3 April 2025

A Day in Cardiff: Connecting with Customers at Holland & Barrett's New Experience Store

By Thomas Laird

Holland & Barrett's new Cardiff Experience Store featuring a free sample stand near the deodorant section where Salt of the Earth natural deodorants are displayed

Last week, our Head of Sales Emilie traded spreadsheets and marketing plans for something much more valuable—direct conversations with our customers at Holland & Barrett's brand new Experience Store in Cardiff's Queen Street.

After her recent trip to Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna in Italy, Emilie was keen to get back to grassroots customer interaction, which is at the heart of what we do at Salt of the Earth.

Experiencing the UK's First H&B Experience Store

This isn't just any Holland & Barrett—it's the company's first-ever Experience Store and their largest location to date, spanning an impressive 3,710 square feet. Part of a £70 million investment to transform their retail presence, this flagship store represents a bold new vision for wellness retail in the UK.

Walking into the store, Emilie was struck by the innovative design features, including an "Instagrammable" cushion wall and sleek self-checkout stations. The store's "Wellness Mission" gondola offers tailored product recommendations, creating a more personalised shopping journey for customers seeking natural deodorants and wellness solutions.

What makes this location truly special is the addition of a Wellbeing Studio where customers can participate in activities like yoga and pilates. There's even an H&B&Me pod where visitors can discover their biological age and receive personalised health advice—a far cry from the traditional retail experience!

Holland & Barrett Cardiff Experience Store's Instagrammable cushion wall featuring colorful pillows in various shapes with the text "How you feeling?" - part of the store's interactive wellness display

A Long-Standing Partnership

Our relationship with Holland & Barrett spans over two decades—we've been proudly supplying our natural deodorants to their stores for more than 20 years. This enduring partnership speaks volumes about the trust built between our family-run business and one of the UK's leading health and wellness retailers.

Try This Product

Oud & Bergamot Natural Refillable Roll-On Deodorant

Bold and confident, Oud & Bergamot blends smoky, woody oud with a sharp citrus twist. A refined fragrance with character and depth. This roll-on is refillable, making it easy to keep topped up using our 225ml Pouches or 525ml Bottles – less packaging, more of the scent you enjoy. Features and Benefits:✅ 100% Natural Origin Ingredients – Made with soothing aloe vera.✅ Approved by the Vegan Society and Leaping Bunny.✅ COSMOS Natural Certified – Ensuring high natural origin standards and responsible sourcing.

£7.49Shop Now

Seeing our products beautifully displayed in this innovative new space was a proud moment for Emilie and our entire team. As Holland & Barrett evolves its retail approach to focus more on community and personalised support, we're delighted to continue growing alongside them.

What Customers Loved About Salt of the Earth Natural Deodorants

During her day of sampling, Emilie noticed particular enthusiasm for our Peony Blossom fragrance. This delicate, floral scent has been winning hearts since its launch, and the Cardiff customers were no exception!

What truly resonated with shoppers, however, was our refillable packaging system. As Emilie explained to curious customers, refilling our sprays can reduce plastic use by up to 65% compared to simply replacing the product each time. In today's climate of increasing environmental awareness, this practical approach to reducing waste clearly struck a chord with the Cardiff crowd.

Sharing Our B Corp News

Emilie was also excited to share our latest achievement with customers—Salt of the Earth is now B Corp certified! This certification recognises businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. For many customers who already appreciate our commitment to natural ingredients and refillable packaging, learning about our B Corp status further reinforced their trust in our brand values.

Salt of the Earth natural deodorants display at Holland & Barrett Cardiff store, showing various fragrances including Peony Blossom alongside the unscented spray refill, with buy-one-get-one-half-price promotion

The Value of Face-to-Face Interaction

"It was really interesting to get away from the spreadsheets and marketing to talk directly to customers," Emilie shared after her day at the store. These conversations provide invaluable insights that simply can't be captured in market research data or sales figures.

As a COSMOS Natural certified brand with approvals from the Vegan Society and Leaping Bunny Programme, we're proud of our credentials—but what matters most is how our products perform for real people in their daily lives. Sample days like this one in Cardiff help us stay connected with what matters to our customers.

Looking Forward

Our independent, family-run business has always valued direct customer feedback as a driver for improving our products. With 57 awards won to date, we remain committed to creating effective natural deodorants that align with our customers' values while meeting the highest standards of certification.

Whether you're in Cardiff or elsewhere in the UK, we'd love to hear about your experiences with Salt of the Earth natural deodorants. What's your favourite fragrance? Have you tried our refill options yet? Let us know in the comments below!

Note: All Salt of the Earth deodorants are made in our UK factory (with the exception of our crystal deodorants) and are COSMOS Natural certified, Leaping Bunny approved, and Vegan Society approved.

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Oud & Bergamot Natural Deodorant Spray 100ML

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