrganicBeauty, #OrganicSeptember and of course #Campaign4Clarity. And in its bid for consumer creativity, the Soil Association hasn’t been afraid to diversify. The Hemsley sisters are introduced this year as the first ambassadors for Organic Beauty Week. Food lovers with a passion for wellness and delicious, nutrient-dense cooking, they are the perfect example of how buying into the organic beauty psyche is far bigger than using a certain type of moisturizer or lipstick.
For campaigns and movements such as Organic Beauty Week to work, it needs to be deemed as a conscious lifestyle change, not just a temporary novelty for one week every year. And independent retailers are the best vehicle for endorsing this. So while you’re encouraging your customers to spur on their as-yet-unconverted friends and family to approach their buying decisions differently this year, make sure you are the best ambassador for both your store and organic beauty as you can possibly be this September.
For more info on Organic Beauty Week, visit https://bit.ly/1MaZXeC.
Julia Zaltzman is a freelance writer and editor of The Natural Beauty Yearbook
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]]>M&S beauty buyer Louisa Maaldrink stated in her keynote seminar at Natural & Organic Products Europe back in April that over the past 18 months the retailer has actively expanded its natural beauty range, and has subsequently built a reputation amongst its buyers for offering effective, authentic, trusted brands, containing innovative ingredients that aren’t tested on animals.
And in May, H&M became the latest high street fashion retailer to announce the relaunch of its beauty offering this autumn. Available in over 900 stores worldwide and online, its new 700-product strong range of make-up, haircare, bodycare and beauty styling essentials will also include a subsidiary-conscious range of Ecocert-approved sustainable products.
Looking to the likes of New Look Pure Beauty, Next Make Me Beautiful and Primark PS Love Beauty, it’s clear that multiple fashion retailers are investing heavily in the beauty sector, but the fact that H&M – a store with a core demo aged between 18-30 – has seen enough potential in the organic beauty sector to launch its own certified organic range is genuinely promising.
Emma Reinhold, trade relations manager at Soil Association Certification, commented: “It has been another fantastic year for the organic health and beauty market. Organic beauty now appeals to a much wider group of consumers, supported by initiatives like the Soil Association’s Organic Beauty Week, which are helping to move organic beauty into the mainstream and enable more consumers to discover the benefits of these products.”
Appealing to lighter green consumers as much as stalwart organic consumers is certainly the way forward, but whereas in the past independent health stores were stocking brands that were trying to compete with mainstream beauty products, it now looks as though the independents are themselves competing with mainstream multiples for a fair slice of the organic beauty cake. What was once a niche for the specialist few is fast becoming the bread and butter of the many.
This won’t be welcome news to some, although the renewed growth of the organic market (expected to break the £2 billion barrier in 2016), will be. But whether you support keeping organic beauty within independent grass roots stores, or welcome its emergence on multiple retailers’ soil, the recent launch of the Natural Beauty Retail Awards is a great way of having your say on the increasingly multi-channel natural and organic beauty scene.
Designed to recognize and celebrate the importance of a great retail experience at the same time as increasing the awareness of organic and natural beauty, the Natural Beauty Retail Awards invite retailers to nominate themselves in the following categories: Best Department Store; Best Retail Chain; Best Supermarket; Best Branded Store; Best Online Retailer; and Best Independent Store.
All entries will be judged by a panel of industry experts, and the closing date for entries is 31 July 2015. To have your say, visit the website and vote at www.naturalbeautyyearbook.co.uk.
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]]>Exports have also grown, according to the report, with export revenue topping £10 million for the first time. This growth has been particularly strong in Asian markets.
With increasing greenwashing in this sector, demand for reassurance through certification is also growing, and the number of companies employing the Soil Association symbol has risen to 204, up 51%, as “consumers look for the reassurance of organic certification in an unregulated market plagued by spurious organic claims”.
The report found that Neal’s Yard Remedies, the market leader in the health and beauty sector both internationally and in the UK, saw its organic sales increase by 12% in 2014. After opening a further ten stores, it now has 50 stores in the UK as well as 45 internationally.
The report also highlights Essential Care, which has rebranded as Odylique and whose exports are growing 50% year-on-year, and Pai Skincare which saw its sales double in 2014.
Consumer demands in this area are changing, according to the Soil Association, with customers looking for clinically proven results. “The leading organic brands are increasingly looking beyond the environmentally conscious core consumers that originally drove the market to appeal to a wider, less ideologically driven public looking for more natural products that work,” says the report.
The Soil Association report says that consumer education is at the core of the marketing strategies of the larger brands, citing Odylique and Pai as having information websites and Neal’s Yard Remedies helping raise awareness of the dangers of neonicotinoid pesticides.
A highlight of 2014 was the inaugural Organic Beauty Week which took place during Organic September and incorporated a range of events and product promotions which reached over four million people and helped deliver a tripling of week-on-week sales of organic beauty products during the week.
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]]>Look around today and you’ll see a world in crisis. Divisive action in Syria and the Middle East, the news that British troops may be set to re-enter Iraq, and on the domestic front (at the time of going to print) Scotland is on the cusp of making history by voting for independence.
After more than 300 years as part of the United Kingdom, it looks like our Scottish cousins are set on breaking away for good. But while separation is on the cards for GB, it was a different story at the Natural Beauty Yearbook Round Table last month.
Held at Whole Foods Market in Fulham on the first day of Organic Beauty Week, key industry figures from the burgeoning world of natural beauty came together to discuss and dissect the latest topics and trends relevant to the natural beauty market. The subject of organic certification and its relevance to consumers was mulled over, as was the controversial presumption that all natural brands look to the multiples for shelf space. But throughout the course of the morning one resounding point repeatedly came to the fore, and that was for unified action from the industry as a whole.
It’s undeniable that huge progress has been made in the past ten years within product development, packaging, branding and the availability of ingredients that enables natural and organic beauty brands to stand toe-to-toe with mainstream cosmetic houses. Efficacy testing and scientific research is now avail-able as proof to the consumer that natural beauty products not only present their own benefits, but also deliver on results-driven consumer demands.
But while this may be true, and recognized by those in the know, it remains a complete unknown to the most important people of all: consumers. Brands, retailers, distributors and manufacturers need to be pulling together to present these findings in as simple a format as possible.
“We’re guilty of being too inwards facing,” said Tracey Robinson of Vert PR. “Yes we work in the industry, but we are all consumers as well.” Highlighting the fact that the industry is often guilty of preaching to the converted, it was agreed that the key messages, especially those that are actually of interest to the High Street shopper, need to be broken down and communicated to a wider demographic.
Yes, organic certification matters. Yes, it requires a lot of help, funding and marketing before it can be fully understood by customers, and retailers. And yes, we as an industry should be lobbying government to get organic beauty regulated. But the main reason customers buy organic beauty products is thanks to the lifestyle factor that they present – the ability to purchase a feel-good product. And as flimsy as that may sound, or as painful as it may be to accept the idea that sustainability, provenance and certification aren’t necessarily why many people buy organic beauty, it’s important to understand it.
Coming together as one voice to present our findings to a wider audience is one means of unification, but more importantly, retailers need to become united with their customers.
Julia Zaltzman is a freelance writer and editor of The Natural Beauty Yearbook
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