Holland & Barrett bets on clean beauty

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Feb 20, 2020

In a bid to bolster its presence in the growing natural and organic beauty market, health products retailer Holland & Barrett has launched a Clean & Conscious Beauty concept store in Birmingham. 

The opening is a natural step for the UK’s leading health retailer, which has been growing its assortment of vegan and organic cosmetics products over the past few years to meet growing demand.

Located in the Bullring shopping centre, the 3,000 sq ft store stocks 34 plant-based, natural beauty brands and 620 new products. Customers can find everything from vegan labels like Dr Organic and Miaroma to ‘waterless’ brands like True Skincare and Earthkind, which are swapping water for natural oils in an effort to reduce water consumption.

The space also embraces sustainable packaging, stocking brands that use compostable packaging or recycled polyethylene plastic bottles, and there is a focus on zero waste.

Holland & Barrett’s first concept store dedicated to beauty features product refill stations and in-store product demonstrations, including treatments from brands including Antipodes, Urban Veda, Inika Organic and True Skincare.

This is a good moment to invest in clean beauty, as the organic beauty and wellbeing market grew by 23% in the UK in 2019, according to the annual Soil Association Certification Organic Beauty & Wellbeing Market.

More and more companies are moving away from ‘nasty’ chemicals and towards more organic ingredients, and women in the UK are spending more than ever on facial skincare. According to Mintel, 92% of British women use a facial cleanser, 66% a day cream and 48% a night cream. Additionally, the UK beauty industry was worth £1.15bn in 2019, and is expected to grow by 15% over the next five years.