New Board appointments set to fire HAAN’s domestic and travel retail ambitions

Personal care brand HAAN has appointed highly-experienced beauty industry executives Neil Ebbutt and Isabelle van Ingen to its Board of Directors. The move comes as the brand seeks to step up growth in domestic and global travel retail markets.

Neil Ebbutt joined Rituals Cosmetics in 2001 as one of the founding partners and helped launch the brand’s travel retail business in 2012. He is credited with playing a key role in positioning Rituals as a leader in the channel’s wellbeing category.

Under Ebbutt’s leadership, the brand’s travel retail network expanded to include over 100 countries before he stepped down in 2021.

Neil Ebbutt and Isabelle van Ingen have been brought onboard as part of HAAN’s strategy to build a global brand

Ebbutt said: “As a truly purpose-driven brand with a strong sustainability message, HAAN is the personal care brand for a new era of conscious consumerism. Already rapidly growing – both in terms of portfolio and distribution – there is huge potential to build on this momentum across global channels, including domestic and travel retail markets.

“I’m looking forward to working with the passionate, driven team at HAAN and contributing to its continued success.”

Isabelle van Ingen has worked in the fragrance industry for 25 years. Since 2009, she has been an independent fragrance consultant to a range of organisations, from multinational FMCG brands to niche brands and start-ups.

HAAN has a growing range of products which are set to become more prominent in global travel retail

Her clients have included the likes of Colgate Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser, Sara Lee and Unilever.

Van Ingen works with the top four fragrance houses – Givaudan, IFF, Firmenich, and Symrise. Prior to this she held senior in-house positions with several beauty brands.

Van Ingen said: “I’m hugely passionate about fragrances and brand-building, so the opportunity to work with HAAN and play a role in the creation of a global brand is hugely exciting.

Eric Armengou says the new appointments will be key to expanding HAAN’s international footprint

“The young, dynamic team at HAAN has put in place fantastic building blocks – sleek design, great product quality, strong eco-messaging and a compelling story around its commitment to sustainability. The next challenge is to take these building blocks and write a new chapter in the personal care category.”

Welcoming the duo, HAAN CEO Eric Armengou commented: “The landscape for personal care has been transformed in the post-COVID world, positioning HAAN to ride a wave of demand for fun, purpose-driven brands that speak to new generations of consumers.

“Neil and Isabelle bring a vast amount of experience and diverse skillsets to the business which will be of huge benefit as we look to expand our international footprint and build a truly differentiated, disruptive force in the world of personal care.”

Both Ebbutt and van Ingen will be attending TFWA World Conference & Exhibition as part of the HAAN team in Cannes (G-28, Blue Village). Look out for a preview of HAAN’s presence in Cannes on our channels.

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