'Next Big Thing' Fashion, Communication and Promotion.

LIZ EARLE With a unique recipe and a powerful consumer appeal, Liz Earle is a Great British Beauty Brand that was founded in 1995. From their continuous loyalty to their customers to their passion for standing firmly alongside BUAV, Liz Earle stand out from the crowd as they offer products that really work on every skin type by harnessing the potent powers of the finest quality naturally active ingredients.

!Where

it all began

A lifelong passion for plants and the natural world is the foundation for Earle’s back to nature approach to her range, which relies on scrupulously sourced, natural ingredients with products that harness the power of botanical extracts.

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One of Earle’s earliest memories are of her going into the garden to pick supper. A few years later Earle was given the Vogue Natural Health and Beauty Book by Bronwen Meredith which focused on making your own rose water and face packs. Earle, [2008], states ‘I was totally hooked and spent the next few years driving my parents mad and mixing up potions and lotions of my own’.

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It was a lifelong struggle with eczema, and finally the cure when a nutritionist advised her to take evening primrose oil to treat the condition that got her thinking about creating her own range of products that could benefit everyone.

MARKET ‘Our customers are our advertisement — word of mouth is more valuable than any advertising’

Since Liz Earle was first established in 1995, the beauty sector has continued to grow with millions of people pouring billions of pounds into the industry. Word of mouth regarding ‘Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare’ has seen the company grow from the humble beginnings of four products first sold by mail order, to a multi-million pound brand where millions of women — and increasingly men — buy the products in 82 different countries.

Having helped mould the face of beauty Liz Earle is now located in their tranquil stores in Isle of White, London, Leeds and Guilford.

As well as being stocked in John Lewis, Boots, Fenwick, Boutiques and most commonly known on QVC, the home shopping channel.

PRODUCT ‘Well, you can try and dress it up with cellophane wrapping, fancy boxes and advertising, but its what is in the bottle that really counts’ Earle, [2008] Liz Earle aim to offer products that really work on every skin type by harnessing the potent powers of the finest quality naturally active ingredients. They offer a simple, no fuss and dependable routine which is also a pampering daily treat. Their principles are the same today as they were on day one.

Liz Earle’s first product was the Cleanse And Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser that has proven so popular one now sells every thirty seconds.

Liz Earle products are only created through using high performance, quality and safe ingredients; working closely with their harvesters and never testing their products on animals. They have never used genetically engineered ingredients and only use potent, premium natural source vitamin E. As well as this they are observant on packaging to ensure it is best for their products but also the impact on the environment.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Liz Earle are passionate about carefully selecting ingredients to create their final must-have products.

In 2014 alone, Liz Earle have won several awards such as The CEW Award for The Best Classic Beauty Product, Instyle’s Best Beauty Buy of 2014, Beauty Bible’s Ultimate Natural Beauty Award for thirteen of Liz Earle’s products and Elle’s Readers Choice Award for the Cleanse And Polish.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ‘Whether you're looking for a simple daytime glow or full-on glamour for a night out, I love the fact that our colour range has everything you need’ Earle,[2015]

Liz Earle started off with an idea for affordable beauty products and have now created a multitude of products. They now have products for Super skin, Eye treatments, Facials, Body care, Sun care, Travel Kits, Mens Skincare, Books and accessories, bathing products, haircare, fragrance and most recently make up.

Throughout the last four years Liz Earle have continued to grow through their haircare range and their best-selling perfume that they recently brought back in 2014 due to continuous requests .

As well as this, over the last seventeen years there has been a high demand for Liz Earle to launch a make up range that delivers the same outstanding results as their skincare. And so two years ago they fulfilled many ladies needs with their own make up range - Liz Earle Colour.

Since mid 2012 the make up range has continued to grow with the help of awards being granted and the top celebrities/bloggers reviewing their products.

Liz Earle has also expanded through creating a ‘Wellbeing’ Magazine for their customers. Liz Earle herself also published a book in January 2015 regarding juicing for health, beauty and wellbeing.

When questioning what is next for Liz Earle the answer remains a mystery. However Earle states ‘We have innovative and exciting plans and opportunities to develop our business, both in the UK and internationally. Our ambition is to keep growing our 'living' company whilst staying true to our ‘precious recipe’- the special ingredients that make us who we are’.

COMPETITORS

There are four main competitors to Liz Earle: 1. Burts Bees.

