Neal's Yard Remedies

Founder Romy Fraser, then a teacher and single parent with two daughters, abandoned her career in education in 1981 and opened the first Neal's Yard Remedies shop in Neal's Yard in Covent Garden, London.{{cite news|last=Jardine|first=Cassandra|author-link=Cassandra Jardine|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/alternative-medicine/4708462/I-didnt-know-much-about-herbs.html|title='I didn't know much about herbs'|work=The Telegraph|date=21 September 2001|access-date=December 16, 2020}} Originally operating under the name Neal's Yard Apothecary, the outlet was intended as an alternative pharmacy; the company adopted the current name in 1986, to avoid the assumption it was a registered pharmacy, when a franchised off-shoot opened in Oxford.{{cite news|last=Wiggins|first=Jenny|url=https://www.ft.com/content/30035fe0-73d3-11da-ab91-0000779e2340|title=Selling some natural (and well-packaged) remedies by the yard|work=Financial Times|date=23 December 2005|access-date=10 March 2020}} It sells dried herbs, homoeopathic products, essential oils, Bach flower remedies, and a similar range of toiletries.{{cite news|last=Nachman|first=Sherrie|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/travel/index/stories/nachman05031998.htm|title=The Unbeaten Path: In London, a New (Age) England|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=3 May 1998|access-date=10 October 2019}}

Fraser founded the business as an extension of Neal's Yard Wholefoods, the first such shop in London, which was run by Nicholas Saunders who offered to split the premises and guarantee Fraser's bank loan.{{cite news|last=Bridge|first=Rachel|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/how-i-made-it-romy-fraser-founder-of-neals-yard-remedies-jjczg9r00dk|title=How I made it: Romy Fraser, founder of Neal's Yard Remedies|work=The Sunday Times|date=7 August 2005|access-date=10 March 2020}} {{subscription required}}{{cite news|last=Driscoll|first=Brogan|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/23/romy-fraser-neals-yard-remedies-trill-farm_n_6525348.html|title=Women In Business: Romy Fraser, Founder Of Neal's Yard Remedies And Trill Farm|work=The Huffington Post|date=23 January 2015|access-date=10 March 2020}} Other retailers were making requests to stock Fraser's products by 1984. Fraser opened a factory in a former builder's yard in Balham, South London around the same time to cope with demand, moving to a larger factory in 1993. She brought in a managing director in 1999 to concentrate on product development. In 2001, the company's best selling products included frankincense nourishing cream, rosemary soap, plus seaweed and arnica foaming bath.

In 2005, Fraser reduced her stake in the private company from 70% to 15%, selling the difference for at least £10 million to Peter Kindersley, according to the Financial Times. Kindersley, a former publisher, was by this time the owner of Sheepdrove Organic Farm and heavily committed to the associated movement. At this point, the company had a turnover of £12 million.{{cite news|last=Hart|first=Carolyn|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/11036387/Trill-Farm-in-Devon-is-the-starting-point-of-a-gentle-revolution-for-the-founder-of-Neals-Yard-Remedies.html|title=Trill Farm in Devon is the starting point of a gentle revolution for the founder of Neal's Yard Remedies|work=The Telegraph|date=16 August 2014|access-date=10 March 2020}}{{cite news|last=Wiggins|first=Jenny|url=https://www.ft.com/content/1e665828-73e2-11da-ab91-0000779e2340|title=Kindersley buys Neal's health unit for £10m|work=Financial Times|date=23 December 2005|access-date=10 March 2020}} (By 2008, Kindersley owned 90% of the stock, but gave 15% of the company to 280 employees that September.){{cite news|last=Shepard|first=Anna|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/neals-yard-founder-a-real-eco-pioneer-rjx9qnqkb2q|title=Neal's Yard founder: a real eco pioneer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615200900/http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/beauty/article4587778.ece|work=The Times|date=23 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-date=15 June 2011}}{{cite news|last=Wood|first=Zoe|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/sep/07/retail|title=Staff handed share in Neal's Yard business|work=The Observer|date=7 September 2008|access-date=10 March 2020}} Also in 2005, the company moved its headquarters from Battersea, South London to a new factory facility at Peacemarsh, near Gillingham, Dorset, which employed 222 people in 2018.{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Sophie|last2=Parker|first2=Kathryn|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/11/30/neals-yard-remedies-brexit-encourages-british-people-buy-uk/|title=Neal's Yard Remedies: 'if Brexit encourages British people to buy UK products, that's great'|work=The Telegraph|date=30 November 2018|access-date=14 August 2019}} In April 2009, the company launched their direct selling arm, NYR Organics which constituted 25% of sales by 2011.{{cite news|last=Lucas|first=Louise|url=https://www.ft.com/content/7bed9010-570c-11e1-be25-00144feabdc0|title=The modern face of door-to-door sales|date=February 20, 2012|work=Financial Times|quote=Neal's Yard Remedies, the UK-based organic skincare range that began supplementing its shops and online distribution with direct sales called NYR Organics in April 2009, garnered 18 per cent of group sales through direct channels in 2010 and a quarter of sales in 2011}} It had 5,000 sellers in the UK by 2013 and expanded operations to Ireland. As of 2013, the company had 60 retail stores internationally. By its own account, most of its company's sales in 2018 were to buyers in Asia and the United States.

