Q&A: Nature gets personal

It is no secret that beauty shoppers are growing increasingly interested in natural personal care products and manufacturers are stepping up to the plate to help meet those needs. However, along with increased offerings comes some confusion about what constitutes a “natural” product.

To help address such confusion, Burt’s Bees has developed The Natural Standard, and Mike Indursky, chief marketing and strategic officer of Burt’s Bees, spoke with Drug Store News about the initiative.

Drug Store News: What is driving the growth in the natural personal care segment at mass?

Indursky: Consumers globally are looking to maximize their well-being internally and they are trying to maximize their well-being externally with the environment. The mass market has realized that, and is starting to take Burt’s Bees and other brands in. Natural personal care has grown about 17 percent [in the past year] versus regular personal care, which has grown about 3 percent.

Drug Store News: What are the challenges facing the market at mass?

Indursky: The first challenge [for retailers] is making the hard decisions. There are brands that…position themselves as natural and they are not natural. A responsible retailer will say, “You are a great brand, but you need to be with the other personal care products.” Anything that goes in that [natural] section should meet the standards. The second part is education. We are working with retailers offering our expertise and education to help them because it really is a win for everybody.

Drug Store News: Explain what The Natural Standard is and why it’s important.

Indursky: Consumers are so confused right now on what is natural. … We have developed a standard on what natural products should be.… We will have a seal on all products and a section they will be housed in. … The goal is by the end of this year to have a standard that will be nationally recognized.