Pioneers of clean skincare
REN revolutionised premium skincare when they launched their range of high-tech
bioactive, chemical-free products that were both a pleasure to use and left skin
glowing. The science apparently was, and remains, extremely difficult to crack. But
there’s more than just science to REN’s meteoric rise in a prohibitively competitive
market. Co-founder Antony Buck tells Imogen Clements how it all came together.
A
ntony Buck’s office in London’s
Marylebone has grass underfoot. There’s
a certain quirkiness to REN Skincare’s
headquarters. Casually dressed staff with
easy smiles welcome you into a bright
open-plan space of bare concrete and exposed copper
piping and beyond the desks, there’s a large massage
chair in the corner. The understated, contented vibe
to the place is reminiscent of a West Coast creative
hotshop. But then, that figures - this is the home of
one the most ground-breaking and successful entrants
to the multi-billion pound skincare market that we’ve
seen in a generation.
REN is 15 years old this year, sells in 40 different
countries and employs over 70 people worldwide.
Since Rob Calcraft and Antony Buck (pictured
above) first came up with the concept of clean
skincare, REN has grown to be one of the most
respected beauty brands on the market, used and
loved by supermodels and Hollywood actresses,
lauded by beauty editors and extolled by friends
to one another across the globe. REN has never
advertised or paid for endorsement. They’ve never
needed to.
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MANOR | Spring 2015
“It’s all about the product,” declares Antony,
sitting in one of the myriad mismatched easy chairs
(all eBay apparently, more of that later) that surround
the low coffee table, “Everything stems from that.”
Surely there’s more to it? Even fantastic products
need failsafe marketing strategies to turn them into
a multimillion pound brands. That part presumably
came easy to Rob and Antony who, prior to REN,
were established brand strategists with their own
eponymous consultancy.
Which is my first observation – successful,
enduring couplings in business are rare. Be it Branson,
Roddick, Boden or Chrissie White Company, more
often than not, there is one driving force (and name)
behind big lasting brands, for one obvious reason:
conflict – the probability and degree of which seems to
grow in line with a business’s success.
So what’s Buck and Calcraft’s secret? “Well, he’s
not here is he?” Antony jokes, nodding to one of
the empty easy chairs. Rob has taken a few months’
sabbatical. “He’s the ideas generator. And he’s fast
at it. Before taking off he left us with a three-year
plan, which will probably take us five years at least,
so there’s plenty to be getting on with. And he’s due
back next month.
“That, I suppose, is the secret to an enduring
business relationship – separate skill sets. Rob’s focus
has always been NPD (New Product Development).
He has an amazing feel for skincare. Having come up
with an idea, he’s able to pinpoint from 20 different
variants that come back from the lab which one is
right. I generally manage the process thereon, from
formula to shelf. You could define how we differ by
line of vision – Rob is forever looking ahead to where
we go next, and I like to scrutinise where we’re at
and perfect it. It’s not mutually exclusive, more of a
Venn diagram, but we’re sufficiently different to not
step on each other’s toes; sufficiently similar to come
together when necessary. Plus of course we have
shared values. You couldn’t work together if your
values clashed.”
Which raises the next question, of serendipity
- how was it that two different but complementary
individuals chanced upon one another to create the
success that REN is today?
“We met while working in advertising. At that
point my career had been pretty linear. Rob’s had been
considerably more erratic – he’d done this, tried that,
launched this, dissolved that, and ended up where I was
in advertising. I looked at what he’d done and decided
I wanted some of that, rather than the structured career
path that was being paved for me.
“We left the agency and set up our own brand
consultancy. This was good for seven years or so,
but inevitably there came a time when as brand
consultants you think, ‘If we’re so good at telling other
people what to do with their brands, let’s launch one
ourselves.’ The tricky thing was what. We knew what
we wanted it to be: something that made a positive
difference, that we could be proud of, something
original, fairly democratic ie not super-premium or
battling on price, but we had no idea which market
to do it in. We considered confectionery, fast food,
even hair-dressing, before my wife, newly pregnant,
Preparing Moroccan rose oil
MANOR | Spring 2015
35
We did everything the
research told us not do to
developed an adverse reaction to everything she put
on her skin. We realised there was a market for highquality, effective skincare products that were stripped
of nasty ingredients and there was nothing occupying
this area. The only choice consumers had at the time
was between effective products full of nasties, or
natural skincare that tended to be pretty unpleasant,
pungent gunk.”
This was just the first hurdle. Antony goes on
to reveal the far greater seemingly insurmountable
one: “There was a reason no-one was doing it.
Having decided on the idea of clean skincare it was
made clear to us that this was impossible. Every
chemist we spoke to stated it couldn’t be done, that
those ingredients we were looking to strip out – the
silicones, sulfates and petrochemicals etc – were
essential for texture and consistency. You could
not have a premium product that glided onto skin,
smelt wonderful and was easily absorbed without
them. We persevered. Eventually, we tracked down
a chemist, a French woman with a PhD in Cosmetic
Pharmacology, who was willing to give it a go. She
succeeded and has been REN’s chemist ever since.”
