Macdonald Hotels & Resorts and Hebridean seaweed skincare brand Ishga join forces

West Lothian-based hotel company checks in organic seaweed skincare brand.

Ishga's product range is being introduced across all 16 spa properties in Macdonald Hotels & Resorts' portfolio. Picture: contributed.

A major Scottish-based, UK hotel group with properties “from Aviemore down to the New Forest” has reeled in a partnership with rapidly growing Hebridean seaweed skincare brand Ishga.

The tie-up will see the latter’s products introduced across all 16 spa properties in the hotel group’s portfolio, in Scotland including the four-star Macdonald Inchyra in Falkirk; Crutherland House; Forest Hills Hotel & Resort; and Houstoun House. There will also be “Discover Ishga” spa days running until the end of April enabling people to try the brand, including a gift of the brand’s Anti-oxidant Marine Cream.

The agreement complements Stornoway-based Ishga’s existing offering in prestigious hotel spas such as those at the new W Edinburgh, the Kimpton Blythswood Square in Glasgow and the Dorchester Collection. It has also accumulated a rapidly growing fanbase around the world, with Japan, China, Australia and the US among key markets.

Ishga says its products are vegan, organic, and sustainable. Picture: contributed.

The organic and vegan skincare brand, whose name is derived from the Gaelic word for water, dates back to 2013, with Lewis native and scientist Malcolm Macrae, his beauty therapist wife Joanna, and his schoolfriend and seaweed expert Martin Macleod, setting out to create organic skincare using nutrient-rich and sustainable hand-harvested seaweed grown in the pristine waters surrounding the island.

Teaming up with fellow co-founder and spa sector veteran Leon Trayling, a key move was the creation of an extraction process that retained seaweed’s potent vitamin, mineral and antioxidant properties, but not its strong scent and colour.

Trayling, director at Ishga, said: “By working with Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, we can help even more guests to experience the rejuvenating powers of the ocean. Quality and sustainability are values which we share and have built this partnership upon. We look forward to working with Macdonald Hotels & Resorts’ spa teams throughout the UK this winter to share the importance of high-performing, results-driven skincare.”

Dave Heap, leisure and spa director at Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, said: “We’re proud to partner with Ishga across our portfolio of spa destinations. Together, we are committed to providing a world-class spa experience for each of our guests, and we look forward to rolling out our new menu of treatments this winter.”