Introduction: Oriele Frank co-founded innovative British skincare brand Elemis, alongside CEO Séan Harrington and Global President Noella Gabriel in 1990. The brand, acquired by L’OCCITANE Group in 2019, has embraced holistic approach to skincare and has well-loved by natural beauty lovers the world over. Elemis is committed to delivering proven results with its high-end skincare and body care products that blend natural actives, innovative science and patented skincare technologies.
A leading industry expert and beauty pioneer, Frank has been a driving force in leading Elemis’ product development, formulations, packaging and visual identity since the brand’s inception. Today, Frank serves on the Elemis Board as Chief Product & Sustainability Officer, guiding the brand’s sustainable mission globally. She is integral to the brand’s development of next-generation skin, body and wellbeing products with a strong focus on advanced science and sustainable principles.
In this Q&A, Frank discusses the significance of Elemis’ recent B Corp certification, ponders on her current role at Elemis and how she and the brand are working to champion sustainability in travel retail.
Has your own personal and professional journey impacted your current role in any way?
My love of science, nature, sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) have always been part of the development of Elemis, and we always aim to be one step ahead of the industry. The wellness industry has long been one of my passions, as I was immersed in the world of nature and aromatics from a young age.
After university, I travelled the world, studying traditional Thai massage in Thailand, and aromatherapy, anatomy and physiology. I studied ‘Leadership in Sustainability’ at Cambridge University in preparation for my role as Chief Product and Sustainability Officer. It’s a big responsibility, as sustainability is so important to the brand, our consumers and larger community.
It’s essential that business balances profit with purpose and that’s why it’s so fantastic to work in collaboration with L’OCCITANE Group a global champion of both sustainability and CSR. At Elemis, we are focused on the brand’s global growth whilst ensuring that we are supporting biodiversity, addressing the climate crisis and supporting people’s health and wellness.
We are committed to ensuring that we source and manufacture responsibly for the future, and my role in product development allows me to help implement positive changes effectively.
What are your immediate priorities and longer-term goals as Chief Product & Sustainability Officer?
Our aim is to ensure we help protect and restore biodiversity, make a more positive impact on climate and empower our people and communities for a better future.
Our biodiversity goals include improving eco-designs of formulations thereby ensuring that by the end of 2023, all new rinse-off products are at least 95% biodegradable. We also provide full traceability of country of origin of final raw materials, which includes the responsible sourcing of ingredients and supporting regenerative farming practices. We are also focusing on carbon sink projects, combining our biodiversity and climate goals.
Furthermore, we want to continue devising education programmes and workshops for both our staff and customers on health, wellness and sustainable living. Currently over 10,000 employees and clients have taken part in our Sustainability Training online which is amazing. Creating a trusted brand that has diversity, equity and inclusion at its heart for employees, suppliers, customers and its wider community is essential. We will continue to offer DE&I training and mentoring programmes for all employees, always ensuring fair wages and working conditions.
In order to help alleviate the climate crisis, we measure and assess our carbon footprint, and have pledged to reduce our carbon emissions throughout our value chain by 2030. Packaging changes are high on our agenda, whether by reducing size or using new recyclable and reusable alternatives, including recycled content.
Elemis has successfully achieved B Corp certification. How did that come about and what does it mean to the brand?
With our far-reaching sustainability goals, and to further undermine our brand’s values and ethos, we began the process of becoming B Corp certified over 18 months ago. As an operationally independent subsidiary of L’OCCITANE Group, Elemis completed its own B Impact Assessment independently from the Group, which pledged to being B Corp certified across the company during the course of 2023.
To certify as a B Corp, performance is analysed across five key areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. We scored an exceptional 93 points (the threshold is 80 points) so we’re thrilled. Elemis now joins an international movement of more than 6,000 purpose-led businesses that meet B Corp’s exacting criteria. Together, we can be a real force for good in the world.
Has being part of the L’OCCITANE Group benefitted the brand’s sustainable objectives?
L’OCCITANE Group has been instrumental in supporting and guiding the Elemis team in terms of sustainability and CSR, bringing a wealth of its own knowledge and experience to our brand. The Group encouraged and supported Elemis to focus on the importance of profit with purpose, a real change of mindset. Whilst Elemis is planning positive global growth, our success must be balanced with measuring our impact on the world and how we can be more beneficial to both people and planet.
In terms of product development, how do you balance results-driven technology with sustainability?
From the outset, Elemis has committed to working in harmony with the natural world, exploring scientific innovation in natural biotech. Our formulations are about a beautiful texture library infused with the power of nature, using oils and extracts from plants, trees, fruits and seaweeds.
