Watsons' Blue Beauty Range Fights Ocean Plastic Waste with Natural Ingredients and Powerful Results

“Ocean-bound plastics have far-reaching impacts, not only on the ocean but also on our habitat. To raise awareness of ocean-bound plastic, Watsons has launched Naturals by Watsons’ Special Edition Blue Beauty range. It features bottles made of 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic, representing an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to promote sustainability. The new range encourages our customers to join us in protecting the ocean and marine life, inspiring them to love their skin while loving the planet. Every decision, no matter how big or small, plays a vital role in protecting our planet. That's why we’ve expanded the number of Sustainable Choices products we offer to 9,700, ranging from skincare, hair care, to personal care products, making sustainable living more accessible. By embracing sustainable choices in our everyday lives, we empower our customers to Look Good, Do Good, and Feel Great with us.” ~Malina Ngai, CEO of AS Watson

Watsons Fights Against Ocean Plastic Waste Through Naturals by Watsons’ Blue Beauty Range

In honor of Earth Day, Watsons, AS Watson Group's flagship health and beauty brand, is pleased to launch Naturals by Watsons' Special Edition Blue Beauty range in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan, with plans to expand to Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines soon.  

Every year, 14 million tons of plastic enter the ocean, equivalent to the weight of over 140,000 blue whales. By 2050, the weight of plastics in the ocean is expected to exceed that of fish, with ocean-bound plastic being a major contributor. Ocean-bound plastic is defined as abandoned plastic waste located within 50 kilometers of shores where waste management is either nonexistent or inefficient. These impacts affect at least 700 marine.

Naturals by Watsons' Special Edition Blue Beauty collection includes shower gel, body lotion, shampoo, and conditioner. Each product contains over 94% natural ingredients, and every bottle is made from 100% recycled ocean-bound plastic. Customers who choose the new range can actively contribute to the fight against plastic waste in our oceans while also enjoying high-quality, sustainable personal care products. This range is part of Watsons' efforts to support the AS Watson Group's commitment to reducing the overall impact of plastics used in its exclusive brand packaging.

Naturals by Watsons' Special Edition Blue Beauty is set to debut in Watsons stores across the Philippines in mid-May, offering a clean beauty line free of 20 unwanted ingredients. Each product contains a formulation enriched with certified organic Algae sourced from Portugal, which delivers powerful results through natural ingredients that provide deep hydration.

Customers who choose the Naturals by Watsons Special Edition Blue Beauty range are actively contributing to the fight against plastic waste in our oceans while also indulging in high-quality and sustainable personal care products.

About Watsons: 

Watsons is the leading O+O (Offline plus Online) health and beauty retailer in Asia, currently operating 8,000 stores and more than 1,500 pharmacies in 15 Asian, European, and Middle-East markets. 

Watsons is named as the No.1 Personal Care and Beauty retailer in Asia*, providing personalized advice and counseling in health, beauty and personal care on top of its market-leading product range, making customers LOOK GOOD, DO GOOD, FEEL GREAT every day. Watsons is the flagship health and beauty brand of AS Watson Group. 

About Watsons Philippines:

Watsons is the flagship health and beauty brand of A.S. Watson Group, the world’s largest international health & beauty retailer. Today, Watsons is the leading health and beauty brand with successful operations in 15 markets. 

In 2002, A.S. Watson Group joined hands with SM Prime Holdings Inc., the Philippines; leading shopping mall developer. The partnership brought the first Watsons stores in SM Megamall and The Podium (Ortigas). Today, Watsons operates 1000+ stores in the Philippines serving more than 100,000 customers daily. 

Watsons strives to ensure that its customers get the best value for their money through monthly promotions, special offers, and continuous consumer marketing programs. Each Watsons store houses nothing but the best brands from top manufacturers all over the world and also carries its own competitively priced, high-quality private labels and brands. With more than 1000 brands ranging from medicines, cosmetics, and fragrances to personal care items and general merchandise, Watsons Your Personal Store delivers only the best health, wellness, and beauty solutions to each and every customer.

How Confident Are Women in Asia Nowadays?

