Oct 19, 2017 | By Tess
Cosmetics brand Lush will be investing in 3D printing technologies to manufacture molds for its products and perhaps even cosmetics, according to Mark Constantine, co-founder of the UK-based company.
The announcement was part of Constantine’s “annual talk” at the Jobshop UK directors’ lunch. In it, he also declared that Lush would be investing £13 million ($17M) in the town of Poole in Dorset for a new innovation facility.
According to Constantine, the cosmetics company has already invested £4.6 million ($6M) through the purchase of an industrial facility on the Nuffield Industrial Estate in Poole, and will put the rest of the money towards establishing the facility as a center for exploring new products and manufacturing processes, such as 3D printing.
The facility, to be known as Unit 1 (or 1 Lush), will be centered on developing new products and trying out new things. Constantine suggested that the 1 Lush team would be putting its efforts towards the development of new products which could be in production in a short time frame (six to 12 weeks).
“What we’re up to in there is putting in all our innovation and new things—so it gives us the facilities, it adds another one fifth to our space in Poole and gives us the facilities to work on new things," said Constantine. “Someone can invent something and we can make it within six to 12 weeks.”
Spanning 50,000 square feet, the new Lush facility will also be the site of experiments with 3D printing. The technology, said Constantine, will be used there both for the production of molds and products.
At the Lush Summit in February 2017, the company showcased one of its 3D printing projects: 3D printed solid perfume.
Constantine, who is staunchly opposed to Brexit, recently decided to move some of Lush’s business to Germany, along with 80 per cent of its staff—“the ones who didn’t want to be living [in the UK].”
Still, thanks to an increase in domestic sales, the cosmetics company has also been able to grow its presence in the UK.
Lush co-founder Mark Constantine
Constantine explains: “Fortunately for us, we’ve had a 25 per cent lift in our British business from last year. We’re enjoying considerable success and the British public are very, very kind to us, probably kinder than to anyone else on the high street at the moment, I would imagine.”
Aside from its fragrant soaps and cosmetics, Lush has also gained recognition within the UK for voluntarily offering its workers the Living Wage, which is higher than the government’s legal minimum wage.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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