Rituals expands its UK and Ireland retail presence with new premium Belfast store in Victoria Square

The company’s new boutique store in Victoria Square is its biggest store in the UK where customers can explore new Rituals offerings including a Hair Temple, World of Sleep, a skincare consultation station and an assortment of the premium House of Rituals collection – these are only currently available in the UK at the Battersea Power Station premium store in London.

In an interview with Northern Ireland World, Niki Schilling, Rituals’ director of innovation and sustainability, revealed there are ambitious plans for several new Rituals store openings across the UK and Ireland during 2024.

"We began our journey in this city 15 years ago and felt it was the right time to open our biggest UK store in Belfast with an upgraded premium format to provide an elevated shopping experience to our customers while welcoming new customers to explore a new journey of personal wellbeing.

"The new store features a Hair Temple offering guests the opportunity to create luxurious and personalised hair care products. An in-store skincare consultation station offers customers guidance on achieving healthier, happier skin. The store’s World of Sleep is also designed to offer sophisticated luxury with our new premium home and lifestyle collections to help our customers relax, unwind and achieve a peaceful night’s rest.

"This opening marks an exciting time for the brand in growing our retail presence across the United Kingdom and Ireland.”

Niki revealed that amongst the most popular Rituals products in Northern Ireland across the Belfast, Ballymena and Londonderry stores are the brand’s luxurious foaming shower gels.

"They’re perfect as an everyday essential, or as a gift for a loved one, to enhance their self care routine. Created using a unique gel-to-foam technology, the gel transforms into a rich, silky soft foam for a great hydrating experience. The Ritual of Sakura, The Ritual of Karma and The Ritual of Ayurveda foaming shower gels are proving to be the bestsellers within our Northern Ireland stores,” she said.

In the run-up to Christmas, gift sets have proved incredibly popular, with The Ritual of Sakura, The Ritual of Ayurveda and Homme gift sets particular favourites with local shoppers, closely followed by the sets from Rituals’ other collections.

Niki felt that it was important for the brand to take customers’ changing needs on board.

"We definitely see a change in the expectations of our customers. As a brand, we listen very carefully to our customers’ requests and wishes, especially with regards to sustainability. Sustainability has become a hot topic over the past years, and we see that this plays an important role in the decision making of both our new and current customers.

"There is no planet B, and the consumer becomes more and more aware of this. Our extensive offer of refill options is very popular.

"Sustainability is extremely important to Rituals as a company, and also to me personally. It is one of the most important pillars in our innovation process.

Sustainability has always been at the core of our brand.

"Rituals is all about wellbeing, and we value personal wellbeing as much as environmental wellbeing. We are determined to not just make people feel good, but also to do good. For us sustainability is not only about how we produce, but also about how we conduct ourselves and our business.

"Since the company was founded 23 years ago, we have been on a mission to support the wellbeing of our consumers. We believe sustainability must be a 360 degrees assessment, and that is why we’re taking a holistic approach to our business and how we operate. This is also the reason why we felt that the B Corp Certification is the only assessment that covers all sides of the business, from the way we treat our customers and employees to our decision making processes and environmental considerations in product development.

"Sustainability is not only important for the planet, but also for every person alive. In today’world, it’s more important than ever for companies to take responsibility for their impact on the environment and take action to combat climate change. I believe we have a shared responsibility to make sure future generations won’t suffer the consequences of our lack of care for the natural world – and that if we all commit to consciously making better choices on a daily basis, we can make a difference.

" We are constantly working on all aspects of our collections to improve from a sustainability point of view: for example, by the end of 2024, all of our formulas will be made with at least 90% natural origin ingredients. At this moment our natural skincare range, all of our body creams and scrubs, and The Ritual of Ayurveda collection already fully consists of products made of more than 90% natural origin ingredients.

"Furthermore, it should come as no surprise that creating waste is wasteful. So, we’re dedicated to reaching circularity by making sure by 2025 all our products are either refillable, recyclable or made of recycled content.”

The short term goals of the company include that in 2025 all its products will be refillable, recyclable and / or made of recycled materials. By 2025, it will have zero waste packaging and is designing all packs to be recyclable, reusable or containing recycled materials.

Niki added that with regards to Rituals’ carbon footprint, the brand’s overarching ambition is to achieve Net Zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

"By 2030 we are aiming to already reduce this by 50%,” she said.

With more people adopting vegan lifestyle choices, Rituals offers a broad range of vegan products.

"We developed our Namaste collection for instance, especially with vegan ingredients in mind,” said Niki. “The full ingredient list can be found on the packaging of each product as well as on our website. Our top five products from our vegan-friendly skincare range are The Ritual of Namaste Velvety Smooth Cleansing Foam, The Ritual of Namaste Skin Brightening Face Exfoliator, The Ritual of Namaste Glow Mask, The Ritual of Namaste 24H Hydrating Gel Cream and The Ritual of Namaste Anti-Ageing Face Oil.”