Lush: leading the way on sustainable premium products?

The company, known for its ethical brand identity, has launched a Luxury Gourmet soaps range worldwide and on its website, in coordination with a new prize fund, by which the brand is looking to support projects working towards environmental and social regeneration.

Premium has been repeatedly picked out by market analysts lately, with the segment recording impressive growth, and often outperforming the wider market.

Indeed, market research provider Euromonitor International notes that premium beauty and personal care outperformed the mass market segment for the second consecutive year in 2016, growing at nearly 6%.

Soap sustainably​

Lush suggests in a statement that its new Luxury Gourmet soaps will be lent a high-end feel by their bespoke production, ‘tailor-made in small batches by the most experienced Lush compounders’.

“Using a new, in-house, patent-pending technique to create the petrochemical and palm oil free soap base, each is made using oils from sources that are contributing to environmental and social regeneration in their region​,” it states.

It seems that the brand is keen to assert itself as a leader of the increasingly dominant intersection of various major trends: naturals, personalisation and sustainability.

Why is premium on the up?​

Changing consumer lifestyles and priorities are the key drivers, including the quest for healthy living, environmentally responsible consumption, “experiencing” over “owning”, and demand for targeted products. The digital force is reinforcing these lifestyle changes, according to Euromonitor.

As standards improve across the industry, luxury is becoming more accessible to the ordinary consumer, notably millennials, who tend to be the protagonists of these lifestyle changes. For the wealthier consumer, this is more pronounced through personalised services, such as smart diagnostics.