Revived Isle of Arran soap firm racks up record sales in face of pandemic

A soap maker based on the Isle of Arran has cleaned up with “exponential growth” in turnover and customer numbers despite the pandemic forcing the closure of its retail outlets.

In the 24 months following a full rebrand, which saw Arran Aromatics transform its brand identity to become Arran Sense of Scotland the company has revealed record sales of its luxury bath, home and body care products.

With physical shops forced to close or deal with trading restrictions amid the pandemic, the family-run brand has ramped up its online presence. The team also threw itself into supporting the local community supplying free soaps to island residents, as well as care packages for the homeless and NHS workers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bosses have hailed a 220 per cent hike in turnover and a surge in new customer acquisition, up 95 per cent, with “engagement with the brand” rising by more than a fifth.

The firm’s products, including bath and body ranges, skin care, fragrances and scented candles, are made and hand-finished in Scotland, before being sold in more than 30 countries.The firm’s products, including bath and body ranges, skin care, fragrances and scented candles, are made and hand-finished in Scotland, before being sold in more than 30 countries.
The firm’s products, including bath and body ranges, skin care, fragrances and scented candles, are made and hand-finished in Scotland, before being sold in more than 30 countries.

Backed by a new senior team including chief executive Kevin Meechan, sales and marketing director Andrew Russell, head of digital and ecommerce Claire Logan and majority investor Endless LLP, the firm has undertaken “significant inward investment” to invigorate its digital offering.

The firm’s products, including bath and body ranges, skin care, fragrances and scented candles, are made and hand-finished in Scotland, before being sold in more than 30 countries. Its products are produced on the Isle of Arran at the company’s Home Farm factory – an old dairy farm near the historic Brodick Castle.

Meechan said: “We’re thrilled with the business performance since our rebrand, but we won’t be resting on our laurels. We have plans in place for further expansion and when we can, reopen the retail shops, where we’ll be continuing with our strategy of creating destination shopping experiences.

“This fusion of experiential bricks and mortar retail tactics with our ever-growing online strategy is very much where our future lies.”

Russell, a founding family member, added: “We knew that we needed to change things in order to stay relevant and take the brand to new audiences. The challenge was how we did this while still appealing to our established customer base, who had been loyal followers of the Arran Aromatics brand for 30 years.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven’t already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription: www.scotsman.com/subscriptions

Related topics:

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.