ANAHEIM, Calif. — During last week’s Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center, beauty exhibitors wrote orders not just to their traditional retail accounts, such as health food chains, but also to previously unexplored arenas: mass market retailers, spas and hotel groups.
As the category of natural and organic consumer products becomes increasingly mainstream, beauty brands that have traditionally sold only to Whole Foods and Wild Oats are discovering that demand for their products is crossing over to other distribution points.
“We have been approached by several spas, boutique stores and even a hotel chain,” said Karen Ress, national sales director for Tampa, Fla.-based Aubrey Organics.
Aubrey products are sold in 5,000 doors nationwide. Its newest items include a line of six all-natural fragrances, made from essential oils, with a wholesale price of $12.90 per 2-oz bottle. “It’s for fragrance-sensitive people,” said Ress, explaining formulas shouldn’t cause any skin irritations.”
Ress is confident that an additional 3,000 doors could be added to the brand’s distribution base if expo negotiations with new retail accounts are fruitful. The hotel chain it is currently speaking with has close to 400 outlets around the country.
Aubrey, as with numerous exhibitors at the event, was taking advantage of the expo’s high profile to launch new products and to enter new categories. According to expo organizers, more than 43,000 people, a record high, attended the event, with some 3,000 exhibitors, including food and beverage companies and supplement and vitamin brands, as well as makers of juicers and blenders. Mass retail attendees included buyers from Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart.
“We have been seeing more mass retailers here this year,” confirmed Jane Santopietro, vice president of sales at New York-based Kiss My Face. “There is a whole wave happening in the U.S. Organic is a big buzzword, and that’s carrying through to more than just food stores. If it’s the right partnership, we’ll do it,” she said. Kiss My Face debuted its first color line, 3wayColor, at the expo, a four-item line for lips, cheeks and eyes with $8.95 price points, as well as a newer version of its Tinted Moisturizer.
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At Los Angeles-based Lamas, founder and president Peter Lamas was courting interest from retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond and Linen & Things, which are looking to carry all-natural products.
“It’s a chance for us to evolve across from the natural industry,” said Lamas, adding that there was also a surge in interest from international consumers and an opportunity to create a line for a national salon chain. He was showing his first body care product, an amino-acid-infused Chinese Herb Body Lotion. Also new were styling and shampoo products made from rice, soy and wheat grass, all selling for $10.
“Everybody is interested in good, healthy products,” he said.
Angella Green, associate brand manager of Jason, which is based in Culver City, Calif., agreed that there is new interest in natural items from mass market retailers.
“We’re still predominantly in health food stores, but there are opportunities to expand our distribution,” she said. Premiering at the expo were 15 stockkeeping units under its new Natural Salon Hair Care line, which comprises shampoos, conditioners, mousse, a root boost and styling sprays. Items carry retail prices between $8 and $12.50.
Other exhibitors said that a key trend in the natural arena is that consumers are now going to nontraditional venues to shop for beauty products.
“Women in the past wouldn’t go to grocery stores to buy their beauty supplies,” said Stacey Stilts, national training and education manager of Zia in Culver City. (Both Zia and Jason are part of The Hain Celestial Group.) But now, people are reading labels, and they’re getting wiser about what they put on their bodies.”
Stilts said she had received inquiries from spas and department store buyers wanting to introduce more environmentally friendly and organic products onto the beauty floor. Upcoming rollouts from Zia include a new three-step at-home microdermabrasion system to stimulate cells and slow down the aging process. As with almost all products at the expo, the new Zia products are free of parabens and use ingredients that are derived from plants. The microdermabrasion system includes a scrub, toner, Co-Q10 serum and a scrubbing tool and retails for $79.95.