NEW YORK: Goop, the $250 million lifestyle and wellness brand, begun by Gwyneth Paltrow, emerged from a newsletter to create a business built on the value of finding beautiful things.
This is detailed in a feature from the New York Times. “I want to help you solve problems,” G.P. – as she’s known by her employees – told a class at Harvard Business School. “I want to be an additive in your life.”
Founded in 2008 as a newsletter, the company incorporated in 2013. Alongside the continued recommended content section, the brand has expanded into vegan makeup and skincare lines, fashion, fragrance, and in 2017 into vitamins and other supplements.
The Times situates Goop in the void that was left after “having it all” – it lost favour with women, the space into which wellness stepped. It was particularly fruitful for celebrities who could make marketing of their lives. Jessica Alba’s Honest Company, for instance, or Miranda Kerr’s organic beauty range.
Goop, meanwhile, went beyond product and into the wackier side of wellness. It began to feature ‘medical mediums’ and to promote bizarre procedures. The company’s content division featured more and more healing methods, many of which employed oils, ointments, and objects. Knowing what content was drawing the most interest, Goop was able to begin manufacturing the products that readers wanted.
The claims, however, proved to be problematic. They would lead to difficulties in a partnership with Conde Nast and a run-in with the watchdog TruthInAdvertising.org (TINA). The company drew criticism for its absurdity, for the doubtfulness of its claims, the price. That criticism, meanwhile, drove traffic to Goop.
Despite its parodies and the scepticism surrounding many of its claims, or the sheer expense of the cures it peddles, Goop illuminates the impact of a brand “aspirational” in the extreme.
This is detailed in a feature from the New York Times. “I want to help you solve problems,” G.P. – as she’s known by her employees – told a class at Harvard Business School. “I want to be an additive in your life.”
Founded in 2008 as a newsletter, the company incorporated in 2013. Alongside the continued recommended content section, the brand has expanded into vegan makeup and skincare lines, fashion, fragrance, and in 2017 into vitamins and other supplements.
The Times situates Goop in the void that was left after “having it all” – it lost favour with women, the space into which wellness stepped. It was particularly fruitful for celebrities who could make marketing of their lives. Jessica Alba’s Honest Company, for instance, or Miranda Kerr’s organic beauty range.
Goop, meanwhile, went beyond product and into the wackier side of wellness. It began to feature ‘medical mediums’ and to promote bizarre procedures. The company’s content division featured more and more healing methods, many of which employed oils, ointments, and objects. Knowing what content was drawing the most interest, Goop was able to begin manufacturing the products that readers wanted.
The claims, however, proved to be problematic. They would lead to difficulties in a partnership with Conde Nast and a run-in with the watchdog TruthInAdvertising.org (TINA). The company drew criticism for its absurdity, for the doubtfulness of its claims, the price. That criticism, meanwhile, drove traffic to Goop.
Despite its parodies and the scepticism surrounding many of its claims, or the sheer expense of the cures it peddles, Goop illuminates the impact of a brand “aspirational” in the extreme.
Sourced from the New York Times
