Well.ca, one of the largest e-tailers in Canada, has introduced a clean beauty section with 38 brands, including around 10 new to its assortment.
Called Clean Beauty Market, the section raises the e-commerce website’s profile in prestige beauty, and garners prominent placement under its beauty and skincare tab. Among the brands contained in it are Vapour, Pai Skincare, Plume, Coola, 100% Pure, Herbivore, Pura Botanicals, Briogeo, Kahina Giving Beauty, Skin Gym, Fitglow Beauty, Indie Lee, Elate Clean Cosmetics and Odacité.
“At Well.ca, our focus is on the customer experience, and how to help our customers lead happier and healthier lives. We feel the Clean Beauty Market is the next step in our evolution in the clean beauty category,” says Lisa Whyatt, beauty buyer at Well.ca. “Clean beauty is important to us, and we could see our customers searching luxury beauty brands, so we met as a team and decided to create a space where we could enhance our customers’ experience and make an easier way for them to look at these brands.”
Well.ca defines clean beauty as nontoxic, cruelty-free, and having natural and organic ingredients. Whyatt scoured social media and Well.ca customers’ requests to identify clean beauty brands for the Clean Beauty Market. Although the site’s clean beauty brands can come from anywhere, Canadian brands are integral to Guelph, Ontario-based Well.ca. Whyatt spotlights Consonant Skincare as a standout Canadian brand in the Clean Beauty Market stable.
“Clean beauty is important to us, and we could see our customers searching luxury beauty brands, so we met as a team and decided to create a space where we could enhance our customers’ experience and make an easier way for them to look at these brands.”
“We are always looking to offer our customers the best of clean beauty. I definitely foresee this assortment expanding,” says Whyatt, noting, “We welcome proposals from luxe beauty brands.” Once she receives proposals from brands, Whyatt checks out their ingredients, social media presences and messaging, and evaluates whether Well.ca customers are intrigued by their products. She underscores, “We want to add brands our customers are looking for.”
Befitting its moniker, the Clean Beauty Market is presented in a clean fashion on Well.ca. It starts with a segment dedicated to trending products followed by skincare, makeup, featured brands, haircare and body care segments. Whyatt reports Coola, Skin Gym and Pai Skincare have been strong performers in the early days of the Clean Beauty Market.
Clean beauty has been highlighted on Well.ca’s blog Well Being, particularly in topics related to beauty buzzwords. “We wanted it to be a place where our customers could spend some time and engage with the brands,” says Whyatt of the blog. “The content has really resonated with them. The feedback we’re getting is really positive.”
“We are always looking to offer our customers the best of clean beauty. I definitely foresee this assortment expanding. We welcome proposals from luxe beauty brands.”
Last year, McKesson Canada, owner of the Rexall Drug Store chain, acquired Well.ca for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition has prompted speculation about Well.ca’s future in brick-and-mortar retailing. The e-tailer has experimented with pop-ups. On its website, Well.ca asserts it has the biggest selection of green and natural brands in Canada, and carries more than 40,000 products.
Ali Asaria, a former software engineer at Research In Motion, founded Well.ca in 2008. In 2013, he stepped down as CEO of the company and handed the reigns to Rebecca McKillican. McKillican worked at private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts, and management consultancy McKinsey & Co. prior to joining Well.ca in 2012.
Well.ca declined to discuss the financial results of its beauty assortment. However, Whyatt says, “The beauty category is really important to us, and it’s definitely a growing area for us, which is why we wanted to create the Clean Beauty Market.”
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