In today’s retail landscape, deliveringa compelling, competitive and commercialconsumer offer provides ongoing,ever-changing challenges. Review, analysisand evolution of the retail offer are vitalfor injecting innovation and securinglongevity and customer loyalty. Targeted and considered diversification

has been the brand motto adopted bymany of the most successful names in retailand beyond, and has contributed to thetransformation of the way we view brands.Diversification was a catalyst in the birthand significant growth of the dynamiclifestyle sector which now embraces all ofthe biggest and most successfulinternational brand names, from Virgin toHarrods, Cartier to Gucci and AstonMartin to Gillette.The beauty industry has long enjoyed

footholds within like-minded landscapes;from fashion to travel, lifestyle to art. Andbeauty and fragrance remains an obvioussolution, offering the missing link in somany core brand offers. Beauty andfragrance are the holy grail of lineextensions, offering a lucrative andmalleable balance of brand andcommercial results. Consumers are looking to engage with

brands with a complete sensoryexperience. It is not just how we think andfeel about a brand, how it looks and howit speaks – scent is becoming anincreasingly important sense to theconsumer. Consumers today demand a lotmore from brands. It is not only anopportunity to add a new dimension to aproduct or service, but an opportunity toexpand and enhance a brand’s personality,appeal and reach. At pebble&co, we work with brands to

create their own bespoke collections forbody and spa, grooming and skin care,home and fine fragrance. We are experts inbrand expansions, designing entire rangesand individual products, and creating botha concept and lifestyle around these rangeswith a solid commercial outlook. Ourwork is a marriage of technical know howand innovative design strategy. For many ofthe brands with whom we work, beautyproducts are not their core business, andwhile the brand essence, design and handwriting often already exists, the expertiserequired to develop, manufacture, packageand test these products does not, which iswhere we come in to make these productspossible and valuable.

WHY BEAUTY?There are a number of factors which makethe beauty and fragrance category themasters of brand and commerce – sales

drives, customer relationship builders andcementers of a brand’s personality. Beauty is a natural extension and

expansion of many product categories, abroad canvas to enrich and illustrate abrand’s essence. The classic example we use

for this is the ‘Chanel lipstick effect’. Manyof us admire and covet Chanel, the stalwartof the luxury fashion and beauty houses. Yethow do we buy into the brand experienceif we can’t afford the couture collection,handbags, shoes or those iconic boucléjackets? That’s where the lipstick comes in.Perhaps we can afford the lipstick. Thislipstick is a lot more than just a product; it’sa lifestyle and claim, it allows us to buy intoa slice of the brand and become part of theChanel world, providing a fresh injection ofinnovation and personalisation, furtherenriching our brand experience, whenwithout it we would not have that inclusionwithin the sought-after Chanel club. These products, while being highly

covetable and stylish, are also highlyconsumable, enticing regular customerreturn. They have a broader appeal, a wider

Brands operating in a variety of sectors are eyeing thebeauty industry for opportunities. Sarah McCubbin andTori Snowball discuss making the transition into beauty

while maintaining and enhancing your brand identity

Crafting theexpected

pebble&cobrand building

June 2015 SPC 41

pebble&co Founder and MD Sarah McCubbin (left) with Manager Tori Snowball (right)

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reach and a higher rate of use withoutbeing limited by, but also benefiting from,seasonal changes and trends, allowing for aconstant stream of revenue. The moderncustomer is not only comfortable withbuying in-store, whether purposefully or asan add-on to their shopping experience,but beauty and fragrance has exploded inthe online world too. A combination ofstore presence and online brings strongreturns through presence in bricks andclicks. The amount of time spentresearching and purchasing beauty in theonline world is rapidly increasing by over50% across technology mediums[1]. For many brands, particularly luxury,

