Top criteria for choosing a spa product brand
Report by Lovisa Petri from the Raison d’Etre THINK TANK
Only two per cent of hotel spa guests visit the spa because of its product house. At Raison d’Etre, in our spa consultancy, we do not operate product driven spas – which means we do not take a product brand and create a spa concept around it or simply go along with the concept the product brand brings. We tailor make a concept that is unique to the spa and then choose a product brand that we link to the concept. We do not receive any commission or incentives on products we choose to recommend – we recommend them simply because we believe the brand would be the best possible fit for that spa.
We let our experts working with us choose a couple of different available options that would be a great fit. This often creates quite an interesting discussion in our office with a lot of different views but some elements we do all agree on and that is what we call “our top five criteria”.
The top five criteria we look at for different projects is:
- The sensorial experience, meaning the scent and the texture of the products.
- The results the products give and what the active ingredients do and the quality of these ingredients.
- The visible factor such as the design and look of the packaging.
- The supplier relationship: logistics, support and training.
- And finally, we check that the ingredients are sensibly sourced and how sustainable the product company is taking into consideration everything from recycling of the package to the overall mission.
However, it’s not all about the product, it is also about who you want to sell the product to. Therefore, it’s important to study who is the target guest for the specific project and how do we brand it the correct way. Part of this process involves looking at peoples buying habits. In a recent discussion, we examined the difference in buying habits between men and women. We can see an increment in men using the spa facilities and having more treatments. Does the spa business follow this trend when it comes to the products they use or is it still an area to research and discover more? We think so!
You can find out more about our spa consultancy services here
