Yoke Har Lee: Natural devotee sticks to its niche

Sales have doubled in the past three years, says Skinfood's Kim Stachnik. Photo / Natalie Slade

Winning shelf space in British supermarkets is a big deal for a small Kiwi company, Skinfood New Zealand, which set out to develop natural skin care products that consumers would like, and could afford.

Skinfood was formed eight years ago, with the aim of producing natural skincare products without parabens - a chemical widely used in pharmaceuticals - says co-founder Jim Piper. "Most skincare products at the time (and even now) relied upon parabens as the preservative despite numerous concerns about their use on the skin," he says.

It has taken nearly a decade to gain consumer confidence in the company's products - all made without parabens, and without artificial preservatives, perfumes or colourings.

The company also prides itself on producing skin care products without using animal testing. The products are also contained in recyclable packaging.

During its teething years, Skinfood started by breaking into a few stores, before gaining acceptance from this country's supermarket chains, says sales and marketing manager Kim Stachnik.

Four years after the company launched locally, it began looking overseas, starting with Britain in 2006.

"The greatest challenge was appointing the right people to represent our NZ-owned brand in a completely new market," Stachnik says. Today, Skinfood is sold through major chain stores including Waitrose, John Lewis, Ocada and Tesco. Its products are also sold in specialty stores in France, Belgium and Australia. It is now in the midst of negotiating with a major Australian chain, as well as in Mexico, China, India and South Africa, Stachnik says.

"In the last three years alone, Skinfood has doubled our sales growth," she says. Consumers who were buying online were asking where they could buy the products in Australia, leading to the search for distribution channels there.

The company's recently revamped website is also helping it reach overseas buyers.

"Skinfood stuck to the company's vision to provide customers with a superior natural-based skincare range," says Stachnik.

"We have also been educating consumers that it is possible to get really quality skincare from your local supermarket.

"The NZ skincare market is flooded with many players, however we are sitting in the niche of natural-based, NZ-made and affordable for all families. Our challenge is to stay focused on our vision and keep our product affordable.

"We believe consumers are making more considered choices and re-evaluating what products they are using on their skin. Consumers want to know what ingredients they are buying and what effect they have on themselves and their families," says Stachnik. The company also attributes its success to its focus on research. "We have ensured we are always using the finest ingredients from New Zealand and the South Pacific."

Skinfood's products are all developed in-house by Piper and the company's manufacturer. "The Skinfood team is consistently working on expanding the range to suit the demands of our customer base.

"We have added tanning moisturiser to our portfolio and are close to launching our facial wipes and travel pack. These products have taken two years to research and perfect and we are very proud to expand our range with such high-quality products."

Distance from key markets remains a challenge, which the firm has met by using worldwide logistics companies and by working with our overseas distributors.