Niche Beauty
How niche brands are changing the beauty landscape
For this edition, The Moodie Davitt Report surveyed some of the most exciting, up and coming niche beauty brands in travel retail, offering a timely snapshot of opinion about how this segment of the business is changing the sector landscape. Our survey reveals brand owners’ views about their USPs, their ambitions for the channel and why retailers should take a chance on something edgy and new. By Hannah Tan-Gillies.
Please tell us about your brand’s USP and competitive strengths?
Pictured is the brand’s standalone boutique at Zürich Airport, its first in Europe, which opened in late 2021
Aesop: We focus our efforts on the contents of the jar rather than elaborate presentation, celebrity endorsements or disingenuous promises.
We look to optimise and support the skin’s health - regardless of a customer’s age or gender - emphasising the benefits of a healthy lifestyle as well as effective care regimens. The idea is to launch fewer but better products, ignoring industry trends to focus on creating timeless formulations that serve a genuine purpose rather than create an artificial need or worse, prey on customers’ insecurities.
On The Mark Consultancy Director Mark Brewer: Egyptian Magic is a legendary, multi-purpose 100% natural balm that can be used to hydrate dry skin, soothe and beautify from head to toe. The brand was first launched in 1991 with a blend of six natural ingredients: Olive Oil, Beeswax, Honey, Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly, and Bee Propolis.
It is an award-winning all-in-one miracle balm that is easy to use and incredibly versatile. The formula can be used for literally everything from providing dry lips with a rich moisture, priming skin for makeup to repairing dry or irritated skin, making it the ultimate travel companion.
Mark Brewer
Tom Watson
Michael Malul Chief Commercial Officer Tom Watson: Michael Malul is a fragrance house, pure and simple. Fragrance is not an additional category for us, it is our heart and soul. Our mission is to pursue our vision of creating the perfect fragrance without compromise, by using the finest raw ingredients.
We also work with the world’s most renowned perfumers such as Clément Gavarry, Hamid Merati-Kashani and Ilias Ermenidis. Because we work directly with retailers, our commercial terms are extremely competitive.
Fekkai Founder Frédéric Fekkai: Fekkai’s USP is that it is a professional haircare brand founded by a stylist and tested by stylists that is also clean, vegan, and sustainable.
Our competitive strengths are that all of the styling products are hybrid, five-in-one products that provide treatment, styling, and protective benefits. Lastly, all of our packaging is at least 25%-95% PCR. We are the first haircare brand to produce aerosol hairsprays and dry shampoos that have no impact on the ozone layer and are genuinely safe for people and planet.
Frédéric Fekkai
Click here to read our exclusive interview with Fekkai Founder Frédéric Fekkai as he talks of his ambitions to create the “Tesla of sustainable luxury haircare”
Formulae Prescott Founder Pauline Prescott: We are female led, offer high-performance, multi-tasking, ‘clean’ formulations which deliver a luxury experience. All our ingredients are sustainably farmed and are free from chemicals, silicones and parabens to ensure no pollution to land, rivers or oceans. Our packaging and components are 100% recyclable to eliminate landfill waste. We were also awarded with the Cruelty Free Leaping Bunny logo and are Vegan Society accredited.
Pauline Prescott
Driven by the need to simplify her skincare regime – and “more importantly to lighten my luggage” – Formulae Prescott Co-Founder Pauline Prescott developed a multi-tasking skincare line, which includes hero product Tri-Balm to cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise the skin in one step. Click here to read our full interview with Pauline Prescott.
Margaret Dabbs
Polished London Founder Debbie Sleeman: Our passion is to create products that provide innovative and exciting ways to care for your smile at home or on-the-go. Our entire range of teeth whitening and oral care products are clinically proven and have been specially developed and carefully formulated by cosmetic dental experts in the UK, using a combination of the latest dental technologies and made with clean, naturally derived ingredients for the complete oral beauty routine. Everything we do is science backed and delivers long-lasting benefits.
Margaret Dabbs London Founder Margaret Dabbs: Margaret Dabbs London is the leading luxury British beauty brand, dedicated to innovation for feet, hands and legs. We are pioneers of powerful, results-driven formulations, delivering products that harness the best of medical science with the best of beauty.
Albus & Flora Founder Rachel Williams: Albus & Flora is a science led cosmeceutical skincare brand highly-focused on the lips and peri-oral zone. We create highly effective multi-functional products which blur the lines between skincare, sun care and makeup, giving consumers maximum value for money and multi-use opportunities.
