“Products for the spa market often tend to look very clinical, sterile and medical, but [ comfort zone ] is quite the opposite. We’re a colourful, contemporary, stylish and approachable brand that really stands out as something very different in the spa environment.

“We have a strong scientific base, but we also seek to humanise science and turn it into an emotional experience that’s about people and lifestyle, and not just products and protocols.”

So says Stephanie Guinard, the company’s newly-appointed brand development manager, who’s joined the Italian spa skincare specialist to help spearhead a whole new era for the family-owned brand.

The Bollati family first established a skincare and haircare brand in 1983, and still manufactures all its own products at its laboratories and headquarters in Parma, northern Italy. [ comfort zone ] is its niche spa brand, created in 1996, and only supplied to a select number (currently around 3,000) of spas worldwide, as well as its five standalone branded spa ‘SPACES’ in Italy.

The recent reinvigoration of the [ comfort zone ] branding is based around the company’s three guiding principles of Skin, Science and Soul.

BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY SKIN
As the company states: “The future of beauty is in wellness. In today’s world we’re more informed, more discerning, more concerned about real benefits. Skincare must go beyond evoking a sense of luxury, indulgence and pleasure to produce clear results.”

With this in mind, [ comfort zone ] launched its Skin Regimen product and lifestyle line at the end of 2012 in Italy, rolling it out a few months later internationally.

Skin Regimen is a results-oriented programme that has been created by an international, multidisciplinary team of doctors and scientists. It combines advanced skin care products, the latest generation of food supplements as well as lifestyle recommendations for an overall ‘skin diet’.

The plan is detailed in a new book, Skin Regimen: The Essential Lifestyle Guide for Longevity and Beauty, only available at the company’s sites and partner spas.

In efficacy tests, the company says this advanced approach achieved an increase in skin moisture of 26 per cent, with wrinkles appearing to be reduced by 17 per cent.

“We’re not just promoting highly results-oriented skincare products and protocols, but a holistic lifestyle, partnering with spas and helping them to teach their clients how to take care of themselves, eat better, take more exercise, reduce stress in their lives, and learn how to age better,” says Guinard.

NATURAL SCIENCE
[ comfort zone ] is underpinned by a strong scientific base, led by pharmacist and cosmetologist Dr Davide Bollati, whose mission has been to research and use nature’s most powerful and effective ingredients in the development of skin formulations.

All of the company’s products are rich in natural, active ingredients and free from parabens. Among its bestselling ranges are Action Sublime, a unique chronobiology system that releases retinol into the skin only when it’s required, and so avoiding adverse reactions and overload.

Its organic brand is Sacred Nature (launched in 2009), which combines 99 per cent natural formulations with high efficacy. The line is certified organic by Ecocert and has won the Marie Claire Prix d’Excellence de Beauté twice, in 2010 and 2011.

To reinforce these ideals of science, beauty and natural ingredients, the new [ comfort zone ] branding uses distinctive patterns and elements derived from structures found in the natural world. Guinard says the branding “is designed to reflect an artistic, emotional representation of the scientific sources that are the basis for our formulations”.

INDIVIDUAL SOUL
At the heart of the [ comfort zone ] business is people – from the Bollati family who conceived it and pioneered developments in skincare formulation, to the highly trained teams in Italy and internationally who deliver the CZ training protocols, and the high quality spa partners worldwide. In turn, these spa operators can better provide a more personal, human touch to their clients.

Guinard says the new branding and recently-revamped website and literature have been carefully designed to reflect these values. She says: “The [ comfort zone ] logo represents the expert, loving hands of the researchers, estheticians, and therapists who provide an exclusive space of rejuvenation for clients. The brackets are a symbol of science’s embrace that protects and cares for the individual person”.

To support the power of its products, the company offers a wide range of face and body treatments that draw inspiration from ancient techniques and rituals worldwide, as well as from different areas of wellness such as medicine and physiotherapy.

Its Tibetan Sound Massage is inspired by Ku Nye, an ancient indigenous practice originating in Tibetan medicine dating back almost 4000 years. Using Tibetan ringing bowls, the treatment is said to promote vitality, ease psycho-physical tension, contribute to the elimination of toxins and alleviate joint and muscle pain, anxiety and insomnia.

BRAND DELIVERY
Guinard says the [ comfort zone ] brand principles are backed up by a sound business proposition, support and training. The basic training for spas lasts for one to two weeks, and goes well beyond instruction in products and protocols – offering education in lifestyle matters, spa management tips, support with branding, merchandising, marketing and social media, and how to create a buzz in both the spa and retail areas.

Guinard says: “We strive to get a perfect balance for our spa clients. It’s not just about helping them deliver exceptional services, it’s about helping them to be profitable. Retail is an area that can be greatly improved in many spas – and we are the perfect partners to work with on this.

“Our branding gives our products – which represent affordable luxury – a consumer appeal and it’s easy to understand what the individual products do. We don’t want them to blend into the spa environment, but stand apart with their own personality.”

The next generation of [ comfort zone ] Spaces are now in development, designed to match the evolution and fresh focus of a modern, scientific skincare system, that still embodies Italian design flair and passion.