Swiss skin care specialist expands into US market

The company says it is aiming to muscle in on the $5bn market for natural and organic personal care products with the development of a new line that should be launched in the US this Autumn and will be marketed on a dedicated e-commerce site.

The move hits on two big growth areas - the market for natural-based personal care products, together with the significant growth in the e-commerce channels for purchases of personal care related products.

Euromonitor International cites that the market for natural personal care products will continue to grow at double digit growth rates into 2008, while a number of leading personal care retailers, such as Avon and the Body Shop, have reported significant growth from their e-commerce channels in recent months.

Feelsgood says that it will concentrate on natural raw ingredients as the focus for the new line, while the development process will not include the testing of animals or the use of genetic engineering.

"The worldwide market in organic products is dominated by the United States and the European Union,"​ said Marcel Maurer, Feelgood CEO.

"Organic and natural personal care products are becoming much more prevalent in today's society due to health problems stemming from many popular products, which often contain synthetic chemicals. We want to market products that are certified as being safe and 100 per cent natural,"​ he added.

The company added that it has begun the next phase of development for the product line, which includes testing of the products, and is also working with a trademark attorney and a focus group to research the development of the branding and marketing strategy.

The company also said that it is retaining the Virginia-based Hamlin Marketing Group to assist in the branding and general marketing of its new facial cosmetic line that has been developed specially for that market.