Skin care and nutritional supplements brand Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins is broadening its ingestibles offering to include a line of organic honeys, called Weil Bee-ings Organic Health Support Honey.
It’s also adding a Matcha tea-based body scrub and a tumeric lip balm.
The Matcha tea-based body scrub is slated to be launched in June, while the tumeric lip balm and honey trio will launch in July.
“Our goal is to bring dietary supplements into people’s daily lifestyles and provide customers with a holistic approach to wellness and beauty,” said Lynn Mazzella, Origin’s vice president of product development. “We figured that honey can be easily incorporated into a daily diet.”
Weil, who is founder and program director of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, investigates medicinal plants from other cultures. “My products are all intended to improve general health and work with the natural defenses of the body,” said Weil, who looks for “novel” ingredients that haven’t already been used in skin care products. “We’re making use of natural products used in other cultures that have a good track record and a plausible scientific history.”
Launching exclusively in the U.S. in July, Weil Bee-ings Organic Health Support Honey is designed to target health issues involving the digestive and immune systems. The honeys are sourced from New Zealand. Honey has long been known for its therapeutic benefits, dating back to ancient folklore when Greek and Roman athletes used it to increase stamina and strength and Egyptians used it as a healing treatment, according to Mazzella.
“These are medicinal honeys that take high-quality organic honey and combine it with medicinal herbs,” said Weil.
Retailing at $22.50 for a 16-oz. jar, the honey should be used on an “as-needed” basis up to three times a day. A portion of the proceeds from the Organic Health Support Honey sales, like other Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins products, will be donated to the Weil Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting integrative medicine.
Meanwhile, The Way of the Bath Matcha Tea Body Scrub, $45, will be available in June and the Conditioning Lip Balm with Turmeric, $15, will be released in July. Following the U.S. debut, the company will launch Matcha Tea Body Scrub in Europe in October, and the tumeric lip balm next March. Inspired by Eastern and ayurvedic traditions, Origins is using turmeric as the main ingredient in its new lip balm, designed to soften and smooth lips. Organic cocoa butter, jojoba, beeswax and murumuru, which are used in the lip balm, are said to hydrate the lips, while mango seed butter and rice brand oil provide antioxidant protection.
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The Matcha Tea Body Scrub was inspired by the Matcha tea ceremony, a Japanese ritual of the Zen Buddhist culture for more than 800 years. With its inspiration rooted in the preventative and restorative properties of Matcha, this green tea contains one of the highest antioxidant levels of all green teas, according to Weil. The Matcha tea is meant to soften the skin while the sea salts exfoliate and remove dead skin.
The new Dr. Andrew Weil products will be available in Origins’ full domestic retail distribution of 575 stores — 125 freestanding Origins retail stores and 450 department stores.
Although executives wouldn’t comment, industry sources estimate that the honey line, Matcha tea body scrub and tumeric lip balm will bring in a total of $3.5 million in first-year retail sales, and $5 million worldwide.
The Way of the Bath Matcha Tea Body Scrub will be supported by cooperative advertising, as well as a direct-mail campaign of about one million samples starting in June, according to Jenny Belknap, Origins executive director for global marketing. Origins will also support the launch with newspaper advertising that breaks in June. There will also be other cross-sampling opportunities with Dr. Weil’s mega mushroom face serum, where 200,000 samples will be distributed.
In-store promotional events will begin in June for Matcha tea body scrub and in July, “honey tasting parties” in stores will support the honey collection.