Sales of Organic toiletries set to surge

Published on Saturday 25 July 2009 14:25

AN ORGANIC toiletries company set up by Scottish transport tycoon Ann Gloag has signed a deal with Boots which will see sales double over the next 12 months.

Organic Surge, which Gloag founded with Scottish interior designer Alan MacKenzie in 2003, expects sales to exceed 8 million in 2010 after Boots agreed to stock its products in 1,000 stores across the UK. The deal takes the number of stockists worldwide to around 2,500, including selected Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Superdrug and John Lewis outlets.

Mackenzie said Organic Surge, which has its headquarters in Wick, is on track to hit 3.6m of sales this year, but the Boots deal will allow it to more than double its share of the organic skin and haircare beauty market. It is estimated that Organic Surge currently has around 2.5 per cent of the market but this is expected to rise to as much as seven per cent by next year.

MacKenzie told Scotland on Sunday: "That may look small but it's unbelievable for a small company from Wick. It has taken us by surprise really. Boots would normally only let (a company like] us launch in 50 stores but we have got into 1,000.We'd like to become the major player in the natural and organic marketplace."

He said that its products are also proving popular in a number of export markets, in particular Canada.

MacKenzie declined to reveal how much he and Gloag have invested but he said it was set up with the aim of generating money for Gloag's philanthropic projects in Africa.

Organic Surge recently began selling soaps hand-made by a collective in the foothills of Mount Kenya. All profits generated from the soaps return to the people who made them.