Clean beauty brand Athletia leads consumer awareness in Japan
In February this year, a brand that embodies the ‘clean beauty’ movement emerged in Japan, and it’s taking the world by storm. The brand is Athletia and it brings to the fore concepts such as sustainability and ethical practices and presents them in terms of not only beauty but as a whole lifestyle.
Skincare and lifestyle brand Athletia was launched in February 2020 by E’quipe Ltd., a subsidiary of Kao Corporation that also operates the brands RMK and SUQQU. What distinguishes Athletia is how the brand goes beyond thinking of beauty as just cosmetics and more in terms of lifestyle.
Marketing Manager of the Athletia Marketing Division at E’quipe Miki Matsuoka, who worked on the development of Athletia, says that “opportunities for clean beauty are growing around the world and people’s views are changing — for example, beauty as a concept is being described not just in terms of skin and other external factors, but also in terms of how to live. There’s also an increase in people improving their diets and becoming more environmentally-aware, and I believe this kind of ‘clean’ lifestyle can lead to more radiant and beautiful life. Athletia began with the purpose of providing solutions for this trend.”
Athletia’s brand concept is “Strengthen Yourself — Beauty Can Be Trained” and it consists of three lineups: (1) “tune & charge”, a line of skincare items, (2) “active & go”, featuring UV protection gels and an aroma mist that are multifunctional and portable and are designed for use at the gym or when going out, and (3) “breathe & sleep” that has aromas and a body milk that focus on more comfortable breathing and sleeping.
Matsuoka says that “clean beauty is a synonym for ‘honest craftsmanship’”, and as such, the philosophy of Athletia flows through all aspects of the brand, from their products to their stores.
For example, they grow ashitaba leaf and perilla, common raw materials in their products, in their own circular agriculture system that refrains from using pesticides or chemical fertilizer. They control all processes that include soil making, growing, harvesting, and component extraction, as well as clarifying traceability, and they’ve also created a sustainable cycle in how they ferment the dregs leftover from the essence extraction and return them to the ground as compost.
They’re also dedicated to information transparency. On all products, they display the natural origin index that conforms to the uniform international standard of ISO16128 and have announced that they do not perform animal testing in development and production.
Even at their flagship store, which opened in Omotesando, Tokyo in March this year, they’re mindful of sustainability. For instance, the store’s flooring uses natural materials that can be decomposed back into the soil, and the panels used as blinds on the store’s façade use lumber from thinning. Additionally, their gift boxes use the biodegradable molded pulp that’s made from 100% recycled paper. Their limited edition pouch also uses low-carbon, eco-friendly washable paper.
The green bottles for the “tune & charge” lineup’s core balance toning lotion are over 90% made from recycled glass. Up until now, due to the tendency of irregular colors appearing, color glass has rarely been recycled from bottle to bottle, and when it has it’s mostly been used as a construction material (glass fiber). Nevertheless, Athletia boldly decided to use it.
Matsuoka says that “in the production process there may be individual differences in the color of the bottles, but we think of those as adding variety. The Athletia brand treasures the individuality of each user, so the diversity of colors is in line with that thinking. More than anything that we want to do is convey the importance of recycling”. Having formed a partnership with recycling enterprise TerraCycle, Athletia also plans to begin a program to recycle empty containers at their Omotesando store.
Channeling energy into forming fan communities
So far in Japan, even if there’s been interest in clean beauty, such brands have been few and far between. However, Athletia seems like it may be able to unearth that hidden consumer base. At an event held the day before Athletia’s launch, many influencers with a strong affinity to the brand were invited and there was marked enthusiasm towards the brand’s concept as well as the featured meditation time. After the event, participants posted on social media about Athletia of their own accord, and a network began to expand of consumers who all identify with the brand’s philosophy.
In the future there are also plans to create fan communities united by common ideas, such as regional communities that take part in volunteer work. Athletia’s PR/Web Supervisor Azumi Kiuchi says she hopes that peoples’ encounters with Athletia will be an opportunity for them to turn environmentally-protecting actions and environmentally-conscious behaviors into their everyday initiatives.
Sustainable consumer behavior, which is becoming mainstream globally particularly among the Gen-Z and Millennial generations, is still yet to spread widely in Japan. As a leader of this trend in Japan, Athletia is first placing importance on the initial stages of “starting things up” and “posting content”.
The effects of COVID-19 are causing people to refrain from spending that is nonessential or non-urgent. People are now more discerning about purchases and also whether it will have an impact not just on themselves but on society in general. Brands that have proper ‘clean’ philosophies are more likely to be chosen by consumers.
By 2021, Athletia plans to add another five or six outlets within department stores to add to their current three stores in Japan. Along with this, they’re eyeing expansion into Europe. With E’quipe having an office in England and SUQQU currently expanding into the European market, the idea is to use the expertise gained from these ventures for Athletia’s expansion.
Text: Ching Li Tor
Original text (Japanese): Saori Hashimoto
