Tea has been getting a lot of good press these days. Reuters just published a story about the positive effects of drinking tea and a connection with lower skin cancer risk. In 2004, Oprah highlighted Dr. Perricone's Prescription that switching from coffee to green tea will cause you to lose 10 lbs in six weeks. That show alone kicked off a major "green tea/weight loss" marketing frenzy in the diet pill industry. [And was the cause of my one month ban on coffee where I didn't lose any weight -- and thus returned happily to coffee.] However, with this new scientific link between the antioxidants in tea and reduced skin cancer, it should be interesting to see what the media and skincare industry will do with it.
I hearby predict that tea-inspired skincare products and spa treatments will continue to increase in popularity and availability.
To beat this trend, you may want to update your services to include "more tea please" -- in the products, the treatment itself or your spa experience. Some ideas:
- Herbal tea bags as your signature hydrotherapy instead of salts or oil
- Foot or hand soaks in herbal tea blends for mani/pedi
- When you serve iced or hot tea after a treatment, be sure to explain the benefits to their skin; consider an educational flyer in your relaxation room
- Have a customer apprecitation afternoon tea party. Serve 2 or 3 blends of tea (iced or hot or decaf), small scones and finger sandwiches . Clients can enjoy the afternoon tea while they receive mini-services and buy products and gift certificates for an upcoming holiday. [Best before a gift-giving holiday, but could be a pick-me-up during slower months.]
- Considering adding new products with green, white and red (roobios) teas (Preston Private Label* has a full skincare line with all of these together.) Or use green tea as a calming agent in serum intensives, such as Green Tea Calming Serum from Yüm Gourmet Skincare*
- Slightly modify the protocols in your current basic services (facial, massage, pedicure) to create an exclusive package that uses the powerful antioxidant power of tea in the soaks, the products and aromatherapy (green tea incense anyone?)
- Sell more teas in your retail area -- or simply take them out of hiding from behind other products.
- If you add a new service, write a press release about it and post it to www.pr.com (a free service). Refer to studies like one highlighted in the Reuters story to establish credibility and explain your new super-antioxidant service. You may even want to send it do your local newspaper as they like connections to larger consumer trends. Give them the idea to write the story about how your fabulous new facial uses teas, which is linked to reducing the risk of skin cancer.
Whether you make a big or small or no change to leverage media coverage of popular spa ingredients, be aware of what that coverage is. Your clients will be interested to hear your expert opinion on what some journeyman reporter said last night on the news. And whether you agree or disagree with that reporter, the point is that your clients will listen to you because they trust you to take care of them and their skin.
*I am a sales rep for both Preston Private Label and Yüm Gourmet Skincare and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about products with green, white, roobios and black teas. Email me or call me: 800.766.0375 x116.
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