Founder Letter: Making Natural Skincare Affordable
Why are Wildcraft products so affordable? It’s a good question and it’s a question our founder, Laura Whitaker, gets asked a lot. The most important reason of course is Laura’s own fundamental belief that quality natural skincare does not have to be unreasonably expensive but there are other factors, as well. From industry ‘standards’ to pink tax to the idea of wellness as a status symbol, we thought we’d delve into why Wildcraft remains firmly in place as a natural skincare brand creating luxurious products at accessible price points, without cutting corners and without compromise.
“It’s the reason I started the company,” Laura explains. “I had, and continue to have, a genuine desire to see more people use natural skincare in their everyday routines. People I care about, my family, my community. It’s fundamental to my way of life and I want to make that quality of life available to as many people as possible.” When she first started out and began researching ingredients and formulating her idea, Laura’s first thought was, “I can make natural skincare, but I don’t want to charge exorbitant rates for it.” Her second thought was, “Why isn’t anyone else doing this?”
The simplest answer is because they don’t have to. It’s sad to say, but we as consumers have been led to believe that if a beauty product doesn’t cost a fortune, it can’t be as good. The old adage, “you get what you pay for” can be true to a point, and certainly organic and quality ingredients are going to cost more, but not to the degree that we’re being charged. “When I see an ounce of oil in the $70+ range, that's when I really start to shake my head,” Laura says. The beauty industry caters to our every insecurity. We all want that elixir that will magically make us look and feel young and beautiful. People, and women especially, are willing to pay a lot of money for that. We want to look like the glossy magazine pictures, even though we know deep down that a lot of them are photoshopped. And on top of that there is the pink tax to consider - the practice of charging women a premium over men for the same personal care products. “I don’t want to be a part of any of that,” Laura states. “I have a natural aversion to it.”
Of course, for a business to succeed it needs to be profitable, with markups and margins and costs covered, not to mention marketing and advertising campaigns and strategies to get the word out. There’s production and labelling to consider, as well as packing and shipping. It’s expensive. And it’s highly, highly competitive. But it’s not impossible. The health and wellness market is an enormous industry worth billions and billions of dollars. But since its grassroots beginnings it has morphed into a status symbol for many. And that’s where Laura draws the line. You shouldn’t have to be wealthy to be able to choose healthy options. “We created our company as a response to the crazy markups that we see in the industry. And we have managed to create a line of high quality products at approachable price points, using many of the exact same ingredients that can be found in significantly more expensive products,” Laura says. That’s what Wildcraft is all about. Natural, pure, effective and accessible products for everyone.
