Originally a neighborhood apothecary in New York’s East Village, Kiehl’s Since 1851 grew to develop and sell natural care products packaged in simple, generic bottles with copy-heavy labels and idiosyncratic product names. A policy of generous sampling combined with staff knowledge and attentiveness helped the brand garner press and testamonials from beauty industry celebrities. The East Village store, chock full of memorabilia, curiosities and personality, became a tourist attraction and demand exceeded production capacity. In 2000, L'Oréal acquired the family-owned company and insisted on conducting the company’s business as it always had. Both Kiehl’s and L'Oréal understood that the brand mystique lay in intangibles like service, and an “un-designed” design aesthetic.

To preserve loyalty while expanding into new markets, we used a careful hand to revise packaging for global legal requirements, better define product categories, highlight product benefits and enhance the customer experience. To leverage service and product knowledge, we developed a series of training manuals for new sales associates and store managers that encompassed brand history, customer protocol, skin science and product information. 

Five-volume boxed training manuals for Kiehl's beauty advisors.