British Personal Care Brand Baylis & Harding Builds Its Presence At Target—And Expands Elsewhere In The US

Baylis & Harding, a British brand specializing in hand and body washes, has partnered with Target for the second time. Embracing the skinification trend that’s enveloped beauty, its Kindness+ collection featuring hand washes with skincare ingredients like vitamin C, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid launched at 849 Target stores and on the chain’s website in March.

The brand originally partnered with the chain in 2020, when it introduced its Goodness collection to stateside shoppers exclusively at Target. Offering aromatherapy-enhanced hand and body washes, bath soaks, and hand and body creams, Goodness marked Baylis & Harding’s first foray into what it calls “clean” beauty.

Three years later, Kindness+ represents Baylis & Harding’s second clean range. As with Goodness, Baylis & Harding promotes that its Kindess+ formulas as 98% naturally derived, biodegradable, and free of dyes, parabens, silicone, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sulfates. The products are packaged in bottles made from 100% post-consumer-recycled plastic.

Tania Slater, who co-owns the brand with her brother Adrian, describes Baylis & Harding as a “value-centered” clean beauty brand and emphasizes its products are vetted by dermatologists. Its prices are designed to be accessible, too. The Cleanse & Glow and Cleanse & Hydrate hand washes in the Kindness+ repertoire are priced at $6.99 each. The two hand washes will branch out from Target to enter additional American retailers, notably Albertsons, in late May.

“We feel strongly that launching with Target for the U.S. market is the perfect partner in reaching the consumer who is interested in skin health and wellness for the entire body and at a sustainable price point,” says Slater. She elaborates, “Our plan now is to truly carve out ownership in this space and be the trusted luxury brand of choice to consumers looking for quality clean personal care products. We as a brand believe that there’s a real space in the market for clean, sustainable and natural personal care products that actually deliver in terms of fragrance, formulation and natural credentials.”

The Goodness collection landed at Target in the midst of the pandemic. Slater reports, “Despite the uncertainty, we saw huge traction with the collection.” In particular, the brand saw success with its Oud, Cedar & Amber hand soap, which quickly became its bestselling fragrance across the globe. Slater notes that customers were “very vocal” about their fondness for the scent and cites 5-star reviews on Target’s site as a reason for its success.

“When the pandemic hit, naturally hand wash was in short supply and people were buying anything just to ‘do the job’ as instructed by the government,” says Slater. “We were in survival mode. Our cost of goods soared through the roof because the world needed hand-wash packaging, but we held prices and kept up supply throughout. We were an essential business.” She adds that the pandemic did not present any logistical challenges in the launch of Kindness+.

“Our plan now is to truly carve out ownership in this space and be the trusted luxury brand of choice to consumers looking for quality clean personal care products.”

Founded in 1970 by Tania and Adrian’s parents, David and Marcia Slater, the company didn’t always plan to let hand soaps lead its expansion into the U.S. (The siblings took over ownership in 2005.) Slater says, “Our initial U.S. distribution model was focused on supplying toiletries gifting lines for seasonal events to key retailers.”

An example of such items, which are available in the United Kingdom, is a Pamper Pack with vanilla-scented lip balm, hand cream, body wash and bath soak sprinkles housed in a festive pink box flecked with rainbow-colored sprinkles. However, Slater says, “It became apparent to us that, similarly to in the U.K., our brand was suited to the everyday hand soap category in the U.S.” According to NielsenIQ Data, the brand is the No. 2 brand of hand wash in the U.K. Nivea is in the top spot.

In order to replenish its American retailers weekly, the brand secured a distributor with warehouse facilities in the U.S. Eventually, Baylis & Harding expects to expand its gifting category in the U.S., and Slater says it has been “approached by a number of retailers” for gift items.

In the meantime, the demand for hand soap remains strong. “Not just a general demand,” clarifies Slater. “COVID did drive some growth, but we feel that the success of Goodness and Kindness+ is more around people being more aware of hand care, not just simply washing their hands.”

Baylis & Harding declined to discuss its sales goals or whether it has outside investment. A 2021 financial disclosure revealed the brand’s sales to be 60 million pounds or roughly $75 million at the current exchange rate and its gross profit to be 15 million pounds or roughly $19 million.

Asked about future product offerings, Slater hints, “We are not short of great ideas and are always open to expansion and new categories as long as it is right for us as a brand. There are exciting ingredients, formats and formulations coming into the market and we’re always keeping an eye on what’s new and upcoming to stay ahead of the game.”