Dr. Paw Paw, The British Brand That Sells A Balm Every Minute, Has Arrived At Ulta Beauty

No idea what paw paw is? Don’t worry, the balm brand Dr. Paw Paw has come to America to teach you about it.

Ulta Beauty introduced the British import on its website and, once the retailer’s locations reopen, it will be in all 1,254 with its Original Multipurpose Soothing Balm, Tinted Multipurpose Soothing Balm, Shea Butter Multipurpose Soothing Balm, and Scrub and Nourish. Dr. Paw Paw’s hero ingredient is paw paw or what’s called papaya in the United States, a fruit as teeming with vitamin C as an orange that’s widely included in skin salves in Australia, where brand co-founder Pauline Paterson is from, to relieve scratches and burns.

“I grew up with them, and I knew you couldn’t get them here as easy as you could get them in Australia,” says Paterson, speaking at her home in London. “Our daughter had eczema at six months old, and all the doctors were recommending steroid creams because we tried the normal products on shelf, and they didn’t work, but you don’t really want to put steroid cream on your baby. I had some paw paw balm that I got traveling in Australia, and it worked.”

After paw paw proved to be an effective eczema antidote, Paterson, a hairstylist, and her husband Johnny, managing director of Catalyst PR, considered bringing Australian balm brands centered on it to the United Kingdom. They weren’t as enthusiastic about selling abroad as the Patersons were about selling them. Determined to pave a path for paw paw outside of Australia, the couple decided to start their own brand in 2013 with the Original Multipurpose Soothing Balm in a yellow tube featuring a throwback design.

“The lip balm market is a female-dominated market, but we wanted to appeal to men as well because they use lip balm. My husband and I created it, and I had his input into whether he’d pick up the tube and use it himself. He’d pick up and use the yellow tube, and that’s why we did it,” explains Paterson. “We wanted it to look heritage to appeal to all ages. We didn’t want to make it too young so only teenagers would want it, but parents and grandparents wouldn’t.”

In 2014, Harvey Nichols launched the brand at U.K. retail exclusively. The same year, Dr. Paw Paw took its initial step into the U.S. by entering Urban Outfitters. On top of retail expansion, the year saw the brand expand its merchandise beyond the clear Original Multipurpose Soothing Balm to a tinted option, a move Paterson describes as a major milestone. Dr. Paw Paw’s tinted formula boasts the moisturization of a balm with the appearance of a lipstick.

“It’s great on dry lips, but it’s also great on dry hands.”

“What was happening in the market back then was there were a lot of big brands around, but there weren’t any new indie brands, and that got us recognized,” says Paterson. “We also had a multipurpose product. It made you look good and improved your lips with nourishment, but you could use it for so many other things. Most lip balms were just lip balms.” On Dr. Paw Paw’s Original Multipurpose Soothing Balm packaging, it mentions the product is for skin, hair, beauty finishing and cuticles along with lips.

Dr. Paw Paw’s assortment has swelled considerably in the six years since it broke into retail. It’s stretched into haircare and body care, and has reached 20 stockkeeping units.. The latest product is Scrub and Nourish. It’s housed in a pot that has lip scrub on top and balm on the bottom. Dr. Paw Paw has reformulated its products to transition from using fermented, powdered papaya to an oil-based version of papaya that Paterson says is “purer,” and excise petrolatum. The updated formulas are completely natural, and the balms contain olive oil, aloe vera, sunflower seed oil, candelilla and castor oil in addition to papaya extract.

Dr. Paw Paw has extended its distribution to different types of retailers around the world. It’s in over 30 countries today, and has a presence in department stores, fitness studios, pharmacies, groceries, beauty boutiques and e-commerce websites. Aside from Ulta Beauty and Harvey Nichols, among the retailers and e-tailers it’s in are Fenwick, Niche Beauty, Alan Howard, SkinStore and Amazon in the U.K. At Ulta Beauty, its 25-ml. balms are priced at $8, but it has a 10-ml. balm that’s priced at $5. The pricing variation enables it to fit into an array of retailers. Discussing stores, Paterson remarks, “There’s no one we would exclude or say, ‘We don’t think we should be placed there.’ We just want to be for everybody.”

The U.K. is Dr. Paw Paw’s largest market. However, Paterson expects the U.S. to surpass it in a few years. About half of Dr. Paw Paw’s sales are from international markets. Globally, it sells a balm roughly every minute. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources estimated Dr. Paw Paw could generate $3.7 million in sales for its current fiscal year, up from $2.2 million in its last fiscal year. The brand is reevaluating its forecast given the impacts of the crisis—70% of its sales are conducted in brick-and-mortar locations, many of which are closed—but still anticipates sales climbing this fiscal year. While stores have been shuttered, Dr. Paw Paw’s online business has risen.

“The fact that we’ve been a global business has definitely helped because, while the Far East was affected first, now their stores are opening up, and people are getting out and going shopping again,” says Paterson. “We’ve also been promoting all the other usages of our balms. It’s great on dry lips, but it’s also great on dry hands. My daughter’s eczema has flared up because of all the hand washing, and we’ve been putting it on her again. At night, she goes to bed with it on, and her skin is great the next day.”