And the name REN? “Again, pure chance. We’d
been racking our brains when Rob, over a couple of
drinks with a Swedish friend asked him what clean
was in Swedish and he replied ‘ren’. Now that we’re
international it’s fortunate that the name seems to
translate well in other markets. Not many three-letter
words do. In Chinese it means ‘honorable endeavour’.
Quite pleased about that one, and quite relieved.”
Ok, so that’s the product, but what about the
rest? When REN hit the market it looked markedly
different to other skincare players and there has never
been any fanfare. How did they ensure people knew
they existed and, more importantly, were worth a try?
“Interestingly, for two guys whose careers had
been built on consumer insight, we did everything
the research told us not to do. The product was clean
skincare, free of nasties. Focus groups told us that our
packaging should therefore look natural and clear,
rather than scientific. We decided to opt for white
and clinical, the antithesis. Research suggested that
being natural and plant-based, the labeling should
have a soft feminine look with pictures of flowers and
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MANOR | Spring 2015
nature. We thought about it for a while then decided
instead on an androgynous style that bordered on
masculine. Essentially, we did the ‘positive opposite’
to everything the research told us to do.”
‘Positive’ is easy to say with hindsight, but it
clearly worked. The pharmaceutical look of the
product when green and natural was all the rage gave
it prominence and authority. The gender-neutral
labeling meant that REN wasn’t considered (and
rejected) as girlie, but used, as Antony points out,
“on both sides of the sink”, by men too, doubling the
potential audience.
“And making our presence known? Well, we’ve
never had money to advertise effectively. Skincare has
multi-billion pound players who we couldn’t possibly
compete with. Again, fortunately for us, because the
market is relatively high-risk for consumers – you
need to trust something you put on your face – it
is driven by editorial, and beauty editors are always
looking for something new to write about. We sent
them the product and they loved it. As a result, we
got some wonderful publicity that gave people the
confidence to trial, and they liked it enough to tell
their friends.
“It still works like that – we rely on positive
endorsement amongst friends and thanks in large part
to the internet, word of mouth spreads quickly. We’re
lucky that some of REN’s friends are well-known
celebrities with big followings. They like us. They
like what we do and how we are. We all work hard
but it’s pretty easy-going here. You’ll often stroll into
the office and there’ll be an A-lister in the corner of
the room having a facial, which says a lot about the
working environment. It’s a happy place and people
don’t tend to leave.”
Certainly, the grassy floor makes you want to kick
off your shoes and pad around barefoot, and I have to
confess to feeling drawn towards the massage chair
in the corner. Plus, it’s Friday lunch and everyone’s
gathering up their things. “Fridays are half days,”
explains Antony. No wonder no-one leaves.
“We’re all grownups who get on with the job,
and ultimately it comes back down to the product.
Nobody will talk about something unless it makes an
impression. The product has to be brilliant.”
REN’s latest touch
of brilliance
KEEP YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL™
INSTANT FIRMING BEAUTY SHOT
Rob Calcraft and Antony Buck
Pitstop
profiler
Antony Buck – the no-fuss, recycling,
alpine and architecture-appreciating,
skincare perfectionist.
Times New Roman or Arial? Arial
Oils or watercolours? Pastels
Saatchi or Sorrell? Probably Saatchi
Breaking Bad or Borgen? Game of Thrones,
although yet to see Breaking Bad
A gel-serum that instantly firms, lifts and plumps the skin
to leave it looking smoother, tighter and more youthful.
According to skincare expert and REN
Ambassador David Delport, there are four ways you
can use Keep Young and Beautiful™ Instant Firming
Beauty Shot:
• For mature skin: Apply a few drops at night onto
clean skin.
• For a quick firming program: Apply onto clean
skin morning and night over 5 days to build up the
effects for a fast and intensive facial lift.
• For special events: Apply one shot the night
before a special event, one in the morning and one
prior to applying makeup for a flawless, smooth and
glowing finish.
• For thirsty, dehydrated skin or skin suffering
post-flight (or from a hangover!): Apply one
shot on slightly damp skin to maximize skin mantle
hydration and comfort.
David also suggests keeping the product with you
rather than confined to the bathroom cupboard. “It’s
the perfect post-work pick-me-up and the first thing I
throw into my carry-on bag for long flights – it makes
an ideal boost for skin exposed to the dehydrating
effects of heating and air conditioning.”
Boggle or Bananagram? Neither, am way
too competitive
Keep Young and Beautiful™ Instant Firming Beauty Shot,
£46, is available online or in John Lewis and Marks
and Spencer stores nationwide.
Bridge or Poker? Poker. Bridge is
excruciatingly slow
renskincare.com
Golf or a walk? A good walk spoiled, golf
Long haul or Europe? Europe
Beach or ski? Ski, marginally
Gstaad or Courchevel? Flaine, a lesserknown ski resort that’s low-glitz, ski-focused
simplicity and Bauhaus architecture
eBay or Selfridges? eBay – great source
of quality items the vast majority of which
you don’t need to buy new ie. most of the
furniture in my house, most of my kids’
Christmas presents (they assumed all
toys came without a box and wrapped in
newspaper until the age of nine), and all
the chairs around this coffee table (and the
coffee table)
MANOR | Spring 2015
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