It’s been six years since Australian beauty giant Mecca closed the doors of its indie sister brand Kit Cosmetics, which had its own line of products and physical stores at the time. Loyal beauty addicts will fondly recall Kit’s focus on under-the-radar brands, but now, Kit is back in the form of a reimagined skincare brand made in Melbourne. “The original Kit was a range of products spanning skincare, body care and colour, and was also a multi-brand retail concept. It offered everything fr
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It’s been six years since Australian beauty giant Mecca closed the doors of its indie sister brand Kit Cosmetics, which had its own line of products and physical stores at the time. Loyal beauty addicts will fondly recall Kit’s focus on under-the-radar brands, but now, Kit is back in the form of a reimagined skincare brand made in Melbourne.“The original Kit was a range of products spanning skincare, body care and colour, and was also a multi-brand retail concept. It offered everything from makeup, home fragrance to targeted skincare from many niche global brands in a casual shopping environment,” explained Marita Burke, chief officer of Mecca-maginations.“This is Kit as you have never seen it before. An all-new line up of consciously created products. We call it modern formulas for all skinkind and it’s built for skin and the world it’s in.”Never say neverTo celebrate the launch of Kit this month, Mecca unveiled its first pop-up shop on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy, Melbourne, which hosted several experiential activations and events where customers could test the products in real life. Limited edition merchandise was also available, including hoodies, t-shirts and jumpers. There was also an activation located in the Mecca flagship store in Sydney. “We don’t have plans to branch out into permanent bricks-and-mortar stores just now, but never say never,” said Burke.In addition to Kit, Mecca has several other private label brands, including Mecca Max, which is one of the fastest growing cosmetics brands at the company and consistently experiences “positive sales performance”, said Burke. “We are constantly imagining new brands, new products, and new Mecca moments, so we’ll continue to invest in this area of our business,” she said. Skincare on the riseIt’s no surprise that since Covid hit, the skincare category has shot through the roof and according to Mordor Intelligence, the Australian market is projected to register a CAGR of 5 per cent between 2022 and 2027. “Australia is one of the important and emerging markets for organic and natural personal care products. Organic cosmetics, essential oils, and other personal care products account for approximately 2 per cent of the total organic cosmetics market in the country. Skincare, hair care, and perfumes & fragrances are some of the important cosmetics in the organic market,” stated a report from Mordor Intelligence.A major focus of Kit is its ingredient philosophy, which is centred around naturally-derived ingredients, 100 per cent natural fragrances and botanical technologies, according to Burke. “Our formulas feature powerful plants and herbal adaptogens. In fact, many of our botanical ingredients and adaptogens are used in traditional Chinese/herbal medicine and Ayurveda to help fight stress, fatigue, and inflammation,” she said.“Modern skin is something we’re super-passionate about, where lack of sleep, pollution and stress wreak havoc on our skin, Kit is here to address skin health using an ingredient-led approach.”While customers can purchase products from Mecca’s online store or physical stores, Kit has its own website, where customers are able to do a deep dive to find out more about the products and each of the ingredients, from cassia seed, bilberry extract and finger lime extract to goji berry, Japanese grape extract and kangaroo paw flower nectar.“We searched across Australia and beyond to unearth potent plants, hard-working herbal adaptogens, oils and extracts to bring to light a highly evolved approach to skincare. Think lab coat meets nature,” said Burke.Like many savvy beauty brands, Kit was developed with sustainability top of mind and “consciously crafted on the inside and out”. According to Kit, all cardboard cartons include FSC-certified paper stocks, free of lamination, printed with soy-based inks and are 100 per cent recyclable. The majority of products are packaged in glass or aluminium which can be recycled through Mecca’s partnership with TerraCycle.“Where plastic is unavoidable, Kit partners with The Waste Revolution to offset its plastic footprint. For every kilogram of plastic used, one kilogram is collected or recycled on Kit’s behalf that otherwise wouldn’t be,” said a statement from the brand.
