Natural, Indie, and Seasonal: why limited-edition products make sense for Osmia Organics

14-Aug-2018 - Last updated on 16-Aug-2018 at 18:47 GMT

image courtesy of the brand

There’s a whole swath of indie beauty brands advocating the notion that simple is best and less is more. They usually formulate with natural ingredients and have relatively small product portfolios. Still, the consumer appetite for what’s new, next, and novel is real. Cosmetics Design spoke with Dr. Sarah Villafranco, CEO at Osmia Organics, to find out her brand strategy for limited editions.

On September 5th, Osmia Organics will relaunch two very popular seasonal soaps. For autumn, the brand is featuring Zucca Spice (a sophisticated iteration of pumpkin spice) and Dirty Chai (also reminiscent of a coffee-house beverage, chai tea latte in this case).

“You simply won’t find products of this quality, with these qualities, in many places,” says Dr. Sarah Villafranco, CEO at Osmia Organics, explaining the novelty and of her brand’s fall soaps. “And, when you’ve taken the time to research, select, and invest in products like ours, you’re far more likely to carve out beautiful moments for yourself in each day to use them. We consider that a royal success.”

To everything there is a season

Osmia Organics introduced seasonal soaps a few years back and late last year began creating Craft Series body care products.

“Limited-edition products allow us to release incredibly beautiful products in small numbers, and people are generally excited to get their hands on something so unique,” Villafranco tells Cosmetics Design in a recent email exchange.

“We make all of our products in-house, using the most extraordinary raw materials nature has to offer,” she says. “Many of our ingredients and processes are artisanal, and don’t lend themselves to mass production, either because of the cost of materials or the time it takes to make the finished goods.”

Naturally unpredictable

“With our seasonal soaps, forecasting is always tricky,” acknowledges Villafranco, “especially as they’ve gained popularity over the years.”

“People wait all year long for their favorite soaps to come out, and then they tend to stock up a bit, so we do our best to make the right amount each season,” she tells this publication.

“With the Craft Series, we always have a few people that don’t get the product, either because their schedule didn’t work with the release or there simply weren’t enough available. We’re still working out the kinks - we had no idea so many of the products would sell out in a matter of minutes!”

Specific to time and brand

Zucca Spice soap won’t fit neatly in to every indie brand’s portfolio. Creating seasonal products that make sense goes back to brand identity and consumer expectations.

“Osmia is all about the sensory aspects of life,” says Villafranco, and she goes on to illustrate just how this concept translates into her brand’s autumn soaps: “Nothing is more evocative than the turning of the seasons. From the chill in the air on the first crisp, mountain morning to spotting the first yellow aspen leaves, we love to notice and embrace the inevitable changes of mood and weather that accompany the passing months."

The scent of a rich, spicy pumpkin soap or a sweet, creamy chai soap can weave yet another moment of sensory delight into your life, even during something as mundane as your daily shower. As for exfoliating, that’s exactly what the trees are doing when they shed their leaves, so we love adding some gentle texture to our fall soaps to renew and refresh the skin after a long, sun-filled summer."

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.