LUSH

Company Background

LUSH is a beauty company offering fresh handmade cosmetics. All products are made by fresh, organic, and safe ingredients that are not tested on animals.

Products

The company has created a revolution in the cosmetic industry by inventing new and innovative products such as Bath Bombs, Bubble Bars, Shower Gels and Jellies, Shampoo Bars and more.

Target Audience

Targeting towards a professional woman age of 18 to 45, in a higher education and middle-high incomes. Our customer is a SEGOR, who is sustainable, ethical, green, organic, or responsible.

What does our consumer think now?

Customers are most likely to make remarks on the company's bath bombs, customer support, and speed of delivery. LUSH ranks fifth place on the best Bath & Body shops, “I chose LUSH over other brands, because of its high quality, performance, and reliability.”

What do we want consumers to think and do?

Fall in love with brand and its story to share positive experiences and be happy with our products.

Tone we take with our consumers

Happy, quirky, colorful, creative, indulgent, pampering, ethical, fun, and fresh.

Main Message

Individuals connect with one another, enjoy the content that is created by LUSH, and share it with others; this ultimately leads to the growth of a strong community that encourages collaboration.

Support Statement

LUSH uses fresh and organic ingredients using fruits, vegetables, essential oils, minimal preservatives, and safe synthetics. All of Lush's products are vegan, with only plant-based ingredients making up around 90% of them.

Brand Ideas

Handmade products are molded, shaped, decorated, and packaged. LUSH does not use animal- tested raw materials in any way, shape, or form, and fight against animal testing.

Problem

LUSH is no longer active on the four of the major social media platforms. Because of this choice, it will limit the possibilities to interact with their consumers to discover and connect with products.

Recommendation

By investing in ethical agricultural, LUSH can rehabilitate environment and support communities. Promoting innovation and creating opportunities through participation in various campaigns such as fair trade, human rights, anti-animal testing, and packaging reduction can improve the business principles, social responsibility, and ethical practices in the organization to raise awareness.

LUSH is a beauty cosmetics retailer, headquartered in Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom. The company was founded by Mo Constantine, Mark Constantine, Rowena Bird, Helen Ambrosen, Liz Bennett and Paul Greeves in 1995. With the discovery of LUSH, they have embraced 'Fresh Handmade' as its key value, from raw materials harvesting to production, marketing, and packaging of its own products.

LUSH’s products are classified into six categories: hair care, skin care, body cleanser, body moisturizer, fragrance, and cosmetics. There are three representative product lines. Handmade soaps are made by plant ingredients and essential oils such as mixing sunflower seed oil, rapeseed oil, and coconut oil, instead of using palm oil. Angels On Bare Skin is a deep cleanser made by blending essential oils and plants such as lavender and rose with clay and mud, which contain a lot of moisture. it also contains almonds, which have the function to remove dead skin cells.

There are three types of bath products: Ballistic is made by various essential oils with Sodium Bicarbonate which releases carbon dioxide in water, and Sodium Acid, which exfoliates dead skin cells; when placed in water, it melts in bubbles. Bubble Bar is made of tarter cream and essential oil with soap ingredients, and it produce a large amount of foam in bath. Bath Melt is composed of essential oils and carrier oils with body butters, and it melts in bathwater to soothe and smooth dry, irritated skin.

The pricing is a high value indication since it represents the high quality of the ingredients included in the products. LUSH has made several attempts to reduce product packaging. For example, unpackaged bars of soap and bath goods were displayed in bulk without packing at the store. LUSH has solidified the liquid products into solids to reduce waste caused by product containers. Not only does it have the same durability, but its lighter weight reduces shipping costs by 15 percent.

LUSH's business demonstrates the efficacy of five sense marketing. LUSH has maintained its marketing strategy of using fragrance to promote their brand. They embrace scent marketing instead of celebrity endorsements on television advertisements or promotional giveaways for the promotion. By minimizing advertising expenses with such effective marketing, LUSH is focusing on product innovation and acquiring fresh ingredients with the investments. Since opening its first store in 1995, there are currently 106 stores in the United Kingdom. The company joined the global market by expanding its business in neighbors such as London, Canada, Croatia, and Australia and eventually operating 951 stores in 52 countries, with factories in 49 nations. LUSH operates over 1000 locations worldwide, offering online shopping delivery. Also, LUSH uses story marketing, that connects stories with unique product names based on each product's characteristics.