Neal's Yard Remedies is co-owned by Peter, Barnabas, and Anabel Kindersley. Denise Bonner serves as the global head of NYR Organic.{{cite web |title=Our Team |url=https://uk.nyrorganic.com/shop/corp/area/our-team/ |publisher=Neal's Yard Remedies |access-date=17 August 2019}} From 2000 to 2014, Dragana Vilinac, originally from Sarajevo, was connected with the company, initially as a consultant and then as its head herbalist.{{cite news|last=Caldecott|first=Julian|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dragana-vilinac-medical-herbalist-who-spent-14-years-with-neals-yard-and-worked-with-the-united-9323052.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dragana-vilinac-medical-herbalist-who-spent-14-years-with-neals-yard-and-worked-with-the-united-9323052.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Dragana Vilinac: Medical herbalist who spent 14 years with Neal's Yard and worked with the United Nations in Afghanistan|work=The Independent|date=4 May 2014|access-date=19 August 2019}} By 2015, the company's products were being stocked in 21 countries. As of August 2021, the company was being run by Barnabas Kindersley. The company announced at this time that it was ceasing to trade via "direct selling" in France and Germany owing to an increase in administrative costs.{{cite news|last=Meddings|first=Sabah|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/article/neals-yard-ditches-france-and-germany-vkbp8rvx9|title=Neal's Yard ditches France and Germany|work=The Sunday Times|date=1 August 2021|access-date=1 August 2021|quote=Neal’s Yard Remedies...did not respond to questions about the impact of Brexit on its decision.}} {{subscription required}}

Romy Fraser received an OBE "for services to the health and beauty industry" in the 2008 New Year's Honours. She no longer had any connection with the company by 2014.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7163235.stm | publisher=BBC News | title=Marks and Spencer's Rose honoured|date=29 December 2007|access-date=10 March 2020}} Neal's Yard Remedies was the first company to be certified by the Soil Association, the organic charity, and the first to be certified as carbon neutral;{{cite news|last=O' Ceallaigh|first=John|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/8880928/Londons-top-shops-Neals-Yard-Remedies-Covent-Garden.html|title=London's top shops: Neal's Yard Remedies, Covent Garden|work=The Telegraph|date=10 November 2011|access-date=10 March 2020}} they use Fairtrade Foundation ingredients.{{cite news|last=Chesters|first=Anna|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/fashion-blog/2011/oct/18/brief-history-neal-s-yard-remedies|title=A brief history of Neal's Yard Remedies|work=The Guardian|date=18 October 2011|access-date=10 March 2020}} In 2015, the company received an award for innovation in the supply chain category of The Guardian's Sustainable Business Awards.{{Cite news|last=Beavis|first=Lynn|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/apr/30/fair-trading-for-the-future|title=Fair trading for the future|date=30 April 2015|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=29 January 2018}} Neal's Yard Holdings Limited, according to its accounts, made pre-tax profits of £3 million in the year ending March 2019 on sales of £45 million.

