Founded by Romy Fraser — a former teacher with a passion for holistic health, beauty and wellbeing – Neal’s Yard Remedies opened their first shop in Covent Garden more than thirty years ago offering dried herbs, homeopathic remedies and essential oils. By that time not many brands were concerned with sustainable and green beauty and health products. NYR though have always been concerned with our environment and continuously work on improving their products in terms of sustainability and eco-friendliness.
In 2005 Fraser sold Neal’s Yard Remedies to Peter Kindersley, co-founder of Dorling Kindersley (DK) publishing house and owner of Sheepdrove organic farm. Kindersley’s life was changed by a book called The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour, published by DK, which became a best seller in the 70s and is still printed today. At the time when the book was first in print there was nothing like it around. Reading it was an eye-opening experience for Kindersley, who then bought a farmhouse on the Berkshire Downs.
Observing the destructive influence of intensive chemical farming on the natural landscape around his farmhouse, Kindersley bought additional land and started cultivating it organically. Thirty years later, Sheepdrove is a thriving 2,100-acre organic farm and supplies Neal’s Yard Remedies with herbs for some of their products.
NYR is a family run business. Full of pride Kindersley explains that ‘all the family own the farm and NYR. We are all involved. We do it together.’
Sheepdrove Organic Farm
Convinced by the centuries-old expertise of the apothecaries, the products of Neal’s Yard Remedies are built on their deep knowledge of herb-based remedies. The blue bottles – the signature feature of the trade – were adopted by Neal’s Yard Remedies, as the brand wanted to revive that knowledge that has been lost.
The vision of NYR is to improve the wellbeing of their customers in a natural way, sourcing the ingredients for their remedies from organic farms using certified herbs and plants. The final products are then formulated and hand-made in England. The blue bottles, that have now become the trademark of Neal’s Yard Remedies, are British-made. They are composed of Scottish sand, Yorkshire limestone and soda ash from Cheshire, and are 100% recyclable. The Neal’s Yard Remedies factory, based in Dorset, is designed to be energy and resource efficient and incorporates a recycling system and 200 square meters of solar panels.
A world leader in organic health and beauty with stores in the UK, Dubai and Japan, the independent, family-owned British business remains true to its values and continues on its pioneering mission to spread their message and help transform people’s lives by educating and empowering them on how to live a more healthy life through the power of nature. ‘We are not just selling products – we are selling a way of life, a new way of life. A way of life that helps people,’ Kindersley proudly says.
Neal’s Yard Organic consultants
NYR has launched a programme offering the possibility to become a NYR Consultant and build your own business, with all the support of this well-established brand. Through NYR Organic – their direct selling arm – everyone can now become an ambassador for healthy and green beauty. ‘I’m a great believer in people helping people. It has to start at home of course, but our aim is to make this a reality in all we do,’ Kindersley explains the concept of Neal’s Yard Remedies Organic.
Find out more at uk.nyrorganic.com
