Anyone interested in the beauty industry may have heard of the exciting events taken place from the 11th-15th of this month. Covent Garden and the British Beauty Council launched the first-ever London Beauty Week! This consisted of late-night shopping, the Glossybox treasure hunt, and exclusive talks/masterclasses. This also worked as a platform for brands to market some of their new products for example Weleda’s Nice Cream Van. There were also opportunities for new brands with a competition to win a title as well as some business guidance and retail space in central London.
One of the talks that attracted the most attention was discussed the business side of the beauty industry. If you are interested in developing a brand, this small list of advice might be of use because the talk was being primarily lead by the audience; the panel of experts was creating informative discussion mainly based off the questions being asked by those who are also looking to start their own brand.
The panel included: Adam Minto from Revolution, Maria Hatzistefanis from Rodial, Will King and Michelle Feeney from Floral Street Fragrance.
Ensure that you don’t obsess about advertising your product more than its quality.
All the experts seemed to agree that in modern-day society, information and opinions travel too fast for brands to get away with selling a product that doesn’t properly fit anyone’s needs. Advertising costs both time and money; this can be no more than a great loss if no one believes in what you are advertising.
Great design will not sell an inferior product, but it will enable a great product to achieve its maximum potential.
Decide carefully who you chose to work with.
Adam Minto, co-founder of Revolution, compared the people you chose to work within the industry to a marriage; it either lasts or fully collapses. Trust as well as professional chemistry are important for moving forward in the most effective way possible. So definitely refrain from rushing deals in an attempt to further your company quickly because making the wrong decision could set you back by leading to failed projects or inconvenient conflict.
Keep in mind that clean beauty is ambiguous
Clean beauty is quite a recent trend that has been discussed in terms of how being clean could have a positive impact on your business. Nonetheless, opinions on the panel provided an interesting perspective on how the term “clean Beauty” doesn’t have a straight straightforward definition. It is quite often described as natural and organic ingredients whilst using recyclable packaging whereas it is not that simple and there is more to consider. For example how many natural and ingredients are unsafe and how ethical is recyclable packaging when it is not biodegradable?
What about funding?
Although there were some mixed opinions on whether or not funding is necessary, most agreed that it is not a good idea to get funding too early; making a risky decision like that when you are only starting out could potentially result in a great deal of debt or the wrong people owning a part of your business.
It is possible to do it yourself?
It was predominantly believed that eventually seeking out funding was needed; Maria Hatzistefanis, founder and CEO of Rodial guaranteed that it is entirely possible to create a successful brand without funding as she did not have any herself; the only downside is that taking a completely independent route is much harder work and it takes longer to get your business where you want it to be.
London Beauty Week has been a great event, both for those already a part of the ever-changing world that is the beauty industry and beauty-enthusiasts alike. It’s an amazing opportunity to learn and professionally collaborate as well as being an all-rounded enjoyable experience.
Have you had a chance to attend the first-ever LBW? What would you like to see next year?
