Brand consultant Quentin Higham of HoQ Consultancy, whose previous projects include Jo Wood Organics and James Brown London hair care, has turned his hand to mass market organic skin care, working on behalf of a city client to develop Purity Organic Skincare which will initially be sold exclusively through Superdrug in the UK.
“Organic is a very grey area and a lot of people are making a lot of claims,” says Higham. “There are currently no other organic mass market skin care brands and we went with Ecocert as the intention is to create a mass global brand. The aim is to achieve volume over time but initially to establish awareness and encourage trial.”
To this end Higham says they have tried to do clever things with the same base, using core ingredients such as sweet almond oil and aloe vera throughout the range but adding specific ingredients to particular products such as cranberries for their omega 3, 6, 9 properties and ceramide 3 to moisturise and protect. To comply with Ecocert, 98% of the ingredients are of natural origin and an average of 82% of the ingredients are processed from organic farming.
The current line-up includes facial wash, exfoliator, moisturiser, anti-ageing moisturiser, conditioning cleansing lotion, regenerating overnight moisturiser and anti-ageing serum and mask. A further six or seven products are already in development.
“It’s not meant to be a preaching brand – we’re just giving people the choice and hoping they make an informed decision,” says Higham.
Prices range from £4.99 to £8.99.