On the bottom level of Crabtree Valley Mall last Saturday, a new store opened its doors to the public for the first time.
Its tables are stacked with soaps, shampoo, conditioner, styling products and face masks.
Its products are labeled with a sticker that contains a portrait of the person who made it.
Its prices are, on average, at least a few dollars more than those at other similar shops.
And they all have one common feature — a green and yellow emblem with the word “LUSH” in the middle.
The company, which has more than 500 locations worldwide, is located in 28 states. None of those locations included North Carolina.
Last Saturday’s opening marks the beginning of the company’s U.S. expansion. It will almost double its American presence this year, opening 60 new stores and bringing the total to 124.
And the plans don’t stop there.
“Current expansion plans for LUSH Cosmetics in the U.S. market target the opening of 250 stores,” LUSH North American President Mark Wolverton said. Crabtree Valley Mall has been a shopping destination for over 30 years and continues to draw a large and loyal crowd.”
The company’s roots began in Poole, England in 1995. Since then, it has made its move to Canada and then worldwide.
“We are very excited to open our first shop in North Carolina.”
LUSH’s products, though more costly than some of the company’s competitors like Bath & Body Works and The Body Shop, are entirely “fresh and handmade,” according to Allie Leung, LUSH’s media relations contact.
This feature might account for the products’ uniqueness. The soaps, Leung said, look like hunks of cheese. “Big,” one of the shampoos, is made with large globs of sea salt and toothed wrack seaweed infusion.
But the products, 74 percent of which are vegan and 100 percent of which are vegetarian are made using fair trade ingredients, essential oils and very little packaging. None of the products are tested on animals, though some use certain animal products.
“It’s a really ethical brand,” Leung said. “We boycott suppliers that provide any raw materials tested on animals.”
For example, she said, Lush buys its shea butter ingredient from a women’s village in Ghana.
“Everything is very innovative, very new,” Leung said.