The Seaweed Bath Co. Undergoes An Ocean-Inspired Rebrand, Lowers Prices

The Seaweed Bath Co.’s customers may do a double take when they see its products moving forward.

The natural personal care brand is debuting a rebrand today featuring refreshed packaging and lower prices. The new look ushered in by agency Bex Brands is inspired by the magic of the sea, according to co-founder Allison Grossman. She and her husband Adam started the brand in 2010 with Whole Seaweed Detox Bath centered on the seaweed Bladderwrack as its hero ingredient as a solution to his dry, sensitive, eczema-prone skin.

“What we quickly realized is people weren’t using our products necessarily because they had dry skin and wanted help from seaweed, but rather their love of the ocean and its benefits,” says Grossman. “We find consistently that our consumers are purchasing our products because of their affinity for the ocean and the way it makes them feel. With this rebrand, we really wanted to focus on that feeling both physically and mentally that you get from a trip to the ocean and the mesmerizing feeling of magic hour when the sun is setting over the ocean.”

The brand kicked off an Instagram competition leading up to its rebrand announcement encouraging followers to share what magic hour means to them. The three winners will receive prizes valued at $2,000 in total. The Seaweed Bath Co.’s Instagram post reads, “We believe you can find your magic hour (i.e. the time of day when you feel best) anywhere you are—it can be anything from a sunrise run to a mocktail on the porch to our personal favorite: catching a sunset at the beach!” Grossman shares that the brand has poured $2 million into “brand-building activities, including the rebrand.”

The Seaweed Bath Co. previously tweaked various aspects of its design such as its components and logo in 2013 and 2017. The latest iteration has a sleek white bottle with a holographic wave print meant to mimic the energy of the sea. The tagline, “unlock the magic of the sea,” is in the wave print. Grossman says, “We’ve moved to custom bottles, and we’re really looking to unify our brand block and our architecture on the front of packaging to appeal to a wider consumer base.”

In contrast to the price hikes common at present in beauty and other categories, economies of scale are permitting The Seaweed Bath Co. to decrease prices. Shampoos, conditioners and body washes are decreasing from $14.99 and $12.99 to $10.99. “As we’ve grown over time, we’ve built really strong relationships with our suppliers and our processes have continued to improve,” says Grossman. “That’s allowed us to get our costs down enough where we could transfer that to the consumer.”

The updated packaging and prices will roll out to retail partners over the next year. The transition will begin with shampoos, conditioners and body washes. The rebrand is expected to drive a 50% increase in retail sales across The Seaweed Bath Co.’s 5,000-plus retail locations nationwide. Grossman divulges the brand has been registering 30% year-over-year sales growth at “key natural retailers” and 25% overall. Among The Seaweed Bath Co.’s retail partners are Whole Foods, Amazon, Sprouts, Kroger and Target’s website.

“Anything that makes our products more approachable and attractive on the shelf to retailers I think is very welcome and something they want to support,” says Grossman. “Our focus is always on supporting our retailers as well as our consumers.”

Packaging sizes and formulations aren’t changing. However, The Seaweed Bath Co.’s site has undergone an overhaul to align with the new look and improve the user experience. The brand is also introducing partnerships with marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation organizations Pacific Marine Mammal Center and Marine Mammal Center tied to the rebrand.

The Seaweed Bath Co.’s lineup has ballooned from one product to 42 stockkeeping units in the last 12 years. “We started with bath and then we were like, OK, it would be great to have a full head-to-toe regimen,” says Grossman. “We’ve expanded our product line to continue to meet consumers’ needs and our own.”

Hand creams, bubbling bath soaks, body creams and a foaming body scrub launched recently. Sun care products are currently some of its bestsellers. Grossman says they’ve elevated the brand to become one of the fastest-growing sun care brands in the natural channel. Sea Calm Skin, a secondary line that operated separately from The Seaweed Bath Co. and was birthed under Guthy-Renker in 2019, appears to have shuttered. Grossman declined to comment on the line.

At The Seaweed Bath Co., she says, “What’s key for us is innovation. This sounds silly, but what our customers respond to is products that really work. Yes, marketing is important, messaging is important, but, at the end of the day, what it really comes down to is having strong products that deliver what they say they’re going to deliver at approachable prices.”