Introduction: UK company Dr.PAWPAW, which describes itself as a ‘Master of multi-tasking beauty’, was founded in 2013 by husband and wife duo Johnny and Pauline Paterson. The Patersons discovered the natural healing powers of the Pawpaw fruit, a native Australian herbal remedy, when trying to soothe the skin woes of their new-born baby.
Today, the brand has gained something of a cult following. From their HQ in Bromley near London, the Patersons are building on the success of their Dr.PAWPAW Original Balm to continuously expand the range to other multi-tasking products for lips, skin and hair.
In travel retail, the brand is represented by German company Hanse Distribution and already has a strong presence in the UK with Boots and WHSmith among other retailers.
We catch up with the Co-founders who talk us through the early days of their brand and their Look Good, Feel Good and Do Good approach to clean beauty.
They also underline the huge potential that niche beauty brands such as Dr.PAWPAW can offer to the travel retail mix.
Dr.PAWPAW actually started from a very personal experience within your own family. Can you tell us more about that?
Johnny Paterson: We’ve both been in the hair and beauty industry for decades now. I was in PR and Marketing as Managing Director of a successful hair and beauty agency for many years and Pauline was a multi award-winning hairdresser and educator for a leading hair brand.
When we had our first child, our daughter, she developed bad eczema at just a few months old. We tried everything to soothe her skin but nothing was working and we didn’t want to go down the steroid cream route on such a young baby. Luckily, Australia-born Pauline had a tube of Pawpaw balm that she tried as a last resort and it worked.
So, the inspiration for starting the brand was our daughter. This, alongside our belief that we could be successful with our combined experience and skills, is what helped grow the brand to what it is today. We essentially wanted to help more families and people like us get access to Pawpaw products as it was something that, outside of Australia, was very hard to get your hands on.
What is the key consumer audience you are targeting and how?
Our core customers are women and Millennials, but we also resonate with Gen Z and Gen X demographics. We’re a cool brand and have always adopted a social-first approach, so we see steady growth in our young audiences. Families are an important consumer base too, as we hope to become a household name in the near future.
We work hard to make multi-use products that every single person in the family can use. This helps to save space, money and time — which is more important than ever. Our products are great for the home but also for travellers. Whether it’s a city work trip, a beach holiday or winter sun — Dr.PAWPAW is a must-have because it’s such a versatile product that really can be taken anywhere with you.
What are your ambitions in terms of travel retail and how can you stand out in this channel?
We work with a great distributor – Hanse Distribution — who has made great progress on our behalf in the travel retail space. We are focusing on developing our in-flight listings at the moment and are looking to secure placements for our newly launched skincare range, Your Gorgeous Skin.
This range contains high-performance products that have super ingredients to deliver amazing results that can be used on all skin types. Our point of difference has always been that we create multi-purpose products. So, when you buy into Dr.PAWPAW, you are getting value for money as all our products do more than one thing. Whether that’s our 4-in-1 Serum that combines four separate serums into one, or our Original Balm that can be used on lips, skin and hair.
Tell us about your ‘Look good, feel good and do good’ mantra? How important is environmental and ethical responsibility to the Dr.PAWPAW business today?
Sustainability is more important than ever. It has always been something we have pledged to support and improve on. For us, it has been a gradual process. We make all the changes we can to create the most environmentally friendly products possible. When creating our new innovations, sustainability is absolutely essential.
Our mantra is all about feel good beauty. Our customers can enjoy our products knowing that they are being kind to the environment and doing good by contributing to our charity partners who we donate a percentage of sales each year to.
When it comes to packaging we have made some huge changes over the years, all our plastics are PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) and all our cardboard is already 70% recycled. We use water soluble ink on all cardboard packaging, use eco tape on all orders big and small and whenever needed use eco alternatives such as Eco Foil used on Dr.PAWPAW X Teenage Cancer Trust Shimmer Balm.
Creating this multi-tasking range that people love enables us to also give back to the planet by investing in eco-conscious packaging and formulas and also give back to various charities and organisations such as the Ghanaian Women’s Project.
Why should retailers invest in clean beauty and niche brands such as Dr.PAWPAW?
It’s what consumers want. It’s no longer enough to just create a product that does what it says on the packaging. You need to consider every ingredient sourced, your packaging and your overall brand messages and actions.
People want to see brands they trust and this comes from building brand awareness beyond what you see on the shelf. Retailers should invest in brands that can give their customers exactly what they are looking for and Dr. PAWPAW does that with its quality products that are kind to the planet and give back to charity.
Any USP Dr.PAWPAW offers in the P&C and wellbeing category?
For us it has always been the fact that we are a multi-purpose brand. That USP has really made us stand out against competitors in the same market. People immediately get more value for their money which in the current climate is so important.
Travellers may think twice about buying just a lip balm, but a multi-purpose balm for lips, skin and hair that everyone in the family can use is a no-brainer.
We take away the need to question and consider by delivering top-quality products at a great price. We’re also fully vegan, which a lot of brands still aren’t. We also invest a lot of time into our inner and outer packaging to make sure any plastics or card we use follow best practice. We also take special steps to ensure every individual ingredient is ethically sourced and as natural as possible.
What more can retailers do to enhance the appeal of niche and clean beauty brands such as Dr.PAWPAW to travellers?
At its core, business is all about partnership and we need to remember this. We’ve enjoyed great success with our travel partners as a result of building and maintaining our relationships.
We always ensure that we have clear communication channels and that both parties always offer full transparency and solutions. We are lucky that our products benefit from good placements and dual-sighted points in travel retail. We do particularly well on the till points due to the nature of us being a ‘pick-up’ impulse item.
As a brand, we are constantly bringing out new innovation which our partners love as they are always looking for newness in the beauty space. Our carefully curated travel retail exclusive sets also work well and appeal to the travelling customer.
Marketing support also will help to enhance our brand appeal and highlight why our products are travel friendly. We do a large amount of marketing all around the globe so our continued push on will further drive brand awareness so more and more people can join the Dr.PAWPAW family. ✈