On the publication, "LUSH Times," LUSH delivers audiences with interesting and entertaining stories about new products and product stories. Under the slogan "We Believe," LUSH is apply five principals to its brand operation. LUSH's brand beliefs include "the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables in making good products, happy soaps made by happy people, the preciousness of filling the world with fragrance, opposition to animal testing, and minimal use of plant materials and packaging." LUSH is actively involved in social movements that focus on the protection of human rights, the environment, and animals. A social contribution campaign has been conducted by the campaign team. LUSH support product testing on humans and only acquiring ingredients from organizations that do not commission tests on animals. Since 2012, LUSH created the “LUSH Prize” to honor individuals and organizations that supported the movement against animal testing and alternative experiments. They also believe that the client is always right, that products should be profitable, and that they are good values. LUSH's content is connected, enjoyed, and shared by lots of people, developing a strong community that encourages collaboration through word-of-mouth and generates sales.

LUSH has two strong competitors in the competitive marketplace: The Body Shop is a natural cosmetic brand for skin care, bath and body, perfume, hair, and makeup products. Bath & Body Works is the original natural and ethical beauty brand for body care, candles, home fragrances, hand soaps, and sanitizers. Both brands are equally well known for the most popular stores of bath and body stores in the world. The Body Shop is more known for its commitment to natural ingredients and ethical business operations. On the other hand, Bath & Body Works is more well-known for its affordable prices and broad selection of scents.

LUSH has a creative buying team that attempts to source materials from reputed and reliable suppliers directly. I can see how this opportunity could support in the company's business growth in a diverse and new field by having a collaboration with other corporations. The company is not only delivering high-quality raw materials, but also attempting to conduct fair and honest business by providing opportunities for residents to work with them.

LUSH products have a limited shelf life because more than 65% of them do not contain preservatives since the most fruits and vegetables, nuts, peanut butter, and eggs are used as raw materials for cosmetics. Production is limited, sales are restricted to a short period of time, and kitchens are supervised by continent to ensure product freshness.

LUSH is still following the handcrafted process in its business operation. They continue to mass-produce all products by hand, without the assistance of machinery. The goal is not only to emphasize that all of LUSH's products are organic, but also that they are created by humans and are not mass-produced industrial commodities produced in factories. The issue at hand is the lack of workers because of the impacts of COVID-19. Due to the travel restrictions placed on foreign employees, there is a low rate of employment and a lack of employment opportunities. This implies that fewer workers would be able to work in the labor as a result.

I would like to focus on how the environmental factors are applied to improve the department. I have two research questions based on these key problems and opportunity for future reports. My first question is “How do they dispose of organic waste from manufacturing products?” My second question is “What is the process of making better environmentally friendly products and how do you put them into practice? In the future reports, I hope to provide in-depth answers to these questions.

The target audience for LUSH is a young professional woman, ages between 20 to 35 or environmental activists. According to the 2006 case study "CASE STUDY - LUSH: Pure and Simple," their consumers are referred to as "SEGOR," which stands for someone who possesses sustainable, ethical, green, organic, or responsible attributes. Instead of only encountering LUSH products in advertising and on simple product packaging, they think it's amazing to be able to touch and apply them directly.

It is important for them to have positive experiences in-store because they are more likely to make a purchase if they are given the opportunity to try out the products in advance and receive feedback on its overall quality to use. It would be nice if they can also participate in the process of innovation and development of concept and design.

Consumers who are concerned about the environment can breathe a sigh of relief and use LUSH products with greater confidence knowing that the company does not conduct product testing on animals but instead relies on human volunteers. As a result, the brand image is reinforced by diverse efforts for environment protection, animal rights, and human rights. I would be targeting a specific segment of these consumers for my research.

The greatest approach to understand my target market is to conduct further in-depth research on this topic of segments like geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral in analyzing specific consumers.

Survey methods are guided by the concepts of objective observation in conjunction with the principles of functionalist sociology, behavioral psychology, and logical positivism. The following is an outline of the standard operating procedure for quantitative research: collecting data based on the research question in order to determine the practical result and findings of a concept by evaluating the real and existing scenario.

The research is based on quantitative data gathered in an environment setting that was appropriately monitored during the entire process. Sampling involves non-probability but random selection with 20 members of groups in the peer community to make a strong statistical inference and to collect data from them.

By using an empirical approach to quantitatively demonstrate the attributes of products and to identify their relationships with brands through statistical analysis by measuring and analyzing the objects and characteristics examined by converting them into data and information with numbers and figures. The questionnaire consists of 12 questions and takes around five minutes to fill out due to its length of one page and half. The types of questions are asking conditions of skin, their buying behaviors, and use of products.

The goal is to gain a deeper comprehension of the customer preferences as well as the purchase history they demonstrate when it comes to skin care products. It is critical to have a solid understanding of how skin care and other cosmetics are applied. Those who regularly buy beauty items are a good source of reliable business insights that may be used for the development of a new product.

