How Shoreditch Came for the Humble Multivitamin
Vitamin pills and dietary supplements are, depending on levels of skepticism and gullibility, either healthy and useful, nourishing and essential, or expensive lifestyle products of questionable effectiveness at best, intended for cranks. overpaid. What they’ve never been, until now, is sexy or cool.
Sensing the opportunity to do for vitamin D and zinc what skincare brands like Aesop have done for hand washing (remember when that was called soap?) And all things bergamot, Anatomē (pronounced Anatomy, naturally) is among a growing number of newcomers. to the (forgive us) “wellness space” which seeks to revamp the dusty nutritional supplements and vitamin industry, a sector expected to be worth £ 13 billion by 2023.
Anatomē products, with a focus on aromatherapy, sleep and physical health, are packaged in trendy apothecary-inspired bottles and containers; lowercase text with just the right balance of color and negative space. There’s the requisite faux European accent above the ē and a healthy dose of LA feel into the concept.
Launched in 2018 by Northern Irishman Brendan Murdock, founder and former owner of Murdock London, a barber chain with his own line of care, Anatomē has physical stores in Marylebone’s Chiltern Street and Chelsea, has launched pop-ups at Shoreditch and Notting Hill, and is breaking America, by partnering with boutique hotel chains (stay overnight, take your probiotics with you!). It offers in-store and online nutrition and sleep consultations, along with specially designed vitamin packages, claiming to simplify the world of supplements for stressed-out financiers and new media executives.
“We wanted to create products that are coveted and that rub shoulders with people’s favorite brands in their bathrooms,” Murdock says over the phone. “Even our sleep oil should be on your shelf. There are other beauty brands where the design and language of the item is important to the way people use it. For example, we don’t refer to stress or anxiety on the packaging, instead we have names that were born out of leadership and positive reinforcement: “Energy” and “Strength”. They just look better.
The Anatomē categories are simple: Better Sleep, Immunity + Gut Health, Mindfulness, and Men’s Health. You can buy an essential oil for a “hyperactive mind” (£ 35) and a 30-day supply of joint and movement support pills (£ 34). “From a consumer perspective,” says Murdock, “I’ve noticed that supplements and oils aren’t well designed and people don’t know what they’re getting. We wanted to change that. Anyone who’s ever walked into a Holland & Barrett can attest to the bewildering nature of traditional health stores. What else is Irish Sea Moss doing? Horny Goat Weed?
Bear, an Australian brand stocked at Liberty London, has an even cleaner branding image than Anatomē. Its Explore vitamins will set you back £ 65 for a 60 day supply. At The Nue Co, there are mood pills, stress scent, and probiotics in brown glass containers. Then there is Biocol Labs, a “post-chemical pharmacy”, its products are brilliantly packaged and concisely named. A sore throat spray with Icelandic moss and propolis is titled “Something for a Cactus Throat”. All labeled in lower case, of course.
“Since the first lockout last year, we have seen a real appetite for products focused on natural ingredients, aimed at improving physical and mental well-being. So Anatomē was a no-brainer for us, ”says sales manager Joe Warner of Goodhood, the Shoreditch menswear and home goods store that offers both Anatomē and Biocol Labs. “As long as it’s not just a pretty bottle, and there is substance in the brand and its product, then I can definitely see that there is an opportunity to create a label of. type Aesop in the space of well-being and supplements. “
The questions about what they actually contain, and whether or not they work, are perhaps somewhat missing the point.
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