Local skincare company Irie Rock Cosmetics has signed a deal with distribution company Pak’s Cosmetics in an effort to secure a customer base in the United Kingdom market.

The company will be distributing Irie Rock’s flagship Tea Tree and Witch Hazel line of skincare products in London — the most populous city of England. The products will be officially be launched in the UK on August 7 and will be promoted in Pak’s Cosmetics Finbury Park and Dalston stores August 11-12 and 18-19 respectively.

Currently Pak’s Cosmetics is headquartered in Finsbury Park, London, and has eight other branches in the capital, including Dagenham, Peckham and Harlesden. The distribution company also provides wholesale trade in Tottenham in London, according to the company’s website.

Owner and managing director of Irie Rock Cosmetics, Racquell Brown, is optimistic about the prospects for the company and notes that the products are sure to excite the UK market as it delivers on the company’s slogan of ‘Natural skincare that works’.

The UK’s organic and beauty product topped £2 billion in 2017, reflecting the significance of and continued growth of the segment.

Irie Rock was first introduced to the market through a spring/summer expo for Jamaican skincare line in 2013, where Brown realised that there was a demand for the products.

“It was immediate and overwhelming to the extent that all products were sold off on the first day of the event and we had to ask the buyer to allow us to use the product for display for the remaining few days of the event,” she recalled.

According to Brown, Irie Rock tested the market in 2016 with some in-store promotions by Pak’s in London and Birmingham, and all the products were sold in a day. A week later the company got confirmation to ship its first order to the UK.

“Pak’s Cosmetics has shown interest in us as a brand for a few years and we worked towards making the partnership happen,” she said. “I think right now is a great time and we decided to take hold of the opportunity with both hands.”

Brown reasoned that Pak’s Cosmetics is now planning in-store promotions at its Crimson Park and Dalston stores to market the line of products.

The UK is Irie Rock’s first official export market, having also secured orders to the United States and Canada through e-commerce platform Amazon. Brown now plans on increasing the company’s retail network in the UK with emphasis on securing London-based contracts.

She is also looking to cement distribution contracts in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas after completing her mission in the UK.

“We will also be building out our Amazon presence in the UK and Canada, which is very important to us. Online is new way of doing business, and by having a presence online and monitoring where the traffic is coming from, it shows us the markets where we need to place more emphasis,” she said.

Irie Rock is a line of Jamaican body care products using natural ingredients. The business which started out as a solution to Brown’s own skincare, now manufactures 32 products and employs five full-time employees and seven temporary.

Irie Rock’s products include serums, body splashes and its newest introduction, a facial care line. The products, which were once only available in hotels and gift shops, are now also in beauty supply stores and pharmacies across Jamaica.