At Elemis, we aim to balance what we use from the earth with innovation and science- based actives. We have grown in size and global reach during our 30-year history, and for that reason we are determined to demonstrate that we can positively impact the planet. We want our consumers to choose our brand for its transparency and strong sustainability ethics for the future.
As a luxury beauty brand that champions green policies, is it challenging to reduce packaging waste without alienating certain customers?
We encourage both suppliers and customers to join us on our sustainability journey, clearly outlining across all channels why it’s so important to the brand. We have outlined clear goals such as our pledge to offer 100% recyclable or reusable packaging, where possible, by the end of 2025. We aim to educate as much as possible that ‘less is more’ when it comes to packaging and that premium luxury can be sustainable.
How would you define the brand’s CSR business model and have you the support of employees, stakeholders, and the wider community?
Our mission is to urge brands across the beauty industry to work collaboratively to influence long term, meaningful change. My role on the steering committee of the Sustainable Beauty Coalition (SBC), a panel of experts and brand owners formed by the British Beauty Council, ensures change is felt across the industry and beyond. The formation of the coalition is about beauty brands coming together to share best practice and be part of the solution, rather than in direct competition.
At Elemis, we aim to donate 1% of revenue by the end of 2026, focusing on both social and environmental causes that are linked closely with our brand ethos. From a social perspective we support disease prevention and awareness, mental health and wellness whilst environmental causes include clean rivers and oceans, and regenerating nature. All staff contribute to volunteering days and attend charity workshops with future mentoring programmes to be executed in 2023.
Has Elemis implemented a DE&I policy? How do you engage and involve your employees?
Elemis have launched DE&I E-Learning modules that are compulsory for all employees. Regular modules will be launched to give a wider understanding of the different Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion topics and their importance to both our business and colleagues within the workforce.With this enhanced knowledge, each employee can make a huge difference in terms of creating a positive and happy working environment where each and every employee feels included, heard, and valued.
What post pandemic changes did you see in consumer buying habits, particularly in travel retail?
Certainly, consumers are seeking more meaningful shopping experiences with a focus on quality, nature, well-being and sustainability. With make-up sales bouncing back post pandemic, we have seen increased demand for our cleansers, moisturisers, and skincare. There is a strong desire for a more personalised and human approach to airport shopping in-store, with inspiring pop-ups, interactive technology, and augmented reality. The consumer is looking for expert advice and our Elemis skincare therapists focus on prescribing specific products to meet customers’ needs at that time.
Is the travel retail industry doing enough in terms of sustainability?
The industry needs to improve on the sustainable construction of builds in the retail environment with more recyclable materials. Also, there is need for innovation in single use sampling and reducing waste in packaging. There is always room for improvement and so it is critical that within the travel retail and airport ecosystem we engage in open source sharing and work together collaboratively at every level to make real and lasting change.
What innovations and emerging trends do you envisage in travel retail this year?
We envisage a longer dwell time as the travel retail areas become more immersive and exciting to shop. This will lead to increased personalised services, including our HD skin consultations with our skin scanner and facial treatments.
A significant trend will be more meaningful gifting, personalised experiences, and uniqueness in what consumers buy. There’s a greater focus now on social sharing and immersive shopping experiences as you shop, so builds will need to consider this to capture the moment.
What is your current travel retail focus and where do you see growth?
The L’OCCITANE Group intends to strengthen its global travel retail presence by leveraging its multi-brand proposition. At the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes in October 2022, the Group showcased its full travel retail offer to important global travel retail partners for the first time, which will greatly benefit Elemis’ visibility.
What are the biggest challenges facing the travel retail industry today?
Some of the obvious ones are global supply chains in the aftermath of the pandemic, economic concerns of the consumer due to cost of living, and travel confidence.
The industry needs to be able to anticipate the current and future needs of the customer in this volatile context and meet such future challenges positively.
What is your future vision for ELEMIS and ultimate goal?
Being a Certified B Corp deeply aligns with our future vision and only strengthens Elemis’ sustainability pledges. Our goal is to protect and restore biodiversity, make a more positive impact on climate, and empower people and community for a better future.
Building on this significant achievement is the next step for ELEMIS, moving forward with our comprehensive and ambitious new sustainability strategy.
And finally, what is your favourite Elemis product and why?
I have two; Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm for an incredible aromatic cleansing experience, and our new Pro-Collagen Rose Marine Cream, a variation of our iconic Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, reimagined with 20 varieties of organic English roses.✈
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report has launched an e-newsletter, Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Curated, in association with L’Occitane. It offers a curated selection of key ESG stories in travel retail and beyond.
To subscribe free of charge please email Kristyn@MoodieDavittReport.com headed ‘Curated ESG’. All stories are permanently archived on this website. If you would like to be added to its mailing list (or to those for any other Moodie Davitt titles), please click here.
