Unilever-owned brand Tatcha teams with exclusive retail partner Space NK to open 'Forest Awakening Pop-Up', an 11-day ‘phygital’ pop-up experience in celebration of the launch of Tatcha’s new 'Forest Awakening Body Collection', so customers can discover the healing power of the soothing Hinoki forests of Japan. Situated in the heart of busy Covent Garden, this ten-day oasis aims to help visitors ease stress, lift their mood, and calm the mind.
Tatcha's first-ever body collection, Forest Awakening helps capture the calm of a spa getaway from home with sensorial textures, gentle plant-based ingredients, and the soothing scent of Japanese hinoki forests.
At this one-of-a-kind pop-up guests can discover Tatcha’s latest product innovations inspired by shinrin-yoku (Forest Bathing), the Japanese ritual of connecting to nature through the senses, by immersing themselves in the tranquil sounds, scents and scenes of the forest.
Guests will enter this immersive greenhouse escape through the Garden of Tranquillity, where they can take a moment to relax and reset before beginning a 4D Forest Bathing meditation, guided by Japanese Zen monk and Tatcha Well-Being Ambassador, Toryo Ito. This immersive experience blends the visuals of the forest with the calming scents of nature to transport guests to the celebrated hinoki forests of Japan.
Guests will then enter the Room of Wa / Room of Harmony where they are invited to join a fukubiki drawing to reveal their fortune and prize. Here visitors can discover the efficacious formulas of the Forest Awakening collection and purchase it along with the wider Tatcha award-winning skincare range, including best-sellers such as The Dewy Skin Cream. For purchases of £75 and over, customers will receive a gift with purchase.
Guests will leave the experience through a Zen Terrace, where they will be offered matcha ice cream along with a voucher to redeem against future Tatcha purchases at Space NK.
Blending digital into the physical experience, the pop-up offers an augmented reality experience on the external AR Living Wall, bringing it to life with Japanese flowers and birds so visitors can extend their Forest Bathing experience digitally for the chance to win additional Tatcha treasures.
To further support Tatcha’s charitable partnership with Room to Read, which is committed to providing education for children worldwide, Tatcha are inviting visitors to Covent Garden to write a wish on a colourful strip of paper (Tanzaku) and attach to The Wishing Swing. This act is inspired by the Japanese tradition of Tanabata, and for every wish shared, Tatcha will help another wish come true by funding one day of school for an underserved child.
Mary Yee, CEO of TATCHA said: "Our Forest Awakening collection and this pop up honors the practice of shinrin-yoku, a forest immersion that is prescribed by doctors in Japan for its mental and physical wellbeing benefits. Forest bathing has been scientifically proven to provide health benefits, such as reduction of stress, inflammation, strengthening immunity and calming of the nervous system. Through this immersive experience simulating virtual shinrin-yoku, and our Forest Awakening line, we seek to provide these benefits to our customers.
We hope that every one of our guests walks away feeling relaxed, uplifted, and cared for. That’s the brand experience that Tatcha strives to provide."
Emma Simpson Scott, Chief Marketing Officer at Space NK continues: "We are delighted to once again partner with Tatcha to offer a unique experience for our community, something that has now become part of our DNA at Space NK. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and this immersive forest experience in Covent Garden will deliver a moment of calm and tranquility, whilst also offering a first look at the much- anticipated Forest Awakening collection from Tatcha."
Jenny Hernon, Senior Art Director at Backlash adds: "As well as the fully immersive 4D Hinoki forest inside the pop-up, we also created an augmented reality experience around the living wall inviting the audience to interact and engage whilst queueing as well as after hours when the experience is closed. The AR experience provides consumers with shareable animated brand content to add to their photos and videos, which in turn drives value for the brand in addition to the data capture and voucher redemption features.
Creating a ‘phygital’ experience provides the best of both worlds; a deeper and more engaging consumer experience for guests, and a more powerful tool for brands to extend reach and drive value."
Tatcha’s Forest Awakening collection includes three products: Hinoki Body Wash (£35), Hinoki Body Milk (£50) and Hinoki Body Oil (£61) and is available to buy from the 1st of July via Tatcha’s exclusive UK retailer, Space NK, both online and in store. Customers can reignite their connection with the natural world through Tatcha’s body care ritual.
Tatcha was founded by Vicky Tsai and offers of a range of "pure yet potent" skincare products with Japanese botanicals such as rice, green tea and seaweed.
Tatcha has had similar installations in Japan and LA and a virtual store experience in February.
When: 7 – 16 July 2023, Mon – Wed: 11:00 – 19:00, Thurs – Sat: 11:00 – 20:00, Sun: 11:00 – 18:00
Where: East Piazza, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8RF
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