NETHERLANDS. Dutch wellbeing house Rituals celebrated the relaunch of its bestselling Ritual of Sakura collection with a wellness-focused media event in its home city of Amsterdam.
The event also marked the launch of the limited-edition Ritual of Yozakura, which represents a new chapter for the Sakura line. The Ritual of Yozakura is a range of bath, body and home products that was formulated with Yoshino Cherry and black rice extract. Both the Sakura and Yozakura lines are available in a new gift set.
The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan-Gillies was on location for the launch event (22 February), which included a media lunch, VIP tour of the sprawling House of Rituals flagship and a Breath of Life experience at the Mind Oasis, the flagship boutique’s dedicated wellbeing space.
The event also featured a special presentation by Rituals Creative Director Dagmar Brusse, who presented the brand’s ‘Art of Soulful Living’ philosophy, looked back at the biggest milestones in Rituals’ 25-year history, previewed the refreshed Ritual of Sakura line and revealed the limited-edition Yozakura range.
The event also featured a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, Japanese calligraphy and ceramic painting, which all pay homage to Hanami, the Japanese cherry blossom-viewing tradition which inspired the Ritual of Sakura range.
“We sell 13 million Ritual of Sakura shower foams annually,” Brusse said when greeting guests at the event. “We decided to extend the Ritual of Sakura line partly because it was so successful but also because we wanted to create a baby sister for this hero range. We want to create something new, that is complementary to Sakura, to surprise and delight our customers.
“While Sakura was inspired by Hanami Matsuri, the act of watching cherry blossoms in the day, Yozakura was inspired by watching the cherry blossoms at night,” Brusse added. “The Yozakura line was designed not just to engage with our existing fans but to attract a younger generation of Sakura fans. The collection has a premium look and feel and we worked on delivering new ingredients and formats also.”
The Ritual of Sakura collection was extended with three new formats: a Body Lotion Mousse, Natural Booster Body Hyaluronic Acid and Natural Booster Body Bakuchiol. Rituals also released a striking visual campaign celebrating the Ritual of Sakura’s new look. The entire Ritual of Sakura line features a delicate cherry blossom scent and is made with at least 90% natural-origin ingredients.
The Ritual of Yozakura is inspired by the Japanese art of viewing cherry blossoms at night. The collection features a long-lasting deep floral and rich amber scent and is formulated with a minimum of 90% natural-origin ingredients.
One of the standout products is the Ritual of Yozakura Shimmering Body Oil, available in three shades: rose, gold and silver. The oil is designed to complement every skin tone and has been infused with nourishing Yoshino cherry and black rice extract that leaves a pearlescent shimmer on the skin. It was crafted with 98% natural-origin ingredients.
Rituals Cosmetics Founder & CEO Raymond Cloosterman commented: “I am very proud of the limited edition of The Ritual of Yozakura; again, a true example of our passion for creating surprising luxury collections. It is an amazing fragrance and a beautiful story; it brings back warm memories of my trips to Japan.
“All the samples in the test panel went missing so that is a very good sign. In my family the Shimmering Body Oil and the Yozakura Foaming Shower Gel got 5-star ratings. I can’t wait to see it in our stores; our fans will love it.” ✈
