While a number once-hot influencer brands are sputtering or shuttering, influencer Sommer Ray’s vegan ingestible brand Imaraïs Beauty is busy adding new territories to its retail distribution.
Today, it makes its United Kingdom debut at 150 Boots locations. The brand has also landed at more than 100 locations of Super Care Pharmacy, a premium pharmacy in the United Arab Emirates. Overall, Imaraïs’s retail footprint has increased over 300% from 2023 to 2024, and the brand is now sold in 2,000-plus retail locations worldwide.
Imaraïs has been working with distributors to secure key partnerships in international markets. For Europe, Imaraïs contracted exclusively with FDD International, which facilitated the Boots deal. Imaraïs is the distributor’s first ingestible brand. Both parties are keen on growing the brand and the category in the European Union this year.
“A lot of effort has gone on behind the scenes from everyone involved, and we cannot wait to help grow the wellness category with Boots,” says FDD International commercial director Daniel Silvester. “We know more consumers are searching out solutions that work alongside their skincare routine, and we are delighted to work in partnership with Imaraïs who we believe are offering something unique to the market that is missing, plant-powered ingredients that offer real results.”
Family-run Gulf Marketing Group (GMG) holds the distribution rights for Imaraïs for the entire Gulf Coast Council (GCC) region. It brought the brand to Super Care Pharmacy in the UAE and hopes to extend it to Saudi Arabia. Along with Imaraïs, Super Care carries a wide range of beauty and wellness products from global brands such as Payot, Eucerin, The Organic Pharmacy, CosRX, Gallinee, La Roche Posay and Sugar Bear Hair.
Hamda Baker, president of GMG’s beauty division, says she’s seen a shift in consumer behavior post-COVID toward a holistic approach to wellbeing, including an emphasis on “the idea that beauty emanates from within.” She expounds, “Our dynamic partnership with Sommer Ray and the introduction of Imaraïs Beauty exemplify our commitment to prioritizing consumer satisfaction and delivering exceptional well-being solutions.”
Imaraïs CEO Aaron Hefter says GCC is one of the most advanced regions when it comes to “edible beauty” concepts like Imaraïs. The brand’s skin and hair products include Glow, Grow, Clarity and De-Puff. In the United States, they are priced at $49 each for a month’s supply. Hefter says, “They’ve been selling edible beauty for some time, and they’re very familiar with the concept of beauty from within.”
Imaraïs previously entered the U.K. via Selfridges and Lookfantastic. In 2022, the brand raised $1.25 million in seed funding at a $12.5 million valuation. The same year, it entered J.C. Penney in the U.S. It’s sold in The Vitamin Shoppe in the U.S., too.
Hefter points out that what sets Toronto-based Imaraïs apart from other ingestible brands is that it’s headquartered in Canada, where products must go through Health Canada’s rigorous approval process. Health Canada is the Canadian version of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“From our experience, it is the most extensive process when it comes to regulatory,” Hefter says. “It actually takes nine months, and Health Canada goes through everything, your ingredients, your combination of ingredients, your formulations, even your label claims and marketing claims. They’re looking at safety, efficacy and quality.”
He adds, “In a lot of these regions that we’re selling in outside of the U.S., [ingestibles] is a heavily regulated industry. We’ve got a lot of research, and we’ve got the backing of Health Canada, which definitely helps us in getting registrations and compliance to sell around the globe.”
Stateside, the brand is deepening its relationship with The Vitamin Shoppe. At the chain and Super Supplements, it exclusively sells women’s health gummy products at 480 Beauty From Within in-store installations dedicated to beauty supplements. Super Supplements is a retail nameplate owned by The Vitamin Shoppe. Priced at $49.99, the women’s health gummy products are healthy aging supplement Youth, hormonal support supplement Balance and libido supplement Sutra.
Hefter and Ray view continued international expansion as a key growth strategy for Imaraïs. Hefter says, “There’s a big world out there who is very interested in getting wellness and beauty from within.” Ray adds, “It’s not just about growing our brand, it’s about connecting with diverse cultures and communities across the globe…As we continue to expand our reach, I’m looking forward to inspiring and empowering more individuals on their wellness journey.”
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