It may not be 24 carat, but the Yesto carrot line I tried today at the NZ launch of Yesto skincare was definitely pure gold, that is, if you’re looking for natural, great-smelling and affordable skincare with a social conscience…
It may not be 24 carat, but the Yesto carrot line I tried today at the NZ launch of Yesto skincare was definitely pure gold, that is, if you’re looking for natural, great-smelling and affordable skincare with a social conscience.
In fact, the skincare is so affordable, it is priced just $6 to $40, and will be only sold at Countdown in New Zealand, starting from October this year.
Thread attended the big reveal to the local market – and market was the operative word. Fruit and veg market.
The foyer in the Clarion Room in Beaumont Street greeted us with vegetables spilling creatively out of boxes and wheatgrass sprouted flowers of carrot slices. Above the crates, posters of anthropomorphized fruit and veg showcased the four lines – wearing glasses befitting each range: carrot for nourishing, blueberry for ageing, tomato for acne, and cucumber for sensitive.
The fun look and feel of the line is no accident. The founders wanted it to "create the Apple Mac of the skincare industry." Ido says they have ‘love points’ that their customer would love about it, including that it be good-looking, be accessible, affordable, and make her want to tell her friends about it.
They wanted to bridge the gap between the mass consumer and the natural skincare industry, previously filled with rather earthy-looking and unglamorous, less effective products.
Below: Founders Lance Kalish and Ido Leffler launched on-shelf five years ago this week. New Zealand is the 30th country to sell Yesto. Of the complete range of 70 products, 29 will initially be sold here in NZ.
It is the 50th ranked beauty brand on Facebook, and the no.1 natural beauty brand at giant beauty retailer Sephora.
Below: Yesto Nourishing body butter $19.99
Lunch at the NZ launch of Yesto, utilising ingredients from the four skincare lines: tomato, cucumber, carrot and blueberry.
And it gets better. Yesto has a serious social conscience. They have a seed fund registered charity planting organic vege gardens in schools across the US and around the world. Also in Africa their Yes to Hope Campaign (operated by Mama Hope and funded by Yesto) establishes micro farms around African schools which feed 1800 children a day. They are doing 8 more farms by the end of 2012.
Megan Robinson 18 July 2012
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