Last month, the inventor of bath bombs and hero of vegans, cruelty-free cosmetics retailer Lush Asia has opened a Naked store right in the heart of Hong Kong at Great George Street, Causeway Bay.
Hong Kong’s sluggish progress in sustainability and the eco-movement is the reason the UK-headquartered brand chose the city for its first Naked store in the region, after the concept’s success in Milan, Berlin and Manchester, says Lush Asia director Annabelle Baker.
‘We have a real problem in Hong Kong … we are one of the most wasteful groups of people in the world,” she tells Inside Retail Asia in an exclusive interview. The company realised they would have to drive the initiative, “because it wasn’t going to come through legislation. And it wasn’t going to come from other companies. It was going to have to be us pushing it forward.‘
That said, the concept of naked packaging had already begun to cut through to customers: some 55 per cent of the products sold in Lush Hong Kong stores last year were naked, unpackaged products.
Baker believes the biggest barrier to consumers embracing packaging-free products is the convenience factor. Locating the Great George Street store right opposite a Causeway Bay MTR exit was intended to help eliminate at least one of the excuses locals may have for not buying “a viable, green alternative”.
To help boost awareness of the concept, Lush plans to host pop-up events in the store to drive cross-promotions and help raise awareness of other causes, given the brand globally does not buy advertising or pay fees to Key Opinion Leaders.
Digitising the Lush bath-bomb experience
Promoting the benefits of packaging-free products is one of several initiatives Lush is focused on right now in Asia, and beyond. Lush Labs is an AR-powered app developed in house by its tech-research and development team. Made specifically for the new Lush Harajuku bath-bomb store in Tokyo, the app was designed to complement the customer experience in a store that has no demo stations or information signage. Dubbed as the Lush Lens, its AR feature can detect all of its bath bombs and show them in action, via video.
