Beloved British skincare brand to DISAPPEAR from shop shelves after 25 years as consumer giant pulls plug

Scottish Sun

01-05-2025

Unilever said it was a 'difficult decision" to dismantle the British brand
WASHED AWAY Beloved British skincare brand to DISAPPEAR from shop shelves after 25 years as consumer giant pulls plug
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A BELOVED British beauty brand is to disappear from shop shelves, Unilever has confirmed.
Beauty brand REN Clean Skincare is being cut after a quarter of a century with its parent company citing 'internal factors' and 'market challenges'.
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Its legendary Ready Steady Glo AHA tonic developed a fanatical following
Credit: supplied
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Unilever is a massive consumer conglomerate worth over £89bn
Credit: Reuters
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The company vaguely blamed internal and market difficulties for the closure
Credit: Reuters
Consumer behemoth Unilever announced that it took the 'difficult decision' after realising that the brand was 'unable to sustain success in the long term.'
Whilst there is no set date for the sensitive skincare brand's closure, they predicted that the brand will be terminated by the end of the year.
Last August, Sky reported that the consumer giant was trying to offload both REN Skincare and Kate Somerville, but neither has been sold.
A spokesperson said: 'We are proud of the REN team for all they have accomplished during 25 years of business, putting 'clean' skin care on the agenda and creating positive change for both people and planet and thank them as they continue to support us through this closure.'
The pioneering brand which was ahead of the 'clean beauty' trend was founded by Rob Calcraft and Anthony Buck in 2000.
Some of its prestigious products, such as Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Toner (£30,) and the Evercalm range (£75), developed a cult following.
Its innovative approach to skincare attracted the attention of Unilver's prestige Brand director, Vasiliki Petrou.
Unilever bought the company for an undisclosed amount in 2015.
Under Petrou's mentorship, the 2023 turnover ballooned to £1.2bn.
However, last year she left the department, and almost immediately, profits started to dip.
After she left, REN reduced the number of its skincare products by a third in an attempt to 'modernise' and crack the US market.
But just last August, trouble was in the works as the division reported 'muted' profits.
Under Petrou Unilever's Prestige department also gobbled up other clean beauty brands such as Dermalogica and Kate Somerville, which are currently still available.