New year, new me: Aromababy to refresh brand in 2022 as it works to take brand to ‘the next level’

Aromababy is an organic baby care brand founded in 1994 by Catherine Cervasio that can be found in markets such as China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan in addition to its home market.

Cervasio told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that the company was currently in the process of a brand refresh for the new year.

“We be polishing up the packaging because it’s a little dated – it’s been 27 years! We are looking to streamline the design to modernise for the global market. We will be bringing out some limited-edition packaging as well. We’re putting a lot of focus on the brand to help propel us to where we need to be in 2022.”​

She elaborated that for 2022, the company would be channelling its efforts into expansion both domestically and overseas.

After launching online with Australian department store chain Myer and Amazon Australia in the last couple of years, the brand is set to make its debut with Woolworth’s online platform, Everyday Market, by the end of January.

“In the last couple of years, we were forced to focus on e-commerce, because traditional retail players were looking for higher markups and in a premium product, there's not a lot of margin to play with. [E-commerce] helps us to deliver a better product – higher quality at better value,” ​said Cervasio.

Aided by the massive uptick in online sales last year, the brand recorded its best month of online sales in August.

That growth has since plateaued, but despite that, a domestic expansion is still crucial for the brand.

“The moves we are making in Australia are in fact strengthening our brand overseas because every export partner wants to see that we are connected with the major retailers in Australia,”​ said Cervasio.

“These days, people aren't travelling, and they can't come to a physical store and see your product on a shelf. But if you are in the right places, you seem to be growing and expanding with technology and with the changes in consumer buying habits. These are the sorts of things that our export partners want to see.”​

One oversea market the company is particularly focused on is China, which it entered in 2006.

“We've already done a lot of work in China, we’ve had some success in retail back in the day and in cross-border but now it's time to explore the potential this market has for us,”​ said Cervasio.

‘The next level’

Cervasio added that updating the brand would potentially attract investors.

“We want to have the brand in the best presentation possible. It's going to be pivotal to investors or somebody looking at the brand to help us take it to the next level.”​

She elaborated that additional funding would help the brand’s ambitions to diversify its business.

“We’re at the stage where the brand is becoming more well known. We’re doing a lot more business in the gift and corporate category. We are also selling our products to hotels and resorts. There’s a lot more opportunity and appetite for this to be expanded. Without saying too much, we’re looking at adding some new products to the range as well.”​