London-Based Premium Body Care Brand Saint Iris Adriatica Expands Its US Retail Network

As a consultant to beauty and fashion brands for over a decade, Sanela Lazic spent hours upon hours parsing consumer insights and building product, marketing and distribution strategies. In 2019, she decided to try her hand at her own brand by launching Saint Iris Adriatica to fill a beauty industry white space she sensed was about to pick up major steam: premium body care.

Born in the former Yugoslavia, Lazic has a uniquely Balkan perspective on the space. “I went back to my Croatian and Adriatic roots, where we believe that the body is a powerhouse that keeps us grounded and strong, and once we take care of ourselves, we are able to give back to the world and take care of each other,” she says. “We call that Fjaka. Fjaka is wonderful as it’s personal. It’s about giving in to your feel-good.”

Saint Iris has five products priced from $65 to $85 designed to address acute issues like excessive underarm sweating, but also provide vehicles for self-care though beautiful aromas and luxurious textures. Notably, all Saint Iris products are formulated to be used on the face and body.

In developing the products, Lazic set out to help people simplify their skincare routines. She says she saw the need for a “face-grade approach to body’s skincare as part of a more sustainable and succinct routine interestingly underpinned by a deep desire for ‘whisk me away’ escapism that often lacks in skincare.”

Housed in deep green brushed glass, Saint Iris’s products caught the eye of Thirteen Lune, which has brought in the brand to carry online and in its new Los Angeles store on the upmarket shopping street Larchmont Boulevard. Saint Iris products Wake-Up Droplets, Serenity Salve and Vitality Spritz are currently sold by the retailer, and the products Purity Paste mask and Merry-Berry Plum oil are slated to debut at it later this month.

Based in London, Saint Iris is carried in a handful of small stores, spas and e-tailers in the United States, but Thirteen Lune, the inclusive retailer co-founded by Nyakio Grieco and Patrick Herning in 2020 that has installations in around 600 J.C. Penney stores, marks its highest profile presence at an American retailer.

“I love what they’re doing, and while I don’t think we’re ready yet for the J.C. Penney opportunity, the standalone store where we can do something in-store with demos with customers will be a great starting point,” says Lazic. “As an indie brand, I don’t have a team sitting in the U.S. at the moment. The store in LA will be a terrific landing point for the brand.”

She expounds that Thirteen Lune bought into Saint Iris’s value proposition of elevated skincare for the body. “The response has been fantastic in the sense that the price point is honest,” says Lazic. “You could say you can get that for cheaper, but I think people are realizing actually the $5 body lotion is fine, it will get you through today, but it’s not going to have that sustained beneficial way of dealing with inflammation, sorting out your microbiome or actually tackling hyperpigmentation or any kind of sun and stress damage.”

In the United Kingdom, Saint Iris is carried in a number of retailers, including John Bell & Croyden and Sephora UK. When the brand’s bestselling Wake-Up Droplets, a creamy vitamin C serum infused with 10 Mediterranean plant oils, premiered at Sephora UK, it sold out almost immediately.

Lazic launched Saint Iris with just over 60,000 pounds or about $75,000. To allow people to experience the brand’s decadent products, prior to the pandemic, she prioritized in-person events to spread the word.

Saint Iris had broken into John Bell & Croyden before lockdowns, then went almost fully direct-to-consumer once retailers shuttered for COVID precautions. The DTC focus occurred as Saint Iris began to receive notice from celebrities and beauty awards programs, sending consumers hunting for it online. The brand has been feted by the Beauty Shortlist Awards, Natural Health Beauty Awards and more.

“In return, retailers noticed us on social and wanted to stock the brand,” says Lazic. “Over the last year since the pandemic, we’ve seen a more balanced split between online and retail, and our recent partnerships with Thirteen Lune and Sephora UK will take us further in the direction of retail. Nonetheless, my intention is to always nurture and grow DTC and offer an elevated and personalized service with a wider choice to our discerning customers.”