I am a chemist by training. I came to develop my own skin care range, Forest Secrets, as a result of years of working in the industry and being unhappy at the quality of beauty products that were marketed as organic and natural but were not capable of delivering truly antiaging effects. I wanted to create a range of products that were totally natural, as near 100% organic as I could get, and that were above all effective. I believe I have achieved this, but at a cost!
By cost, I mean, the cost of the beauty product! Put simply, given what is in the product, the number of active botanicals, the cost at which I sell the product at the moment - when packaging and marketing is taken into account - is not much more than what it costs to make, so I am reviewing my pricing at this moment. I read a number of blog follow up comments about Forest Secrets that, while they appreciate the quality and efficacy of the product - find that the cost is too high.
This makes me think, what is the price of beauty?
On one level I guess I have to charge what the market will bare; but then I think, this IS a luxury product, and this IS a product that also works, and there are always people who appreciate this and are willing to pay what it costs. So I have a decision to make; should I try to drive down my margins, use cheaper packaging, perhaps reformulate and leave out some of the active botanicals and try to make the product as cheap as possible, so that more people will consider it value for money and buy it, or should I go the other way, stick to my guns and not compromise, and conduct lengthy - and expensive - clinical trials, so that I can scientifically back up the anecdotal claims that I have from many many sources that this product works - and hope that people get the message that effective natural beauty care by it’s very nature is not cheap! I really do welcome your responses on this one!
To give you an idea a clinically tested serum is priced at £125 for 30 ml and a face oil without clinically tested ingredients like in iRejuvenate Step 1 is priced at £90 for 30 ml.
