British Wellness Brand Neom Makes Skin-care Play, Sets Sights on U.S.

LONDON — Neom, the British wellness brand built around essential oils and natural ingredients, is breaking into the skin-care market with products aimed at stressed-out skin, and plans to expand in the U.S. in September. Cofounder and creative director Nicola Elliott started Neom 14 years ago after calling time on a magazine career at U.K. Glamour, where she was working on beauty, fashion and celebrity features. The travel, bad eating, stress and lack of sleep became too much, so she trained as an aromatherapist and nutritionist and started the brand with 15,000 pounds, alongside cofounder Oliver Mennell. So far, Neom’s focus has been on wellness, and the brand was one of the first movers in the space. Indeed, Elliott was so early on the wellness trend that she can recall carrying two carrots in her handbag — one all-natural, the other not — so she could explain to spa therapists the difference between organic and non-organic products. “It was like pushing water uphill with a fork when we started out. The whole thing was really, really tough,” said Elliott, who started with one all-natural candle and eventually expanded into home fragrance, bath and body and a “scent-to-sleep” range of oils and balms. As the company

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