Marketing Mix for Lush free essay sample

In this research two well-designed marketing mixes were made, aiming to improve an already existing organic products cosmetics brand named â€Å"LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬  as well as accommodating its features to the demands of the target market. One of the marketing mixes being directed for physical shops and the other one for an E-Store. Two business people were interviewed to gain information about strategies and day-to-day goals in small brands as such. Elena Torre, cosmetician and owner of â€Å"Saint Germaine†, a Natural Cosmetics brand, was one of the interviewees, providing very factual and useful information for this research as well as Martha Hone, dermatologist and owner of â€Å"Martha Hone Clinic† based on natural cosmetics from all over the world, especially France, which she â€Å"hunts† for in her many travels. This last interviewee came in useful as she has a very vast knowledge, which she provided to the report on many natural and organic cosmetics brands from all over the world, with a variation of marketing/business techniques. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Mix for Lush or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Information was also extracted from the brand? s own website along as from The Body Shop ®Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s website [http://www. thebodyshop-usa. com/]. The final goal was to help â€Å"LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬  improve in all possible ways and allow it to compete with other and bigger brands such as The Body Shop ®. The purpose of this research is to establish a new marketing mix for â€Å"LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬ , to serve young costumers who aim for a healthier skin and body and elaborate a more accurate and efficient marketing strategy. The target market for â€Å"LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬  is basically women and men from ages 13 and 40, mostly including vegans, in which skin and health care is essential and during this period of life it is at its peak. The key success factors for this brand, include promoting and emphasizing its homemade, natural and almost 100% organic characteristics and ingredients; for people to find their products as intriguing as they come and to allow them to know their effectiveness by exposing them. By changing the way to sell the products with less competition but rather showing originality the target market would appeal more to the brand. Introduction Throughout the past decade many cosmetics were tested with staggering numbers of harmful additives such as toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and also hormones, making their way into products that are used on a daily basis. Not only can these makeup and cosmeceutical products cause acne, rashes, and other skin problems such as cancer, they can get to be very hazardous for peoples’ health. The more unnatural and non organic the makeups, cleansers, moisturizers, sunscreens and over-the-counter antibiotic creams are, people become more afflicted with skin conditions. As the numbers grow, they manage to balance as the demand for natural and skin friendly cosmetics arouses, this makes many brands go â€Å"organic† but there is actually no proof and reliable sources that every brand that says their products are chemical free is accurate until it is proven by the USDA. Consumers can avoid toxic ingredients by using USDA certified organic cosmetics. The trouble is, while the USDA allows cosmetics to be certified organic, most people dont acknowledge it. This report is possible because the business chosen to create both marketing mixes, â€Å"LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬ , is an USDA certified brand as well as its competitor. Throughout the research, the marketing mixes were created with the help of the 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) and a SWOT analysis of both brands. In prospective, the main goal is to allow â€Å"LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬  to get more involved in the market in a successful and non-aggressive way, expand its franchises and increase its publicity. LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬  is a brand selling only organic, fresh homemade cosmetics which originated in UK in 1994, when husband and wife Mark and Mo Constantine opened the first Lush store in Poole under the name â€Å"Cosmetic House Limited† There are now 830 stores in 51 countries. Lush produces and sells a variety of handmade natural products, including soaps, shower gel s, shampoos and hair conditioners, bath bombs, bubble bars, hand and body lotions and face-masks. The brand uses fruit and vegetables, essential oils, synthetic ingredients, honey and beeswax in their products. In addition to not using animal fats in their products, they are also against animal testing and perform tests with volunteers instead. Methods In order to collect useful data, a research about the brand was made, including its place in the market in comparison to other brands. By this, identifying a competitor brand, analyzing it’s marketing mix and SWOT analysis in order to help develop the research’s own. This procedure was a guidance to find the identical ideas, strengths and differences between the two brands, allowing the brand in research’s marketing mix to improve and hopefully become dominant in the market. By preforming a research about the USDA and their certified brands and the whole organic/natural cosmetic products market, will be an approach to the marketing mix with a more stable and predetermined target. Throughout two interviews that were held, another portion of favorable information could be obtained, both interviews provided precise and factual details about two different cosmetics brands, as well as some advice on how to identify the features and other relevant business factors. One of the interviews being directed to the owner of â€Å"Saint Germaine†, a Natural Cosmetics brand who provided advices on business making and marketing techniques and the following interviewee, Martha Hone allowed the research to obtain a more lively experience on organic cosmetic products; as such business consists only in that type of merchandise. The Body Shop ® SWOT Analysis Strengths * Unique products, environmental friendly retailer * L’Oreal’s advertisements and marketing increase sale * Enhances its image in local society * Target market with ethical issue Weaknesses * Lack of product advertisement Expensive for a certain range of the market Opportunities * Take advantage of L’Oreal’s Research and Development department to create and improve their own products. Threats * Many new competing brands wanting to go â€Å"green†. * Chemical legislation * No environmental certification Findings The key competitor for â€Å"LUSH ®Ã¢â ‚¬  is the popular American brand The Body Shop ®, which is one of the brands to be soon passed through the USDA policy for its use of almost 100% organic and natural ingredients in their products (The Body Shop, 2013 online); but there has been some accusation attempts of chemical legislation. Two key main points in its marketing mix are its overseas market and the brand’s existing grounds in America, Asia and Europe. In 2009 and then again in 2012, The Body Shop ® entered to the Tokyo and Harajuku cosmetics conventions, introducing their 100% natural kale products (a special edition collection of products sold only in Japan), which threw them into the market with a top ranking. In order to develop the renovated marketing mix for the research’s brand, firstly a SWOT analysis was needed to be preformed, assessing the brand’s advantages and disadvantages in the market in comparison to it’s competitor. LUSH ®Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s products offer a vast variety of all natural ingredients and a huge originality amongst other brands’ products and now there are now 830 stores in 51 countries. SWOT Analysis Strengths * Unique selling points. * Almost 90% non-chemical procedures.