Originally launched as a Lancashire market stall in 1970, Bodycare became a British high street staple over the five decades that followed, but the brand and experience failed to modernise with the times.

Following its acquisition by Charles Denton, former CEO of The Body Shop and Molton Brown, the relaunch was a chance to define what a value beauty retailer could be today: one where physical retail works alongside social media and pioneering technology, rather than against it.

The brand needed a reason for people to come back through the doors. Not just to shop, but to discover, engage and feel a sense of belonging in a physical space.

Our starting point was redefining what Bodycare actually stands for: quality beauty products for everyone, honest value, and a deep belief that beauty comes in many forms, not one single ideal to sell against.

This came to life in Bodycare Studio, a new store format launching first in Sheffield, with dedicated creator spaces and live-streaming built into the shop floor. At the heart of the rollout sits an AI-powered retail platform, analysing customer behaviour, product trends, pricing and creator performance in real time.

This also allows Bodycare to adapt its decisions across merchandising, supply chain and operations as they happen.

Bodycare has always been rooted in the local community. We extended this idea into merchandising, with a flexible design system that gives each branch a canvas to reflect what its customers actually want, rather than organising purely by price or category.

The same thinking carried through to the team, with personalised badges letting staff show which products and subjects they’re most knowledgeable and passionate about.

The identity system is built from a suite of symbols in all shapes and sizes, adapting across every touchpoint, from abstract forms to literal iconography and emoji-inspired social symbols.

A fresh, bright colour palette breaks with category convention, signalling health, optimism and energy, while giving Bodycare an ownable colour on the high street that sets it apart from competitors.

The brand lives in motion through four behaviours, each derived from the language and gestures of social media: Viral, Swipe, Skip and Tap.

Viral sees symbols multiply and spread to fill the frame. Swipe moves content in and out of view with the pace of a scrolling feed, while Skip jumps to new content altogether. Tap brings instant reactions, with elements that pop and burst on cue.

Together they create a single, recognisable motion language that runs from social content and creator spaces to the screens on the shop floor, so Bodycare feels as native in-store as it does on your phone.

Led by the new identity and Bodycare Studio concept, the brand’s high street comeback began in Summer 2026, with 17 stores now open or rolling out across the North and Midlands, from Sheffield and Leicester to Derby and Bradford.

Built to flex from branch to branch, the system is designed to scale with Bodycare’s ambitions: up to 50 stores by the end of the year, and 200 nationwide over the next five years.