Holland & Barrett looks to become go-to retailer for natural beauty
Holland & Barrett is launching a beauty website and a TV campaign talking up its beauty range as it looks to promote healthy beauty and the idea that people can both look and feel good.
By Sarah Vizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu3WtLu5T9M
The beauty section of the website will be fundamentally different from the main site, including more information on products including their provenance, the stories behind the ranges and the ingredients. It will include new products such as its ‘Skincere’ facial skin range that has 100% natural ingredients and a new vegan nail varnish.
Lysa Hardy, chief commercial officer at Holland & Barrett, believes there is a real opportunity for the brand in beauty, particularly around the festive season.
“There is an opportunity in the market to do something around feeling good and looking good and doing it naturally. There is growing demand for free-from food and beauty products.
“The Body Shop doesn’t really do that anymore, it used to, but their marketing has shifted focus. I saw that as an opportunity at this time of year to go out and do something about natural beauty,” she told Marketing Week.
The beauty push is supported by a TV campaign, set to launch tomorrow (1 December). It will retain Holland & Barrett’s signature animation but include a new character, a fox, to promote the beauty range.
The ad will also push people to the website for the first time. Previously the brand’s ads have ended on a shot of one of its stores, but this one will instead show a tablet and its website.
The aim is to ensure the beauty range is available to everyone. While Holland & Barrett’s biggest stores do stock its full range, it still has a number of smaller stores more focused around its vitamin and healthy eating business.
To facilitate that, Holland & Barrett will launch click and collect nationally in the New Year. It is currently trialling the service inside the M25.
Holland & Barrett is also making a wider push into content, beyond its beauty website. It has enlisted the help of Instagrammer Joe Wicks, who runs the #LeanIn account, as well as X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden, who has since made a move into the fitness sector.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ujqcy-H78w
Both are creating content specifically for Holland & Barrett, for example how to cook with ingredients found at the store and hints on keeping fit.
Hardy said the aim is to widen the appeal of Holland & Barrett. While the current average age of its most valuable customers is 34, the brand is looking to lower that by appealing to health conscious consumers in their early 20s.
