The Australia-based essential oils company shared the news during the Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients (PCHi) trade show held in Guangzhou, China from Feb 19 to Feb 21.
The company believes the time was ripe to launch Eelemani as there has been a greater appreciation for high quality essential oils among Chinese consumers.
Dee-Ann Prather, founder and CEO of Down Under Enterprises, said the company believes the opportunity in China was “enormous”.
CosmeticsDesign-Asia has previously reported that Down Under was working to develop its presence in China after it observed a shift in consumer values that align with their own.
“We’ve been [in China] since 2012. Then, price was really important. Over time, as the wealth’s grown, there’s more international travel, and people really recognise what’s quality, and how it impacts the efficacy,” said Prather.
Purity guaranteed
At the same time, it identified a gap in the market for trustworthy tea tree oil products.
“We recognised an opportunity to give the Chinese consumers quality tea tree oil because there is a lot of low quality, adulterated tea tree oil out there,” said Prather.
Tea tree oil is among the most well-known essential oils and is considered a high-value commodity.
However, the industry is plagued by rampant adulteration.
According to the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA), there is a widespread issue of companies deliberately adulterate tea tree oil by using fillers, additives, and impurities. Some synthetic products are even labelled as being pure.
As such, there are significant risks that come with using adulterated tea tree oil.
Eelemani tea tree oil is sourced from Down Under’s own farmers and bears the ATTIA’s code of practice mark.
Prather said this certification gives consumers “a third-party guarantee that the oil in here is the best quality.”
So far, Eelemani tea tree oil has been shipped to China and bottled locally. However, the company plans to move the production back to Australia despite the higher costs.
“There’s a lot of interest in products that come from Australia, so we feel that we need to complete the story in Australia,” said Prather.
Prather believes that Chinese consumers will appreciate the Aboriginal origins of tea tree oil.
She elaborated that the brand was named after Eelemani, the princess of tea tree oil.
“According to the legends, Eelemani was looking for the love of her life. As she was going out to find him, the gods gave her some seeds, and she threw the seeds around along her way. When the Melaleuca trees grew, their silvery bark would shine in the moonlight, allowing her to find her way back.”
Multi-purpose hero
Down Under, which supplies a wide range of essential oils, chose to develop a tea tree oil brand because of its multi-functional abilities.
“Globally, tea tree oil is always among the top five sellers for us. That’s because it has so many benefits. It’s great with acne, it’s phenomenal with dandruff, it’s great with wound healing. There are so many more uses for tea tree oil. There’s a reason why its in the cupboard of every Australian household,” said Prather.
While tea tree oil may have global recognition, she pointed out that not many people may know just how useful and multipurpose it is.
“Education is good, but it could be a lot better,” said Prather.
Down Under has partnered with a trusted local distributor with a wide network, including a brick-and-mortar network that specialises in the spa sector.
Prather said having a physical presence will be important to be able to demonstrate how people can use tea tree oil.
By expanding the brand, the company hopes to improve the overall awareness of tea tree oil.
The brand launched with one product, a 100% pure Australian tea tree essential oil.
However, the company sees opportunities to develop more tea tree oil-based products and hopes to expand beyond China in the future.
“If we can get the pure oil out there and people start using it, we can start that name recognition and the brand recognition, then definitely there’s scope to do more products,” said Prather.