In May 2009 The Guardian{{'}}s Ethical Living blog invited Neal's Yard Remedies to participate in an installment of the "You Ask, They Answer" online discussion series, and received assurance from the company of their willingness to participate. A later posting from a Guardian editor stated that Neal's Yard was "working on replies".{{cite news|last=Vaughan|first=Adam|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ethicallivingblog/2009/may/26/you-ask-neals-yard-remedies | title=You ask, they answer: Neal's Yard Remedies| work=The Guardian|date=26 May 2009|access-date=20 May 2010}} Following the posting of questions about the efficacy of their remedies, and comments of a sceptical nature towards Neal's Yard alternative medicines, the company declined to participate in the discussion, and the thread was closed. The refusal of Neal's Yard Remedies to answer any of the questions was criticised by public relations experts.{{cite news|last=Vaughan|first=Adam|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ethicallivingblog/2009/may/28/neals-yard-remedies-pr | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=The PR lessons from Neal's Yard Remedies public debate U-turn | date=28 May 2009 | access-date=20 May 2010}}{{cite news|last=Lettice|first=John|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/29/graun_neals_yard_storm/|title=Blog homeopathy horror hammers hippy herbalists|work=The Register|date=29 May 2009|access-date=14 August 2019 |language=en}}

In October 2013, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert regarding the barring of shipments of the company's Cocoa Eye Shadow from entry into the U.S. due to microbiological contamination.{{cite web |title=Import Alert 53-17|url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_136.html |publisher=U.S. Food & Drug Administration|date=7 February 2020|orig-year=2 October 2013|access-date=10 February 2020}}

In March 2018, Neal's Yard Remedies was notified that their products Covent Garden Superfood Organic Greens Complex and Covent Garden Superfood Organic Cocoa Blend violated the California Health & Safety Code (Proposition 65) because the company had failed to provide required warnings that the products contained lead and cadmium, respectively, and thereby posed a potential health risk to consumers. In July 2018, the company was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $1,500.{{cite web |last1=Becerra |first1=Xavier |title=60 Day Notice 2018-00277 |url=https://oag.ca.gov/prop65/60-day-notice-2018-00277 |website=State of California Department of Justice. Attorney General|date=2 March 2018|access-date=10 February 2020}}

In April 2008, the BBC reported on the company's claims that the homoeopathic preparations they offer can help to prevent and treat serious fatal diseases such as malaria. It was reported that this practice was "highly dangerous and it puts people's lives at risk."{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/04_april/11/homeopathic.shtml|title=Homeopathic remedy claims are disputed|work=BBC South West|date=11 April 2008|access-date=10 October 2019}} Later in the year, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that the product "Malaria Officinalis 30c" was "clearly intended to be viewed as a treatment or preventive" and the company's actions were "potentially harmful to public health and misleading", and ordered that the product be withdrawn from sale; Neal's Yard acknowledged there was no proof the product worked and withdrew it from sale on 17 April 2008.{{cite news|last1=Meikle|first1=James|title=Cosmetic chain told to withdraw homeopathic malaria remedy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/may/07/1 |access-date=August 15, 2019 |work=The Guardian|date=May 7, 2008}}{{cite news |title=Firm 'misled' over malaria drug |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7385718.stm |date=6 May 2008 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=7 May 2008}}

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Category:1981 establishments in England

Category:Cosmetics companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Retail companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Retail companies based in London

Category:Retail companies established in 1981

Category:British brands

Category:Multi-level marketing companies

Category:Companies based in Dorset