Skincare brand Ecooking, described as “natural, organic, vegan and environmentally-friendly”, has launched in travel retail with Gebr Heinemann.
Ecooking was developed by Danish entrepreneur Tina Søgaard, a beauty industry veteran of 20 years. Each product in the Ecooking range is created on the basis of specific requirements and is formulated to target a specific problem, she said.
The brand is represented in duty free and travel retail by Brand-Mover. The agency was founded by Karina Lassen, who was previously at Conaxess Trade.
Heinemann has listed Ecooking in five stores under its new ‘Clean Beauty’ concept, which was initially targeted at Scandinavian countries but has also been launched in Germany at Frankfurt and Hamburg airports.
From small batch preparation in a kitchen, Ecooking has grown to be listed in more than 500 stores and pharmacies in Denmark and was launched last year in another 20 markets. The brand has also begun to gather momentum in China since the opening of its flagship store on Chinese e-commerce website JD.com.
Søgaard said the travel retail channel offered great opportunities for exposure. “The world has become a village and people travel more and more, especially in small countries like Denmark,” she said. “Visiting a duty free shop in an airport or a ferry is often a good way for me to discover new brands and new trends. For Ecooking, this is a great opportunity to get more visibility.”
Lassen sees the brand as a “perfect fit” for travel retail. “The products are rich in organic and natural ingredients and without any parabens at affordable price points,” she said. “So even though the skincare market is crowded, there is a huge potential for a new brand like Ecooking with its great story, its environmentally-friendly products and packaging and its attractive prices.”
Heinemann sees the brand as relevant in today’s market where the demand for responsible, sustainable and clean brands is ever stronger. “We cater to this general shift in consumer behaviour and the passion for clean beauty among travellers and take the responsibility to list sustainable brands very seriously,” said Gebr Heinemann Director Purchasing Department Perfume and Cosmetics Britta Hoffmann.
“We were thus looking for organic and vegan and cruelty-free brands and found that Ecooking is perfectly meeting the demands of our health-conscious customers who are yearning for environmentally-friendly products. The trendy and biologically degradable packaging of Ecooking is also appealing to that target group and was thus a big plus for our decision to list the brand.”
Hoffmann added: “The market for the entire category is changing at a rapid pace. It has become a lot more dynamic, the thirst for innovations is constantly increasing, with more and more brands entering the market.
“At the same time, customer requirements are more complex – from price-sensitive customers and those intent on luxury products to consumers seeking sustainable, certified organic ingredients. We aim to bring all these additional values to the perfume and cosmetics category at Heinemann.”
