After conquering fashion, Aje co-founder is taking on the wellness industry

ife.  “I am an absolute health fanatic, and I’m one of those people that is always researching ways to reduce using chemicals on my skin or in my body or in my household,” Norris told Inside Retail.  Despite trying, in his words, “every natural product under the sun”, Norris realised that most brands aren’t very transparent about their ingredients or their efficacy, leaving the average beauty consumer confused, and creating a gap in the market. “I work with nearly 600 women [at Aje] – and they literally come up to me, asking, ‘Do I use this skincare, do I take that collagen supplement, do I take protein?’ I’m pretty good at building brands, and I’m pretty good at retail, so I thought I would pull them all together,” he said.  Norris started creating a business plan for Ikkari – named after the Greek island of Ikaria, a certified Blue Zone – almost as a side project to keep himself occupied during Covid. But after the launch of Aje Athletica, Aje’s performance sportswear line, in May 2021, he saw an opportunity to bring the concept to life. “I was working with an advisor who is very good at branding, and she said, ‘It would be nice if we had some wellness products to sell in the Athletica stores.’ So I pulled out a 250-page roadmap, and she said we should actually incorporate the two brands together,” Norris recalled.  “I don’t care about the cost” Soon after that decision, Norris hired a product development team and gave them a simple brief: to make the best natural skincare products in the world.  “I said, ‘I don’t care about the cost, let’s just make the most effective, beautiful products we can, and we can work on the other stuff behind the scenes’,” he recalled.  Most other beauty brands develop products with a certain price point in mind, but Norris believes the results of Ikkari’s approach speak for themselves.  “I am extremely proud of the effectiveness of the products, the hand feel, the texture…they are some of the most beautiful products I’ve ever used,” he said.  Image supplied. While the price point is not cheap, Norris said it’s not out of reach for the everyday consumer.  “It’s like Aje. I always say we offer beautifully made and incredibly designed pieces that are not cheap, but they’re not so ridiculously expensive that nobody could ever think of having something from Aje in their wardrobe. That’s very much the mindset around Ikkari,” he said.  True to the original vision, Ikkari products are stocked in all 15 Aje Athletica stores in Australia and New Zealand. Norris sees them as a natural extension of the customer journey.  “If they’re on a journey to buy athletic wear, then they’re probably thinking about how they can improve their entire health regime,” he said. “We can talk to them about what sort of exercise they’re doing, and say, ‘Have you thought about using X, Y, Z Ikkari product?’” He is hopeful that the synergies between the two brands will provide a holistic wellness experience that is different from anything else on the market.  “I don’t think anybody’s done it in retail properly before,” he said.  Being omnichannel is the only way forward In addition to selling through Aje Athletica, Ikkari is also launching a standalone e-commerce site and opening a flagship store in Noosa, where Norris grew up and started Aje with fellow co-founder and creative director Edwina Forest.  “I’m so passionate about bricks-and-mortar retail. I love online as well, but I really truly believe that in this day and age, being omnichannel is the only way forward and it’s what our customers want,” Norris explained.  The flagship store will stock the full range of Ikkari products, which currently includes 94 SKUs, with more in the pipeline, and offer express treatments, such as 20-minute facials, so customers can try products before they buy.  “It’s not about making money off the actual service, it’s about getting our customers into the seats, trying these products, and when they love them, they can redeem [the cost of the treatment] straight into product,” Norris said.  He sees room to open many more flagships in the future: “Could it be 20? Yes, easily. Could it be 60? I don’t know. It all depends on performance,” he said.  One of the lessons he has learned from Aje is that it takes longer than people realise to build a brand, and he is committed to the long-term success of Ikkari.  “People put pressure on brands these days to perform so quickly, and to be overnight successes. I’m one of those people that is slow and steady,” he said. “We’ll see how the customer reacts and then that will determine my expansion plans for it.”