The participants in the research were recruited through the personal network and online network groups of people. I was able to make a contact with two members of the community who had an interest in the products of our business and could be considered which meant that they could be considered as research participants fulfill the criteria of my ideal target audience and research participant profile.

Two of the participants were interviewed through the video interview conducted by the zoom meeting. The first interview took place on Thursday, July 28th of this month. Approximately half an hour was scheduled for the interview. The second interview was held on Friday, July 29th of this month. The duration of the questionnaire session was about fifteen to twenty minutes.

The primary objective of qualitative research is to understand the participants’ personality and establish connections about their lifestyles and experiences with the brand. The relationship between the consumers and products is focused on the individual or specific setting, cultural model and perspective of a group of consumers.

In order to find the value of a brand through the interview, it is necessary to analyze the brand and consumer identity based on the engagement and meaning acquired from the interview. The research involves the direct and personal contact with the research participants and subjects to understand their characteristics, including both internal and external traits such as values, opinions, attitudes, and behaviors.

First interviewee is Isabella, 20 years old female. She is a student majoring in Digital Storytelling and Political Science Prelaw. The brand LUSH approached to Isabella when she was in middle school due to the massive popularity of LUSH products at her school. A recommendation from a friend made her first experience with one of the Bath products in which served as a role of sample. She continued to use the product because she enjoyed the variety of colors and scents offered by this given company over those competing companies' products. As a student who is responsible for paying her own bills, Isabella only takes a bath once a month due to the high expense of the water. Because she had a positive experience with the product and could tell that it was making her skin better and smoother with every use, she recommended some of her closest friends about the brand and asked them to consider using it. Despite the fact that the products are priced above what she can afford, she continues to buy them because of the high quality of the products. Because it's difficult to stay up to date without access to the website or a store, she finds it bothersome that LUSH no longer uses social media.

By analyzing her data and information, I was able to find a way of innovation in brand development. There is a possibility that she might consider making more regular purchases of the products if products are available in a smaller size and at a lower price. I would like to suggest that new product development can expand our brand image by launching a new product to the market. It is important to know how to adopt to a rapidly changing and developing media environment. Social media and digital marketing can play a significant role in advertising campaigns. Due to the changing design trends, renewing an existing product offering or developing new products, colors, styles, or categories, can adjust the consumer preferences.

Second interviewee is Jennifer, 24 years old female. She works at nursing department in hospital. Jennifer was a type of customer who was aware of the brand but who would just ignore the store and walk passing by. On one occasion, there was a day when she was overwhelmed on her way home from work, the aroma that was flowing from the store motivated her to step inside the store for the very first time. After smelling each one of the products, she made the decision to purchase some of them wisely. When she uses it, it makes her feel relaxed, and it certainly appears to have the effect of reducing feelings of exhaustion. She makes a trip to the store once every two weeks, either to make a purchase or to check out the newest items in the store's inventory so that she can test them because LUSH does not update social media. She has tried the products of other companies, but neither the features nor the performance of those products was quite as outstanding as those sold by LUSH. At the begging, she thought it would be bad for the body because it seemed like the products have a great amount of pigment. However, she realized that LUSH exclusively uses organic ingredients for its products, so she was wrong about that assumption. It is possible that she would recommend it to the members of family or friends in the community.

By analyzing her interview, the significance of marketing and advertising is critical to the business. The features of products are determined by the quality, performance, and reliability. We need to concern the matter on new product innovation, development, and consumer price and value. Attractive merchandising and presentation in retail, both in-store and online, can be accomplished through creating a connection with customers through a variety of initiatives.