“Watsons has had a deep connection with women for over 180 years. We believe that the best version of you and your real beauty should radiate from within. Confidence is an important part of inner beauty and is what makes you feel good and positively impacts your mental well-being. That’s why Watsons has recently appointed WISE – Watson Insight on Shopper’s Experience -  to conduct a survey about women’s confidence in Asia to find out what kind of support women need to feel more confident and help them become a better version of themselves. The findings show that an equitable, supportive and family friendly workplace is exactly what women need nowadays and we are keen to lead by example. With operations in 11 markets in Asia, women make up 77% of our 63,000 workforce. Therefore, it is Watsons’ ongoing commitment to create a culture that makes everyone feel welcomed, valued, appreciated and encouraged to bring their whole selves to work, and each of them is given equal career development opportunity. As a family-friendly company, we encourage more companies to join us in formulating policies to support and empower women, especially helping those working mothers to strike a balance between work and family. These findings are consistent with those in our ‘Women’s Confidence Survey in Asia’ that reveals staying healthy inside out is important to boost confidence which is important for both physical and mental wellness. As such, Watsons is launching ‘The New Beautiful’ campaign to encourage women to empower themselves to Look Good. Do Good. Feel Great. Featuring a series of activities across Asia, it will have three overarching themes – Go Green, Go Smile, and Go Empower, which aims to actively involve our community of over 100 million loyalty members in Asia. At Watsons, we believe in The New Beautiful, a new kind of beauty that’s good for everyone. To us, beautiful glows from the inside. It’s how we treat ourselves and each other. It’s how we live, who we are, and who we can be. The beautiful is in us all, and for us all.” ~Malina Ngai, CEO of A.S. Watson (Asia & Europe)

Watsons celebrates International Women’s Day by encouraging women to feel beautiful inside and out, boost their confidence and become the better version of themselves.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, Watsons released results from a regional ‘Women’s Confidence Survey in Asia’. 

‘Women’s Confidence Survey in Asia’ has been conducted with over 3,100 women aged 20-29 across six markets including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The respondents were asked to rate their confidence levels and what are the things that can help to boost their confidence.

The findings show that almost half of all women in Asia are not confident about themselves at work and in life. Women’s confidence levels are lowest in Hong Kong, closely followed by Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Mainland China. The survey further reveals that staying healthy inside out, as well as gaining recognition from coworkers are key to helping women gain confidence. 

Watsons’ recent Women’s Confidence Survey Asia revealed that in the Philippines, 70% are satisfied with their career progression and almost all believe it’s possible to excel in their field.

Equitable, Supportive, and Family-friendly Workplace is Key

Notably for the Philippines, 70% are satisfied with their career progression and almost all believe that it’s possible for women to excel in their career. Here, women believe that they will be more confident if they are staying health (70%), doing a purposeful job (65%), and doing something good for the environment (56%).

Watsons “What is Beautiful” survey revealed that inner beauty, feeling confident, happy and taking care of oneself inside and out are important in feeling beautiful.

What is Beautiful? Inner Beauty Becomes Increasingly Important

In another recent survey Watsons commissioned titled ‘What is Beautiful’, more than 11,000 women aged under 45 in 12 markets across Asia and Europe were interviewed about how they value things around them and how they define beautiful after going through a pandemic. On average, 75% of women agree that inner beauty has become more important than ever, especially in the Philippines (96%), followed by Malaysia (91%), 

Thailand (86%), Hong Kong (83%) and Taiwan (82%).

When being asked about the definition of ‘beautiful’, taking care of your health inside out tops the list, with feeling confident and feeling happy in the second and third.

What’s the most beautiful thing in life?’ The survey continues. Almost half the respondents feel that the most beautiful thing in life is doing good to the people around them, communities and even the planet we live in.

With this insight, Watsons Philippines offers up to 30% off on Women’s essentials like vitamins, supplements and personal care products for the whole month of March to help ensure Filipinas feel beautiful and health inside and out, thus boosting their confidence

In the Philippines, Watsons also has partnered with SM Supermalls for a special event titled “Women Now & the Future”, a summit on Women Empowerment for a Sustainable Tomorrow at the SM Megamall Fashion Hall. The conversation revolves around mentoring Womenprenuers and empowering the next generation of Women. Another program that is being planned later this year in partnership with Operations Smile is the launch of ‘Women in Medicine’ programme which aims to empower women in the field of medical science.

Please visit www.aswatson.com/our-company/o-and-o-strategy/ for more information. 

About Watsons

Watsons is the leading O+O (Offline plus Online) health and beauty retailer in Asia, currently operating over 8,000 stores and more than 1,500 pharmacies in 16 Asian and European markets. Watsons continually sets the standards in the health, wellness and beauty market, providing personalised advice and counselling in health, beauty and personal care on top of its market-leading product range, making customers LOOK GOOD, DO GOOD, FEEL GREAT every day. Since 2009, Watsons has been the No.1 pharmacy/ drugstore brand in Asia*. Watsons is the flagship health and beauty brand of A.S. Watson Group.

*Campaign Asia-Pacific “Asia’s Top 1,000 Brands” survey of over 8,000 respondents across 14 markets in Asia Pacific Region

About A.S. Watson Group

Established in 1841, A.S. Watson Group is the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer operating over 16,400 stores under 12 retail brands in 29 markets, with about 130,000 employees worldwide. For the fiscal year 2020,

A.S. Watson Group recorded revenue of US$20.6 billion. Every year, we are serving over 5.5 billion shoppers via our O+O (Offline plus Online) platforms, providing tech-enabled retail experience to customers offline and online.

A.S. Watson Group is also a member of the world-renowned multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, which has four core businesses - ports and related services, retail, infrastructure and telecommunications in over 50 countries.