You may eat local, organic produce, but how often do you seek out farm-fresh cosmetics? One new natural beauty company, Napa Organics defines "agribeauty."
You may eat local, organic produce, but how often do you seek out farm-fresh cosmetics? One new natural beauty company, Napa Organics defines "agribeauty."
It's nothing new: restaurants sourcing local and organic ingredients, listing farms on their menus, hosting dinners in the field. And as these practices have become commonplace, “farm fresh” may be more of a prerequisite than a main selling point for many foodies. Restaurants are now looking to take the elitism out of farm to table and add creativity back in, making the concept more unique and affordable.
We can trace this "trend" (is wanting real food really a trend?) back to a time long before it was cool to grow your own food; it was necessity. But now we're seeing it in its next stages. That is, finding packaged products as close to their original form as possible thanks to minimal processing and more eco, transparent packaging.
In the beauty industry, the idea of farm fresh is still in its infancy but it's certainly evolving. Just like many of us demand that food is pure and healthy, some of us are now starting to ask the same of our beauty products. What better way than to source fresh, local ingredients? More and more companies are focusing on producing small-batch, local products to communicate purity, traceability and who's behind a brand.
Recently, I was intrigued by California-based Napa Organics’ new way to define the farm-to-table concept specifically for the beauty space. Its messaging relies on one simple marketing term: "agribeauty."
What is 'agribeauty'? 
What is agribeauty, according to Napa Organics? Simple: Beauty products made with natural and organic ingredients from family farms in Napa.
The clean packaging is the perfect slate for its even cleaner ingredients, which it lists on the front of package—a trend we continue to see emerge among companies that want us to believe their products are pure without having to turn the bottle around.
Napa Organics' line of six products, including Organic Lavender Hydrosol toner, pure Plum Kernel Oil and Vegan Lip Balms use five or fewer local ingredients and are affordable (price tags under $20, with the biggest steal being the Vegan Lip Balm Trio for $10).
This company gets it right in a lot of ways, but there is one place where I think it misses the mark. Though the brand sources all its ingredients from USDA Organic and biodynamic farms, it uses “organics” in its name despite not actually boasting an organic certification.
You probably remember that just last month Whole Foods finally confirmed that all products marketed as organic on its shelves must have USDA Organic or NSF certification. Controversial, yes, but still a legitimate force that brands should consider.
I'd also like to see Napa Organics profile some of the farms from which it sources. Such efforts would give this term more legs.
The company, however, still may be able to accomplish what many even certified organic brands do not: making local, traceable products meaningful to the beauty industry.
Do you buy farm-fresh cosmetics? Answer in the comments below.
