Guest Comment

The Soil Association’s Organic Market Report 2015, published in March, revealed that online shopping at independent retailers boosted the organic health and beauty sector by 20% in the last year, making it one of the strongest channels for growth.

They are hip, happening and there isn’t a tree hugger in sight – actually if it looks good on Instagram there might be. They’ve been...

Didn’t I have a lovely time the day I went to The Beauty Exchange?! It was great for a number of reasons, but mainly...

Another year, another inspiring and exhilarating show. At the time of going to press with this column the dust has not long settled on the fabulous Natural Beauty & Spa show, part of Natural & Organic Products Europe, held for the first time this year at ExCeL London.

It’s been more than six months since the team at the Natural Beauty Yearbook and Natural Products News magazine sat down around a round table with a handful of key industry figures and discussed the state of the natural and organic beauty market.

People have had enough of corrupt politicians and their ruthlessly self-serving corporate backers. Real world change is breaking out everywhere Did you get what you...

Internet sales, e-commerce and social media have long been the mantras for successful retailing. If you want to be perceived as being a savvy, contemporary and forward- thinking store it’s imperative that you not only have a well-presented and securely built website, but more importantly that you offer shoppers the opportunity to buy your goods online.

It has always been the No 1 rule of retail – know your customer. Learning buying patterns, understanding why they step foot in your store in the first place, and making sure you keep them interested by consistently introducing new product lines will be a big help to ensure customers keep coming back.

The Guardian recently published an unbridled attack on the “detox industry” and supplements and dietary habits for detox. Among the comments were that detox was...

2015 is the year for intelligent retailing. In an age of smartphones, touch-screen devices and clever technology it’s only right that beauty retail should move with the times and provide shoppers with the type of revolutionary customer service that they have come to expect from other industries.

Grappling for shelf space, competing on packaging design, POS promotions – these are all familiar, day-to-day experiences for manufacturers and brands alike trying to stay afloat in the competitive world of retail.

Last week four Soil Association trustees resigned from the charity accusing it of lacking conviction on organic. But to create real change you sometimes just have...

People everywhere are reducing meat consumption. Craig Sams argues that organic farmers are well placed to adjust to the coming low-meat scenario My late great...

It’s easy to tell when the festive period is approaching because the nights get longer and boozier, the streets are paved with fairy lights and good cheer, and excitement builds for the celebrated launch of the Natural Beauty Yearbook!

Honesty is the best policy, or at least that’s what my mother always taught me. It’s kept me in good stead throughout my life, but now it seems this age-old mantra is fast becoming the next wave of corporate policy in a bid to support sustainable product growth. A recent article in The Guardian stated: “With consumers, investors and employees increasingly interested in companies’ social and environmental performance, transparency is becoming a corporate necessity.”

 The Nordic Food Lab fuses the finest gastronomic traditions with cutting edge science to thrilling effect, writes Craig Sams You have to hand it to the...

After a century of destructive conflict a new battle is about the begin – the one to save Planet Earth. It's the war we really...

Look around today and you’ll see a world in crisis. Divisive action in Syria and the Middle East, the news that British troops may be set to re-enter Iraq, and on the domestic front (at the time of going to print) Scotland is on the cusp of making history by voting for independence.

It’s nearly always a Monday morning when you find yourself in front of the mirror being greeted by the most unwelcome of sights —...

Oh, dearie me. In a bitter article in the Sunday Telegraph just a few days after Cameron sacked him as Environment Minister, Owen Paterson...