travel and fashion, beauty and fragranceoffers a much more accessible entry point,allowing customers to buy into a brand at amore attainable level, hence opening it upto new customer segments. The entry pointis scalable by brand, whether this is aChanel lipstick, Gieves & Hawkes candle,Ted Baker grooming collection cream orCowshed candle. These products also come with the added benefit of excellentmargin returns.The giftable nature of fragrance products

is a key driver for entry into this category,and for many consumer brands there is nonatural giftable offer. Gifts are complex andnot always an easy purchase, therefore thestandards are high. Apparel is oftenexpensive and an intimately personalchoice, with added pitfalls of sizing; theother option is a gift card which showsyour limits. Accessories have always beentraditional gift items; however, theoverwhelming desire to create a multitudeof brand entry points has led to the naturaldevelopment into the highly accessiblefragrance world. A candle, perfume, handcream or bath oil easily fall into thischannel and allow the creativity of thebrand to pour into another area. Beautyproducts not only have an attractive pricepoint but also hold the opportunity tocreate a powerful aesthetic, creating astrong gift appeal. In a market where press coverage is

driven by the new and the exclusive,beauty and fragrance allows powerful PRand marketing opportunities. The additionof these items themselves allows fordifferent areas of coverage and new featureson the products, the brands and thefounders. There is also the advantage in theease of diversification within the cosmeticcategory as they have the ability to createan ongoing stream of newness inpackaging, fragrance, texture andingredients. The world of fragrance andbeauty is driven by innovation, whichcreates compelling stories for both

brand buildingpebble&co

customer communication and the press.Beauty and fragrance products have an

amazing ability to sit in very versatile anddifferent markets from the principal brandoffer, bringing the added benefit ofexpanded distribution avenues. They areoften much more resilient and robust thanthe key lines or core business when itcomes to fashion and accessories. This byno means insinuates that it is safe or wiseto expose your brand in a too dramaticmarket, far removed from its origins. Or,worse still, to completely overexpose,leaving the brand confused of its place. A clear strategy and purpose on where theproduct will sit is necessary to unlock thefull potential of the distribution avenues.With this vision in mind you can create aproduct for the market that reflects abrand’s quality and character, but allows agreater visibility and reach.

PERFECT EXECUTIONExecution is key and the preservation ofbrand integrity is imperative. Any brand

extension is only worthwhile if it enhancesand truly reflects the core brand values andessence. And then there is the minorconsideration (or its entire reason forcreation, depending on which side of thefence you sit – brand or finance) of actuallymaking the products commercial andfinancially pulling their weight. Whilebeauty and fragrance products are, on thewhole, utilitarian commodities and appear(often by the truckload) on all of ourbathroom shelves or mantlepieces, they canbe quite complex products to create andproduce. Not only do the productsthemselves undergo a long andcomplicated journey during creation, butthe stakes involved in getting them rightare high. Consequently, there are a fewcritical questions we always start with, rightat the very beginning, before we evenbegin to think about formulating:� What is the products’ purpose?� Who is its customer? � Where will these products live, not only within the brand itself but within the market?

� What qualities do they need to reflect, both from the existing brand and as an individual entrant? The decisions made at the beginning of

a collection’s journey need to be right forwhere the business is today, but also rightfor where the business will be in three orfive years: scalable, flexible and thoughtful. All brand extensions must be approached

with care and respect, and a deepunderstanding of your own brand. Withinbeauty and fragrance this means asking andunderstanding questions like “What is ourscent? How should our brand smell? What

Firmdale Hotel Group’s RIKRAK line has beendesigned to look great both in a hotelenvironment and on shelves in-store

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pebble&cobrand building

are the right ingredients and product claimsfor us? How should our products look?What do we need to achieve for ourcustomers to turn around and say ‘Yes! Thatis exactly what I would have expected’?”

