SYDNEY – Australia’s Inika Organic is heading Stateside.
The organic color brand, which is owned by Melbourne-based Total Beauty Network, commences shipping to U.S. retailers this week and is targeting 150 to 200 doors by the end of 2017 — a mix of high-end spas and salons and premium health food chains.
Initial U.S. stockists include the Yasmine Djeradinne Institut de Beauté in New York and San Francisco’s Ayla Beauty, the new U.S. inikaorganic.com webstore, Amazon.com, beautyhabit.com and thechoosychick.com.
Prices range from $22 for a lip or eye pencil to $49 for illuminators, bronzers and baked foundations. The new BB creams are $45 and lipsticks, $29.
The 130 stockkeeping-unit line boasts six certifications from organizations including Organic Food Chain Australia, Choose Cruelty Free Australia, Italy’s Controllo e Certificazione Prodotti Biologici and the UK Vegan Society.
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“There are no other brands that have as many certified organic products, that are truly certified organic, with the [certified] logo on the front, that are also vegan and also cruelty-free,” said Total Beauty Network founder and chief executive officer Tony Rechtman.
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“A lot of companies say they use products and make the claim ‘Made with organic ingredients’ but the actual product itself isn’t certified organic,” he added. “That’s why we believe there’s so much scope and opportunity in America.”
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The brand is currently enjoying a publicity boost thanks to British actress Emma Watson, who has made multiple references to Inika’s products on her new “The Press Tour” Instagram page, which charts her eco-fashion and beauty choices for the “Beauty and the Beast” press tour.
Inika currently sells in 30 countries, with the U.K. the second biggest market.
Australia accounts for 70 percent of the business, selling through 500 doors, including Myer department stores and luxury spas such as Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, Gaia Retreat & Spa and Golden Door.
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Founded in 2006 by Miranda Bond, the brand was acquired by Total Beauty Network in late 2013 after Inika Pty Ltd. collapsed under debts of more than 1.53 million Australian dollars, or $1.41 million, in September that year.
According to a source familiar with the sale, the company was sold by receivers for 800,000 Australian dollars, or $740,709, and had a total annual sales income at the time of 1.5 million Australian dollars, or $1.39 million, when the brand sold through 1,000 doors in 16 markets. All figures have been converted at average September 2013 exchange.
“The primary reason I bought the company three years ago, is the brand had a great history, a great ethos and background, but they didn’t have the ability to expand too quickly internationally — they chose smaller markets, but not the biggest market, being America,” said Rechtman. “I saw a lot of requests from America, of people saying, ‘I want the brand; when can you bring it here?’”
Rechtman declined to disclose current sales turnover, but said the brand achieved 50 percent sales growth in 2016 and that he expects 80 percent sales growth this year.
Within five years, Inika could be a $100 million brand, Rechtman predicted, fueled by the burgeoning consumer demand for natural cosmetics and the brand’s certifications, which lend credibility.
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According to a Persistence Market Research report from July 2016, the global natural and organic personal-care products market is expected to double to $22 billion by 2024, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent, with cosmetics the third-largest segment after skin care and hair care.
According to Mintel’s North America Consumer Trends 2017 report, however, 61 percent of U.S. adults said they believe there should be more regulation around ethical claims.
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