Slowing down for success: Slow Rituals reveals NPD priorities and sustainability partnership hopes

Launched in November 2022, Slow Rituals offers products ranging from aromatherapy, bath and body, and face, made with hero ingredients including Epsom salt, a blended bergamot and eucalyptus essential oil, squalane derived from olive oil amongst other carrier oils like argan oil, jojoba oil, and coconut oil.

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia​, its founder Vivian C, who has a background in retail and e-commerce, said that her interest in aromatherapy had helped “create a space for mindfulness​”.

“It took a little more than a year for us to prepare and think about what we want to bring to consumers. We didn’t just want to get the brand out there to sell but wanted it a bit more authentic and raw – to make a change in people’s lives by helping them to slow down and rethink about how we want to live our lives. When people came to the boutiques or some of our other pop-ups in the past few months, we wanted to share the slow living concept, as far as how Slow Rituals can help them to slow down.”​

Aside from pop-ups, Slow Rituals is retailing at five boutique stores in Singapore such as Sunday Bedding, The Editor’s Market, Commune Wear, and the Crane. It touts expansion plans in offline retail presence given the “touch and feel” nature of its products​.

Cult​ivating the slow beauty movement​

As its name suggests, the products were designed with slow beauty and mindful rituals in mind. For instance, consumers have to mix its body cleansing grains with water to achieve consistency in its application.

The market for mindful beauty is still in its infancy, as Vivian added that its products are not for everyone.

“There are definitely people who found these interesting to try and want to know a bit more about what we put into our products. Of course, there’re also customers who say: 'oh wait, this is troublesome, and I don't want it. I don't think I can sustain this.' I would say it's kind of a mix, but it doesn't really deter us because this is ultimately our branding and the message we want to pass to our customers. We are hoping it could help people slow down, but we also have to agree that it’s not for everyone.​”

Its best-selling products include lavender and clary sage shower salt, sweet orange and ylang-ylang botanical body oil, and rose body cleansing grains. Vivian said that consumer education is pertinent to enabling sales, citing its body oil product as an example:

“The body oil sells really well during our pop-ups because this was when we could educate them how to use a body oil. People think that you need to put a full pump, but we’re letting them know that you only need two drops of oil to feel the consistency. Apparently, there are customers who are introducing our products to their friends, so through word of mouth.”​

The feedback gathered from customers are also its main driver for NPD. Vivian revealed that hair oil is currently in the pipeline.

“We are really very small and do not have a wide outreach, so we’re still trying to do more of what we believe will help consumers and create a niche for ourselves. As trends come and go, it might not be feasible for our stage being in its infancy. We are instead trying to focus what we hear from our customers. ​

“Hair care came into the picture as customers were asking whether they could use the body oil on their hair. We saw a need for it, and we wanted to look into it to create a targeted product with the right ingredients and essential oils.​”

Partnerships for the win​

Slow Rituals partnered with a local artisanal company specialising in handmade ceramic products to develop a bowl and spoon that is complementary with purchase of its powdered facial mask or body cleaning grains.

Previously, the brand partnered with a local artist specialising in calligraphy to incorporate the element of art on its product packaging.

Vivian added that Slow Rituals is trying to do more in terms of sustainability, and is on the lookout for local partnerships when it comes to ingredients sourcing, packaging, and distributorship to minimize its carbon footprint from shipping.