Our high performance formulations are endorsed and stocked by medical practitioners, further reinforcing the quality of ingredients/formulations and building trust and loyalty in consumers. This sets us apart from other brands within the category.
ShapeAccelerator: After many years of research and development, ShapeAccelerator has found a formula that helps people look and feel slimmer. ShapeAccelerator has found the right fat-burning combination that is extremely effective and non-invasive. Where the competition makes promises that sound promising, in reality their results are often disappointing. Therefore, the USP of Shapeaccelerator is it works! The advantage of Shapeaccelerator is that it works two-fold because it reduces both fat and cellulite.
Rachel Williams
Miriam Ciantar
Baroque & Rose Founder Miriam Ciantar: Baroque & Rose has a very high set of USPs being organic, luxury, unisex, sustainable, vegan friendly and cruelty free at heart. This positions Baroque & Rose in a special place in the current market. Our ingredients are hand-grown and we take great care in retaining the condition of the land where we source our premium ingredients from.
Skin Generics Director Mark Wood: Skin Generics was inspired by K-Beauty for its unique textures and formulations yet is 100% made in Spain. We offer the highest percentages of ingredients with active complexes that deliver premium quality but at accessible price points. Our percentage of core ingredients are key to every product whereby our levels are up to four times higher than most leading brands.
We will always contain the highest levels possible that can be in skincare products, enabling our customers to purchase luxury skincare without the huge price tags. We are very transparent and make it very clear on all packaging the full breakdown of our formulations so consumers can easily see what each product contains. Our textures are special and paramount to every product because this is the delivery system for the ingredients to penetrate the skin.
The Spanish beauty brand’s products are available on EasyJet and Jet2 with Irish Singer Nadine Coyle as the face of the brand. Click here to read our interview with Skin Generics Director Mark Wood; On The Mark Consultancy Founder & Managing Director Mark Brewer; and Skin Generics Brand Ambassador Irish singer Nadine Coyle.
Karina Lassen
Mums with Love Founder Karina Lassen: At Mums With Love, we set ourselves apart with our commitment to sustainability, responsibility and transparency and providing families with a one-brand choice for skin and body care that is suitable for babies, children and adults. We offer everyday essentials, with multipurpose functions, ensuring that every member of the family can benefit from the quality ingredients we have chosen. Part of our competitive strengths is our strong CSR approach. Our products are developed and produced in Denmark, which ensures good working conditions for everyone involved.
Non Gender Specific Co-Founder Andrew Glass: We are known as “the brand for all humans”. Our genderless branding allows us to focus on creating botanical-rich formulas that cater to all skin types and all skin tones. With a strong focus on the ‘less is more’ approach, each skincare product addresses at least seven major skin concerns, allowing the consumer to get more results in fewer steps.
We take our sustainability efforts even further by using recyclable bottles, post-consumer recycled boxes as well as biodegradable materials. We're also famous for our marketing visuals. We create elaborate costumes made entirely out of real botanicals to showcase the ingredients within our formulas.
Andrew Glass
Non Gender Specific is known as “the brand for all humans”
Selvedge Male Grooming Founder Edward Muller: Our Selvedge Grooming brand has its origins in the barbering business with products developed by professionals and trusted by barbers. All our products are formulated to the highest standards and tested rigorously before hitting the market.
Each of them is enhanced with extracts for an added conditioning boost. Our made-in-Italy products are priced competitively in the prestige market. Simple and comfortable to use, and most important of all – they truly work.
Selvedge Male Grooming is represented in the channel by GMAX Travel Retail
Spectrum Beauty Founders Sophie and Hannah Pycroft: Spectrum is an independent, British beauty brand created by two sisters, specialising in bold makeup tools for beauty lovers of every skill level. Combining professional quality with accessible pricing and adding a touch of fun to each collection, our certified vegan and cruelty free makeup brushes are some of the most loved in the beauty industry.
Sophie and Hannah Pycroft started Spectrum in their garage in Barry, South Wales
Thameen Fragrances Brand & Artistic Director Christopher Chong: Thameen is a fragrance brand born in London in 2013, inspired by stories of British culture and heritage. All our fragrances are created with a profound love and passion for the craftsmanship of fine niche perfumery and crafted by world-renowned perfumers. Thameen fragrances are created with enviable artistry, memorable sillage and intensive longevity by using the most sustainable ingredients. All of our fragrances are categorised as ‘gender-fluid’ because we embrace differences.
