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Spotlight On... Bath & Body
Body beautiful
Driven by an increasing demand for wellness and spa products, the trend has created huge opportunities for the UK’s bath, body and beauty sector. PG&H reveals what’s currently trending, and what’s on its way for the second half of the year. Left: Heathcote & Ivory’s Flower of Focus collection.
ith so much media coverage given to wellness, the sector has really come into its own over the past few years, with people not only looking to buy sustainable products but also those that are free of harmful parabens and sulphates and have added health benefits, with the demand for vegetarian and vegan-friendly formulations continuing to increase. “Our customers are searching for extra wellbeing benefits in their bath and body products, over and above cleansing and
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moisturising,” concurs Heathcote & Ivory’s creative director Lesley Aaronson. “We have therefore responded with the launch of a collection, aptly named Flower of Focus, that features cutting edge fragrance innovation to boost energy,” She adds that with more and more people caring about the environment, and their relationship with the natural world, their customers are continuing to make thoughtful choices. “As a vegan brand, we have responded and launched a vegan honey
Fun And Functional “The societal progression towards more mindful lifestyles, seems to be driving consumers to make more ethical purchases,” says Laura Kavanagh, co-founder of GOTY award winning Go La La! “We want our products to amuse and entertain, but also to reflect the ethical values of ourselves and our customers. Apart from sourcing responsible products, we now work with climate positive company Earthly to invest in green projects and become a carbon neutral company. Our recently launched Funny Smells fragrance sticks and bath mitts have proven to be a great success alongside the rest of our Filthy Gorgeous range,” confirms Laura, “with more soap designs coming up this year, plus the re-launch of our Smelly Balls bath bombs and some other filthy fun!” Right: Filthy Gorgeous boxed sets from Go La La!
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collection that supports and highlights the plight of British bumblebees,” Lesley explains. “Busy Bees provides the benefits of honey without including any actual honey, formulated with honey-inspired extracts and fragrances. With a donation from every purchase going directly to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust we are taking steps to give our customers choices that align with their wishes.” The company has also spotted a renewed excitement in people planning their bathtime ritual, driven by fewer people making the daily commute. “This led us to create a classic bubble bath, an enriched bath foam in the William Morris At Home Forest Bathing line-up,” highlights Lesley. “Fragranced with aromatic oils and phytoncides - wellbeing molecules from trees - it brings the regenerative benefits of forest bathing to self-care.” Looking ahead to AW23, Lesley highlights that the William Morris At Home Peacock & Bird collection will feature bubble bath infused with orange and clove essential oils, in an ornamental, stone-finish glass bottle, with bubble bath also featuring in a Heathcote & Ivory Christmas gift set that elevates bathing to a fragrant candlelit ritual. “We are firm believers in the restorative power of a fabulous long soak with bubbles,” states Lesley, who adds that core body care is extending into products that target specific areas. “We have responded with a dedicated foot care cream and muscle rub set in our In The Garden range, and plan to add more targeted body care products,” she confirms. At their customers’ request, Marmalade of London is transitioning from hand-wrapped recycled plastic tubes and pumps in its skincare range – co-ordinated hand and body wash and hand and body to lotion – to glass containers and pouches. “Because a lot of people gift Marmalade, we have relaunched