A Twist on Organic

With six accreditation seals, bright colors and photos of fresh-faced women, Sophyto’s skin care packaging tells a story that goes way beyond “just” plant-based and organic.

By Jamie Matusow, Editor

At a time when it seems nearly everyone is playing up the word “organic,” Sophyto’s founder Karen Sinclair Drake chose the opposite approach. When it came to marketing the first professional water-based cosmetics to gain the technically challenging UK Soil Association organic rating, Drake didn’t use the word “organic” in any of the product titles. “The only time it appears on the front of the box is in the symbol denoting the product’s overall organic percentage,” she says. Sophyto takes the stance that organic is a given, and instead, prefers to focus on the high quality of ingredients, texture and efficacy of the products.

Drake also followed a different approach with graphics. “We wanted to move away from traditional organic imagery of botanicals and the use of pastels,” says Drake. “We opted for vivacious colors that represent the life force of Sophyto’s ingredients and images of women from different ethnicities who represent our consumer demographic.”

Drake says they have received “amazing feedback” on these images. “For example,” she says, “we have women using our range who would never have purchased the product if it had been earthy. Many were using premium-end brands and have made the switch because we simply don’t go on and on about being organic. Our organic accreditations are, however, located on the side of each box so consumers can check to ensure we are third-party verified and not self-regulated,” she says.

Hygienic Packaging

Sophyto debuted in January with 11 initial SKUs. Because the products contain no man-made preservatives, as required with the brand’s organic license and the fact that they have a three-year shelf life unopened, Drake says they had to seek out finger-free packaging systems.

Thus, Sophyto’s mask products are packaged in sachets; everything else is in a tube, airless container or pharmaceutical-grade monodoses. Drake used PP materials for primary packaging, FSC accredited card with biodegradable gloss laminate for secondary packaging, boxes from Falconer UK and monodoses from COC Pharmaceutical, Italy, under special license.

Drake, an associate member of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists and a current board member of Soil Association’s Health and Beauty Care Standards committee, set out to create a line of professional-based, certified organic skincare that offered identical results to that of its non-organic/synthetic counterparts. It appears, after eight years of development, she has succeeded. -