As Consumers Struggle With Sleep, Calm-Inducing Aroma Active Laboratories Is Selling Briskly At Boots

“To launch a new brand in November 2020 was the best of times and the worst of times,” says Anna Teal, CEO and creator of London-based Aroma Active Laboratories. “But, when the pandemic arrived, it strengthened my resolve to roll up our sleeves and get it done because I realized that people would need aromatherapy more than ever.”

Indeed, commercially speaking, the pandemic turned out to be the ideal moment to introduce Aroma Active Laboratories given its premise of providing “daily doses of resilience so you’re ready for anything.” By December, the brand was commanding 20% share of sales in the wellness category with 16 products on the pharmacy chain Boots’ website.

Back in 2019 when pandemics were a phenomenon most people were familiar with as a result of Hollywood movie depictions, Aroma Active Laboratories was built around four pillars rooted in information on underserved customers outlined in a Walgreens Boots Alliance report called “The Health of the Nation.” The four pillars are Soothe for sore and inflamed skin, Muscle for everyday aches and pains, SOS for emotional and physical pick-me-ups, and Sleep for calming and centering effects.

It’s the fourth pillar, Sleep, that’s captured the mood of the nation. Online retailers in the United Kingdom have reported a 219% increase in sales of sleep and wellness merchandise. Aroma Active Laboratories’ Sleep Salt Soak proved so popular that it sold out one month after its debut. Online sales have been a saving grace for the new brand as footfall has declined at Boots’ 2,500 high-street stores.

Aroma Active Laboratories also has category strength on its side. The worldwide aromatherapy segment was valued at $1.39 billion in 2019 and projected to proceed at an annual compound growth rate of 11.8% from 2020 to 2029 to reach $4.19 billion, according to Grand View Research. In a recent 2021 trends report from the market insight firm Mintel, Sharon Kwek, associate director for global beauty and personal care, wrote, “Brands that successfully highlight the use of beauty routines as a way to combat stress and anxiety will drive long-term value for the consumer.”

Aroma Active Laboratories’ placement in Walgreens Boots Alliance isn’t a coincidence. It’s owned by the company and is the sister brand of Aromatherapy Associates, another asset in Walgreens Boots Alliance’s portfolio. The prices of Aroma Active Laboratories’ products average around 15 pounds or $21 at the current exchange rate compared to the average of 31 pounds or $43 for Aromatherapy Associates’ products, but don’t describe Aroma Active Laboratories as a diffusion line.

“It really bothered me that I didn’t know of an affordable active and aromatherapy range.”

“It’s not, and I’ll tell you why,” says Teal. “We have the same blender as Aromatherapy Associates, but we partnered with a completely different laboratory who specializes in naturally active formulations, so it’s combining the two concepts as opposed to aromatherapy alone. It’s a different construct and product.”

Significantly, 70% of Aromatherapy Associates’ doors shut overnight in March 2020 with the first lockdown, not only department stores and Space NK, but spas and the hotel amenity arm of the brand’s distribution, too. So, sales of Aroma Active Laboratories have definitely helped the bottom line. The accessible brand is a passion project as well as a business project, however.

“It really bothered me that I didn’t know of an affordable active and aromatherapy range,” says Teal. “I’m from a normal working background and not everyone can afford 50 pounds for a bath oil. Even pre-pandemic, I could see that women in particular are taking on more and more pressure, and an increased workload with a list that never finishes—mother, partner, caregiver and, all of a sudden with the pandemic, a home teacher. It’s a lot to take on.”

Women’s roles extend to the supervision of household budgeting. As such, they are the biggest product purchasers. Analysis from Boots shows that customers propelling online sales are generally over 35 years old, and 75% female and 25% male.

Teal took over the CEO post of Aromatherapy Associates in 2018 from Tracey Woodward, now director of strategy and innovation at Modern Botany. During a long tenure at Boots—Teal started at the chain in the early 2000s—she previously had a hand in building Soap and Glory, a line of bath and body products from Bliss founder Marcia Kilgore, and Botanics. Soap and Glory and Botanics are both Boots’ brands. Shaped by her experience, Teal says of Aroma Active Laboratories, “I was very prescriptive about how I wanted the products to feel.”

Despite having an allowance to spend on products for research purposes, Teal prefers to spend her own money to get a true sense of the pain or, hopefully, joy of product purchases. “I donate the allowance to charity because, if I actually pay for competitive brands and compare them to the products I am developing, I can decide whether I would pay for them or not,” she says. “When I know that I would pay for our product over theirs, that’s when I know that it’s good.” Teal has had no problem shelling out for Aroma Active Laboratories.