CASES IN POINT RIKRAKOur recent work with Kit Kemp, famedBritish interior designer and DesignDirector of the Firmdale Hotel Group, increating a bespoke in-room and retailcollection, RIKRAK, had a great deal ofpurposeful consideration in its creation.The Cowshed phenomena has taught usthat an amenities range can have a verysuccessful life outside of a hotel or spa andcan stand on its own as an independent yetconnected retail collection. In the case ofRIKRAK, a completely new brand identityhad to be created – one that was verymuch born from Kemp’s vision and theFirmdale world. It required a dual purpose:the ability to thrive on the shelves withinthe world’s most aspirational and soughtafter retail destinations, and to appeal to thetastemakers of style both within andbeyond the hotel doors. RIKRAK, one ofKemp’s most striking textile designs, wasselected as the range name and also as theiconic packaging backdrop, chosen for itsconnection to Kemp and the hotels, as wellas its adaptable inclusivity, allowing for theevolution and growth of a range withoutbeing bound to a particular category orproduct type. If you visit Firmdale’s newesthotel, Ham Yard in central London,RIKRAK is everywhere in touches: onwalls, curtains, chairs and as a strikingproduct within all bathrooms. Creating the sense of mood and

atmosphere through fragrance is alsoimportant. In her book, A Living Space,Kemp explains: “Often it is the invisiblethings, such as smell, that create a sense ofluxury in a space… adding fragrance canhave as much impact on how someonefeels in a room as can the choice offurniture or wallpaper used… scent is oftenthe thing you take away as the memory ofa room, remembering it long after you’veleft it.”

Gieves & HawkesA fragrance has to embody a brand andthis can sometimes be a tall order to fulfil:balancing not only what the brand desiresbut also thinking about a fragrance thatwill be commercial yet individual andappealing. This was the exact challenge wefaced when creating the first fragrance forGieves & Hawkes, pre-eminent Britishtailors and Royal Warrant holders since1809, holding unparalleled pedigree and

body care from organic and botanicalingredients. Ensuring the uncompromisedintegrity of Bamford’s organic origins isparamount with the bath and body range.Soil Association and COSMOSaccreditations can be a hard taskmaster,offering further challenges in addition tothe premium aesthetic offer. The luxuryorganic state of mind is absolutely theBamford way of life, as championed byCarole Bamford, whose emphasis onwholesome ingredients had to be asprevalent in her Bath & Body range as it isin her Daylesford farm produce.Creating a holistic brand image should

not only be at the heart of a company’sown strategy, but should also be at the verycore of everything they create, and theseproducts are no exception. A beauty orfragrance product needs to reflect its brand,and is most successful when a strongidentity is already in place, as is the casewith many of the pebble&co clients andprojects. Allowing an extended interactionwhere the scent carries on your relationshipwith a brand lets it linger long after anevent has been visited or a purchase hasbeen made.

AuthorsSarah McCubbin and Tori Snowball, pebble&cowww.pebbleandco.co.uk

Reference1. According to Google statistics, May 2015.

international status. pebble&co wascommissioned to translate the stature ofthis globally recognised heritage brand intothe ultimate scent for the Gieves &Hawkes’ stores and clients. The fragrance’sinitial product execution, an imposing andchic 750g fragranced candle, added a newdepth to the recently refurbished No 1Savile Row and the overall shoppingenvironment. Having been initially createdfor in-house use and corporate gifting, theresponse to the store’s fragrance led to thecandle becoming a retail item availablein-store and online just in time forChristmas 2014 – a fine example of how afragrance should reflect not just a physicalatmosphere, but the atmosphere of a brandand how you feel about it.

BamfordA clearly defined range knows its strengthsand its own self. We undertook extensivework with Bamford in the creation andevolution of what is now one of theleading botanical and organic ranges notjust in the UK but globally. Bamford’s bath,body and home fragrance is a marriagebetween the world of wellness andorganics, and the ultimate in understatedluxury. Bamford is about the simplepleasure of quality; this philosophy hasenabled the creation of timeless clothingfrom the finest natural fibres and purest

Gieves & Hawkes (above) andBamford (right) are examples ofexisting brands that havesuccessfully made thetransition intobeauty

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