This Works: We create a range of sleep sprays, skincare and wellness products that work with your natural body clock, optimising skin health and wellbeing benefits at each phase of the day. At the heart of each of our products is a Super Blend; a three-element ingredient system made up of natural actives, botanical oils and therapeutic fragrances. These ingredients are expertly blended without the use of unnecessary chemicals to create clean targeted solutions that deliver with integrity. Our products are cruelty free, vegan, free from phthalates, sulphates, GMOs, petrolatum and synthetic colours. We strive for all of our products to be at least 98% natural.
We believe that our customers are the ultimate judge: only they decide ‘This Works’. This is why we have our This Works Panel — a dedicated testing system of over 900 people — in place since This Works began to ensure that our products deliver on their promise. At least 70% of the chosen panel must agree 'This Works’ before a product is launched.
Beautypro Product Development Director David Herdman: Here at Beautypro, we’ve been innovating and building our skincare brand over the last 13 years. Our mission is to help our community achieve their skincare goals in a way that has the maximum impact on the skin and a minimal impact on the planet. All the while, adding a little luxury to their daily routine.
This year sees the launch of our beauty devices. These handheld, travel-friendly tools help our customers increase the effectiveness of their skincare routines and achieve their skincare goals.
David Herdman
Lee Cristou
Kroma Makeup Founder Lee Cristou: We are the natural alternative to luxury mainstream brands offering more variety. We were natural before it became mainstream. We have our own brick and mortar makeup studio experience, which address education, personalisation and refill needs.
We foresaw the need to develop natural makeup and skin products so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel, we just had to keep up the pace. We have been natural from our inception because we care for healthy skin. For two decades, we had the opportunity to listen to consumers’ needs and create a line that is fool proof, with a less than 1% return rate.
Kroma Makeup was offering natural makeup products before that trend became popular
Grown Alchemist: We are a ground-breaking Australian cosmeceutical skincare brand whose high performance, results-driven products use botanical skincare formulas. We represents the next generation in skincare through our meticulous research and understanding of cellular renewal and nutrient metabolism. Co-founded in 2008 by Melbourne-based entrepreneurs and brothers, Jeremy and Keston Muijs, Grown Alchemist uses innovative formulas that influence the way the body repairs and regenerates the skin. The products transform the skin from the inside out by combining the purest, highest quality active skincare botanical ingredients with targeted nutritional supplements that deliver powerful nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins.
Our approach to skin is built off a mission to bring function back to your skin through three sequential stages: cleanse, detox and activate. When products are used in this order, they work synergistically to enhance the biological potential of your skin health.
With a product range that extends to nutricosmetics, body and haircare products, Grown Alchemist works in synergy with L’OCCITANE Group to support sustainable sourcing, respect natural biodiversity and reduce waste. Sustainability, a core brand USP, is key to Grown Alchemist. We offer clean pure formulas and refill pouches made from 100% recycled materials. We are on track to achieve B Corp Status by 2024 and actively seeks to further minimise our carbon footprint.
Premium sustainable beauty brand Grown Alchemist, part of L’OCCITANE Group, made its travel retail debut recently with Heinemann Australia at Sydney Airport
Verdilab CEO Victoria Neymann: Verdilab Switzerland was born from my desire to prove that 100% natural cosmetics can be incredibly effective. My mission is to change the skin for the better through science-led skincare. The formulas I have created are highly advanced yet 100% natural and ultra-clean.
It all began with ImmunatuRNA, our patent-pending, exclusive technology that is backed by 50 years of scientific research conducted by my father and was scientifically-crafted to strengthen the skin's natural immunity. That is at the heart of Verdilab today.
We use only 100% natural, vegan and cruelty-free ingredients, kept stable by natural-origin, food grade preservatives and packaged into fully recyclable packaging in a bid to help clean up the cosmetic industry.
Our formulas are packed full with ethically sourced marine and botanical actives of superior quality. They look, smell, and feel different on the skin and bring incredible user experience through their sensual, luxurious textures and 100% natural scents.
Goldfield & Banks CEO Dimitri Weber: We are the first and largest perfume brand focused on Australian native botanicals, which sets us apart in an industry that’s flooded with European brands. Our perfumes transport people to Australia in a way that other perfumes simply don’t. We also apply a French savoir faire since we work with perfumers who have been classically trained, and we feel that this professionalism is a key part of paying tribute to this beautiful country of Australia.
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 323 | 5 May 2023
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com