Mark Constantine: The Willy Wonka of the Beauty Industry
| Case Code: LDEN046 Case Length: 24 Pages Period: 2002-2006 Pub Date: 2007 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.500 Organization : Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics Industry :Beauty Care, Cosmetics Countries : UK, Europe, USA Themes: Leadership, Entrepreneurship |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Constantine and the Cosmetic Factory
In October 2006, Mark Constantine (Constantine), the co-founder of Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics (Lush), a UK-based producer and marketer of ethical beauty products, received the "Trail-blazer" award from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Europe for the contribution made by Lush toward environment- and animal-friendly products and for the company's campaigns against animal testing.
Constantine was one of the pioneers who championed the cause against animal testing in the cosmetics and beauty care industry. He is also admired as an innovative entrepreneur, with Lush having more than 400 stores worldwide.
In the 1970s, Constantine started his first venture Constantine and Weir Plc. (C&W), which produced and supplied bath and beauty products to a number of retailers. It grew to become the primary supplier of beauty products to The Body Shop International Plc.8 (Body Shop).
In the early 1990s, Body Shop bought out the rights to Constantine's formulas as it wanted to shift production in-house and expand the supplier base. Constantine invested the proceeds of the sale in a new venture Cosmetics to Go (CTG), a mail order catalogue of beauty products. However, this venture was a failure.
In 1994, when CTG went bankrupt, Constantine and his team started selling handmade cosmetics at car boot sales. The team experimented with products such as fruits and vegetables that were rarely used in the manufacture of cosmetics at that time. The products were sold fresh with an expiry date.
The colors, shapes and aromas of the products made them seem almost edible. Minimal or no packaging was used. When the products were moved into stores, the stores were designed to look like old-fashioned. delicatessens. In 1995, the first Lush store was formally launched in Poole, Dorset, UK. With Lush, Constantine brought in a unique approach to the marketing of beauty products. Lush did not have a traditional marketing department, and relied on innovative products, in-store advertising, word-of-mouth advocacy, and public relations to promote the products...
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