Marketing a Business

Beauty Game:
Being Viewed
As 'Natural'
By ELLEN

Proving that your brand is more authentic than the competition's is always difficult for marketers. For the increasingly crowded category of "natural" beauty products, that task is particularly challenging. That's why Burt's Bees, owned by Clorox Co., and a handful of other brands that try to minimize their use of synthetic ingredients have developed a certification process by which they can officially claim their right to call their products "natural."


Burt's Bees
Mike Indursky of Burt's Bees

In August, Burt's Bees products, including lip balm and body oil, began hitting store shelves affixed with a Natural Products Association seal. The sticker promises that at least 95% of ingredients are natural or derived from natural sources, that they have no "potential suspected human health risks" and that development processes haven't significantly altered the effect of the natural ingredients, among other criteria.

Mike Indursky, Burt's Bees' marketing chief, led the brand's involvement in the certification. Prior to joining Burt's Bees, Mr. Indursky held senior marketing roles with L'Oréal's Garnier hair-care line and Maybelline cosmetics as well as Unilever's cosmetics. Below, he discusses shoppers' confusion with natural products, how his all-natural brand has been affected by being purchased last year by Clorox and his approach to maintaining a small-brand feel as business grows.

WSJ: Why does Burt's Bees need its naturalness certified?

Mr. Indursky: We did a study last year that found that 78% of women believe that when they see the word "natural" on a product, that some governing body is regulating what's in there. That's not the case. And 97% of women told us they want some sort of regulation. We felt we had a responsibility to explain to people what natural is, and what natural isn't, so they can make the most informed choice. We worked with the Natural Products Association and our competitors to develop the criteria.

WSJ: Many have attempted and failed to develop similar seals. Why do you think this one will work?

Mr. Indursky: You've got the Natural Products Association, a non-government, nonprofit, third-party organization that's leading this. Before, a lot of efforts were simply from manufacturers. Also, the companies that joined really are the leaders in natural personal care, so that's a big difference.

WSJ: Several European countries have natural label standards. Why is the U.S. so slow to adopt one?

Mr. Indursky: The trend of inner and outer well-being is more highly developed in Europe. The U.S. is slower, but it has picked up significantly -- if personal-care sales here are growing at 3%, natural personal-care sales are about five times that amount.

WSJ: Since the standards are devised by the participating companies rather than a government agency, isn't there a risk that this seal could be perceived as even more marketing hype?

Mr. Indursky: That would be risky if it weren't for the National Product Association's leadership over it, and their use of third-party certifiers. The brands have no inclusion over the certification process.

WSJ: How do you tackle shoppers' confusion with natural products?

Mr. Indursky: Right now anyone can have a bottle that is green with some flowers on it and call it "natural." Burt's Bees approaches this in two ways: We helped develop this certification standard, and we developed more education efforts through our Web site and an ad campaign that explains our ingredients and what a natural product really is.

WSJ: What's the ultimate goal of this certification?

Mr. Indursky: The endgame is to try to get to a point where all products are 100% natural. Unfortunately, certain ingredients give a benefit that you can't get naturally. For instance virtually every shampoo or conditioner has what you call a quat, which helps hair be soft and manageable. Without that your hair can become a bit straw-like. There's no natural quat available. On a positive note, a quat has no suspected human health risk. We're hoping by creating this certification, you're giving people the incentive to commercialize a natural quat so we can get away from the synthetic version. Where we do draw a very strong line is on any synthetic ingredient that has a suspected human health risk.

WSJ: Any examples?

Mr. Indursky: Parabens are a preservative used in many personal-care products, and studies have shown that they can lead to endocrine disruption and affect your hormone balance. There are plenty of natural alternatives to parabens. Our belief is that even though the FDA says that parabens are safe, a natural product shouldn't have them. When there's a natural alternative, that's what you should use.

WSJ: As a marketer, how do you balance your brand's natural stance with your parent-company's brand, which is synonymous with bleach?

Mr. Indursky: There's nothing to balance. Burt's Bees is doing what it has always done, regardless of Clorox owning us. Clorox has been a fantastic supporter of ours, and our levels of sustainability and natural ingredients have only increased since we've been acquired.

WSJ: How do you maintain a niche feel to your brand when it has become so widely distributed, now even in Wal-Mart Stores Inc.?

Mr. Indursky: We've been fortunate, every time we've opened in a new distribution, the gift stores and natural stores still keep us. We're rooted in authenticity, and our homey packaging has to maintain that. The worst thing we would do is repackage our product into something supermodern and scientific. But in merchandising, advertising and on our Web site we've gone more into the science that comes from nature -- all the stuff that our packaging on its own doesn't do.

WSJ: How has beauty marketing changed over the course of your career?

Mr. Indursky: In the 1970s and 1980s, it was always "hope in a bottle." People are now seeing that beauty does come at a cost. Health and well-being are becoming a larger part of the equation. Before, it was all about this magic ingredient. That doesn't fly anymore. Real education is important. Consumers don't want hope in a bottle, they want truth in a bottle.

Write to Ellen Byron at ellen.byron@wsj.com