Brands
Johnson & Johnson rebrands baby care portfolio
MUMBAI: Baby care brand, Johnson & Johnson, has always been under the scanner with people claiming it causes cancer and is actually harmful for a baby’s skin.
The brand has stuck to using scientific research to back up the global appeal of its products. But that was up until now.
Today, with rising awareness about artificial fragrances and harmful dyes used in bay care products, brands like Johnson & Johnson, Pampers, Huggies and others are being questioned and asked to move towards an all-natural alternative.
Now, to address the rising concern of parents and consumers around the globe, Johnson & Johnson has decided to rebrand its entire baby care portfolio prioritising transparency over science as it looks to get closer to parents.
Since the brand needed a new identity to connect with the millennial consumers/parents, it undertook an intensive research spread over 18 months with mothers and fathers. J&J discovered that the general concern among parents was about the presence of harmful dyes in products and a general need for greater transparency from the brand’s end.
The baby care company has completely redesigned its packaging based on the feedback from its customers and employees, with an easy-to-hold, pump action bottles that can be operated with one hand while holding a baby. The products will now display the ingredients that go into their products and fragrances for the first time, which has until now been considered a secret.
The global relaunch will roll out over the next 18 months, starting in the US in August, followed by China and India by the end of this year and then in the UK during quarter one of 2019.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