2. Lush.

3. Balance Me. 4. The Body Shop.

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Burt’s Bee’s are understandably a huge competitor for Liz Earle in the sense that they both pioneer for having products that are both organic and are around us each and every day. Burt’s Bee’s was established in 1984 when their Burt’s Bee’s candles were created from leftover beeswax. Since then they have grown to selling lip care, lip colour, face care, body care and baby care. Blatantly the company are continuing to grow however Liz Earle are still a much bigger company even though they have been around for twelve years less. For example Liz Earle offer on top of what Burt’s Bee’s offer TV debuts, books, fragrance, hair care and make-up.

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Lush was first established in 1995 after a group of people formed together due to their previous company going into administration. It can be said that Lush are a bigger brand due to the fact they have over 900 stores in over 40 different countries and have roughly 6000 people working for Lush. Lush also offer a diverse range of products, alike Liz Earle. However Lush is famously renowned for their scent - not for their actual products.

Balance Me is a reasonably new brand that was established in 2005 after Topshop approached them to purchase 200 products for their VIPS. Balance me are also British and too believe in using naturally active ingredients. Although it is plausible to see where Balance Me have started to where they are now, it is still evident that Liz Earle are a more accessible brand due to having a wider range.

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The Body Shop was first created in 1976 and was the first international beauty store to sign up to the Humane Cosmetics Standard. The Body Shop have predominantly supported against animal cruelty since opening however they did not begin their fight against animal testing until 1996 twenty years after being established.

Brand History 1995

1996 1998 2001 2002 2006 2010 2013 2014 2014 2015

Co-founders Liz Earle and Kim Buckland extend their friendship into a business partnership.

Immediate interest with the help from a number of mentions in well-known magazines and Liz Earle’s husbands marketing background.

The range is launched on QVC - their first product is sold within 30 minutes.

Customer care team are established in Isle Of White.

Union, Unique shop opens in Ryde.

Online shopping website goes live.

Liz Earle London shop opens.

Liz Earle hair care is launched.

Liz Earle Make-up is finally launched.

Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.100 is brought back by popular demand.

Liz Earle Wellbeing magazine is created.

Liz Earle ‘Juice’ book is published.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Primary research suggests that many of Liz Earle’s customers are keen followers via social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Reasons for this are to keep up to date with their latest products or to be notified when there are sales/discounts on products.

COVERAGE

Liz Earle encourages both women and men to almost simplify their beauty regime by taking three easy steps 1.Cleanse 2.Tone 3.Moisturise. There have been many raving reviews about Liz Earle products from (Willoughby, [2015] stating that her ‘hero beauty products’ are Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish and recently Liz Earle’s Colour Make-up to hundreds of beauty bloggers writing page long reviews about the products - Liz Earle is loved by many.

Primary research shows that beauty consumers do not believe Liz Earle is over priced at all by selecting the option that you get exactly what you pay for in all of Liz Earle products.

NATALIE ELENI - LIZ EARLE MAKE UP ARTIST

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What inspired you to become a make up artist?

I suppose it started when I was eight years old and my mum went for a facial. The girl doing the facial was absolutely gorgeous, and it just looked so relaxing with all the products she used on my mum.

Are you excited about working with Liz Earle?

I'm very excited about working with Liz Earle, because I actually went to school in Ryde on the Isle of Wight from the age of 11, which is where the very first Liz Earle store is. So I became really familiar with the brand – it was like a little bit of luxury on the island.

What's your favourite Liz Earle product?

A. I love the Healthy Glow Cream Blush – especially the shade Camellia. I think it's just the perfect colour – so beautiful and really gorgeous on lips as well.

Q. What's your definition of beauty?

I think we're being forced into what we think should be beautiful by the media – those very unrealistic ideas of what we're told women, and even men, should look like now. It's a shame because I think beauty is all about being natural, being happy. I think confidence plays a really big part – you have to be happy and just look after yourself. Taking time out for yourself as a woman is really important, even if you're a mum, even if you work full-time. It's important to give yourself that little bit of luxury each day, to feel good about yourself.

What would be your desert island make up item?

I'd have to have two – mascara and lip liner. I just love lip liner! It makes such a difference, really adding definition to your lips, and it's a natural way to get the perfect pout. And mascara is the most wonderful product for beauty and instant glamour.

Who or what inspires you?

A. My clients, because I want them to feel great. If I get a text saying ‘oh my skin looks beautiful this morning', or ‘I got loads of compliments on my make up', it gives me such a buzz and that's why I'm constantly researching things, trying new looks, trying new products – it's about finding the very best so I can pass that information on to my clients.

References Earle, The Telegraph, 2008, Online, Available at:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ celebritynews/2461827/The-full-interview-with-Liz-Earle-beauty-boss.html (Willoughby, Glamour Magazine, 2015) Liz Earle, 2015, Online,http://uk.lizearle.com/our-colour-story

Make-up Artist Interview http://uk.lizearle.com/our-colour-story