In a strategic move, WelleCo, the innovative ingestible beauty and wellness brand founded by Elle Macpherson, has launched in over 400 Chemist Warehouse stores across Australia in response to the retailer’s impressive 35 per cent growth in the ingestible beauty category.
Financial experts project that the global ingestible beauty market, currently valued between $5.1 and $13 billion, could soar to $14.4 billion by 2027. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, prioritising wellness in its developing economy, is identified as the fastest-growing market for ingestible beauty.
WelleCo’s flagship product, The Super Elixir (pictured), along with its comprehensive wellness elixir collection, targets various aspects of beauty and wellness, including hormonal support, hair, skin, and mental well-being.
Pioneering the ingestible beauty and wellness category since 2014, WelleCo has grown to be present in nearly 60 retailers across 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. All WelleCo products are formulated and manufactured in Australia, emphasising the brand’s commitment to the highest-quality ingredients.
Leighton Richards, WelleCo’s CEO, describes the Chemist Warehouse launch as the brand’s most significant bricks-and-mortar retail expansion since its inception almost a decade ago. With a focus on omnichannel growth, Richards notes the global surge in WelleCo’s business and emphasises the priority of reintroducing the brand into physical stores.
“It’s an exciting time for the business,” he said. “In the past quarter, WelleCo has been surging globally, and we’re on track to double our business year on year. We have seen over 200 percent growth in Australia and 400 percent in the US. In the second quarter of 2023, WelleCo grew its customer base by more than 1,000 percent.
“We’re very focused on omnichannel growth and see our business expanding in major retail across the world. We have been a predominantly direct-to-consumer business because ingestible beauty has traditionally been positioned somewhere between the beauty and vitamin categories, making it trickier to market. But now the business is scaling up, taking it back into physical stores is a priority for us.”
Daniel Kinder, National Category & Brand Manager at Chemist Warehouse, says the ingestible beauty category has seen significant growth over the past 12 months, with an increase of more than 35 per cent, with customers investing in their wellbeing by making more proactive decisions about addressing their health.
“After launching WelleCo in our Ultra Beauty stores, we have seen a surge in demand from our customers and we are thrilled to be bringing the ingestible beauty and lifestyle range to our Chemist Warehouse stores nationally at the most affordable prices.”
WelleCo has been stocked in Ultra Beauty, Chemist Warehouse’s luxury sister store, since 2022 and is already stocked in Myer and David Jones.