1. What is your skin type? (Select all apply)

a) Dry skin

b) Oily skin

c) Sensitive skin

d) Acne skin

e) Combination skin

f) Normal skin

g) Other

2. How many cosmetic products do you use a day?

a) None

b) Once

c) 2-3 times

d) 4 or more times

3. Do you think smell in skincare products matter?

a) Definitely not

b) Probably not

c) Might or might not

d) Probably yes

e) Definitely yes

4. What influences your decision on a cosmetic brand the most? (Select all that apply)

a) Peer group

b) Family

c) Television

d) Internet

e) In-shop

f) Other

5. How much would you spend on your skin care products?

a) $00~20

b) $20~40

c) $40~60

d) $60~80

e) $80~100

f) $100+

6. Do you use samples before purchasing cosmetic products?

a) Definitely not

b) Probably not

c) Might or might not

d) Probably yes

e) Definitely yes

7. Which factors matter to you when deciding on a purchase? (Select all that apply)

a) Brand

b) Price

c) Quality

d) Fragrance

e) Ingredients in product

f) Packaging

g) Review

h) Other

8. How often do you buy skin, body, or hair care products?

a) Very often

b) Often

c) Sometimes

d) Rarely

e) Never

9. Have you every bought a product from LUSH? If so, what products?

a) Bath and Shower

b) Hair

c) Face

d) Scent

e) Other

10. Do you have a particular place where you shop your products? (Select all that apply)

a) Stores

b) Online

c) Pharmacy

d) Beauty shops

e) Department stores

f) Other

11. Which of the ingredients are you more likely to purchase? (Select all that apply)

a) Oil-free ingredients

b) Alcohol-free ingredients

c) Natural ingredients

d) Petroleum-free ingredients

e) Noncomedogenic ingredients

f) Dye-free ingredients

g) Other

12. How likely are you to recommend LUSH products to others?

a) Extremely unlikely

b) Somewhat unlikely

c) Neither likely nor unlikely

d) Somewhat likely

e) Extremely likely

An overview of the descriptive and inferential statistics that are relevant to the sample is the ages of twenty to twenty-three, and the genders of both male and female. The survey revealed the responses to the questions. The most of their skin type was dry skin and combination skin. The need for skin care products can be justified since many individuals are concerned about skin issues. Cosmetics were used once or twice to three times daily. Basic cosmetics are used for skin care even if they don't wear makeup. There is no denying the influence of scent in skin care products. In fact, there are a great deal of elements involved in the concept of beauty. The internet and bloggers provided the most reliable information on the cosmetics brand. Customers rely on credible media sources and word-of-mouth to spread information.

Most participants indicated that they wouldn't spend more than $60 on skin care items. However, they feel it is worthwhile to spend more than $40. Reviews and the quality of the product were the two most important factors that were considered while making a purchase of cosmetics. Ingredients, price, and brand all play vital roles in the scenario. Few people try samples before buying cosmetics since they rarely have the opportunity, but when samples are provided, people are more willing to try. People occasionally or frequently purchase skin, body, and hair care items. They are concerned about preserving their natural and healthy beauty. For cosmetics, individuals go to beauty shops or buy online.

Customers are more likely to make purchases at retail stores that features expertise and advanced technology. They give priority to incorporating alcohol-free and all-natural components into their products wherever possible. Factors are crucial since they are open to oil ingredients because the skin tolerates oil compounds. Most As expected, the majority of customers purchased LUSH bath and shower products. However, perfume appears to be more popular in professional and luxury labels in other brands. Although not always, many are willing to recommend LUSH products to others. They have no objections to using or recommending the brand's products. Having access to this information and data provides me with the assurance to make product recommendations and suggestions to customers.

Due to the fact that everyone has different skin, it's important that any skincare products take this into account and concerned with their specific needs. On the LUSH website, you may complete a skin care quiz to help you select the best skin care products for your specific needs for more information. Protecting cells from free radicals is essential for good immune function, normal cell division, healthy consumption of proteins and amino acids to maintain appropriate blood homocysteine levels, normal creation of energy, and potentially even to help moisturize the skin. Since free radicals can damage DNA and other cellular components, they should be avoided at all costs.

LUSH has a vegetarian, handmade face mask that contains all natural ingredients because your skin deserves nothing less. There are four new gems in here that will make your skin look radiant. This new data that complements with my interview is that both can assist in understanding the thoughts, decisions, behaviors, and beliefs of participants towards brand and products. The contrast is that the survey allows customers to provide detailed feedback from many people when they go through a procedure that involves evaluating and analyzing their specific skin care routine and the items they use.

“A Beginners Guide to Self-Preserving.” Lush, https://www.LUSH.com/uk/en/a/beginners- guide-self-preserving.

Echarrab, Kenza. “Lush – Fresh Hand Made Cosmetic.” Digitalmarketing, 20 Feb. 2019, https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/kenzaecharrab/2018/12/13/LUSH-fresh-hand-made-cosmetic/.

“Handmade.” We Are Lush, 10 May 2022, https://weare.LUSH.com/LUSH-life/our- values/handmade-policy/.

Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. “Fighting Animal Testing.” Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, 19 July 2022, https://www.LUSHusa.com/stories/article_our-values-fighting-stories.html.

ProQuest | Better Research, Better Learning, Better Insights. https://www.proquest.com/.

Shastri , Aditya. “In-Depth Marketing Strategy of Lush - A Case Study.” IIDE, 28 Dec. 2021, https://iide.co/case-studies/LUSH-marketing-strategy/.

“What We Believe.” We Are Lush, 10 May 2022, https://weare.LUSH.com/LUSH-life/our- company/what-we-believe/.