What should I name my business?
August 29, 2013 3:34 AM Subscribe
So, I have a bunch of product prototypes, packaging, access to a great web/graphic designer and a few months of mostly-free time to get my little skincare business off the ground. Unfortunately, I don't know what this business is called.
The current products are shower gels/moisturisers/lip balms, they're intended to be unisex, and the ones that are fragranced are of the woodsy-herby-medicinal-smelling variety. They're handmade in Australia and although a lot of the ingredients are organic and/or fair-trade, I'm not going for the "natural cosmetics" market or anything like that. The branding and logo ideas I've been toying with are along the lines of Geigy packaging and I'm generally going for a retro, "Better Living Through Chemistry" vibe.
I'm struggling to come up with an appropriate brand name, and I'd particularly fancy something that's a short chemistry- or dermatology-related pun. I also like the idea of a Latin word or phrase. I've gotten to the stage of overthinking where I've seriously considered calling it "Rub This Lotion On Its Skin", which is the point where I decided I might need outside help.
Any suggestions for brand names, or advice on where I might find some fresh inspiration?
The current products are shower gels/moisturisers/lip balms, they're intended to be unisex, and the ones that are fragranced are of the woodsy-herby-medicinal-smelling variety. They're handmade in Australia and although a lot of the ingredients are organic and/or fair-trade, I'm not going for the "natural cosmetics" market or anything like that. The branding and logo ideas I've been toying with are along the lines of Geigy packaging and I'm generally going for a retro, "Better Living Through Chemistry" vibe.
I'm struggling to come up with an appropriate brand name, and I'd particularly fancy something that's a short chemistry- or dermatology-related pun. I also like the idea of a Latin word or phrase. I've gotten to the stage of overthinking where I've seriously considered calling it "Rub This Lotion On Its Skin", which is the point where I decided I might need outside help.
Any suggestions for brand names, or advice on where I might find some fresh inspiration?
You've mentioned the packaging and marketing, but:
What do the products actually _do_ for people that's different from other products? How are your products better than other products? Since packaging speaks for itself, the product name should speak for what's inside.
posted by amtho at 3:52 AM on August 29, 2013
What do the products actually _do_ for people that's different from other products? How are your products better than other products? Since packaging speaks for itself, the product name should speak for what's inside.
posted by amtho at 3:52 AM on August 29, 2013
Best answer: You might like to play around with Wordoid - I used it to find a name which would have similar pronunciation in both English and French and which was also available as a dot.com address - not something which I would find easy to do with just my imagination. You can feed it a seed set of letters of you want - "balm", "gel", "soft" or whatever.
posted by rongorongo at 4:00 AM on August 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 4:00 AM on August 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
And using the above - how about "Dermonics".
posted by rongorongo at 4:05 AM on August 29, 2013
posted by rongorongo at 4:05 AM on August 29, 2013
Balmersoft
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:40 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:40 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'd consider carefully your exact positioning. As you know, it's a crowded market and what this translates down to is you need at least one good USP upon which you need to be able to say your product is different, and preferably that it is better.
In general, there are two poles in cosmetics that relate to the composition of your product - positioning as natural and positioning as scientifically beneficial is one axis. On the other axis you tend to have products that emphasis simplicity and ones that emphasise complexity. E.g.
Natural/Complex - i.e. the blend of herbs and botanicals etc is a unique experience, smell etc
Natural/Simple - i.e. this product is about one thing - one ingredient, or one sentiment (like "luxe" or "repair")
Scientific/Complex - i.e. the complex microwhatsits that activate your dermathingys
Scientific/Simple - i.e. we've done the science but the product itself is simple (e.g. Clinique)
On top of that, you've got two more sets of poles about what the product is for and who it is for: so on one axis you have everyday vs special occasion and on the other male vs and female.
From what you've said, I'm guessing your product is: Natural/Simple/Everyday/Unisex although, anything can sit anywhere along the spectrum (e.g. everyday luxury). In theory, this is your USP and it supports an easy brand narrative - simple product, easy to use, every day, for anyone. Finally, your product is Aussie, which gives it a "buy Aussie" positioning at home at potentially a narrative abroad - there to use if you want.
Firstly, you don't need to call your product anything that speaks directly to its features. Because skincare is crowded, there are tons of "Derma" and "Skin" type brands. You also have quite a few medical-sounding names (Clinique, Dr Hautschka, Dr Sebagh etc). Dr Bronners is slightly unusual in that it dates from a period when everyday health and beauty products were a bit more medicalised. I would caution against referencing chemistry overly. I don't see how it progresses what is a natural brand.
At a literal level, you could call your product NEUS - an acronym of its core features, a simple name and easy to weave into the brand narrative. I actually like the idea of something like "Put This On Your Skin" as a brand because it is no nonsense and speaks to the simplicity of the product.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:53 AM on August 29, 2013 [11 favorites]
In general, there are two poles in cosmetics that relate to the composition of your product - positioning as natural and positioning as scientifically beneficial is one axis. On the other axis you tend to have products that emphasis simplicity and ones that emphasise complexity. E.g.
Natural/Complex - i.e. the blend of herbs and botanicals etc is a unique experience, smell etc
Natural/Simple - i.e. this product is about one thing - one ingredient, or one sentiment (like "luxe" or "repair")
Scientific/Complex - i.e. the complex microwhatsits that activate your dermathingys
Scientific/Simple - i.e. we've done the science but the product itself is simple (e.g. Clinique)
On top of that, you've got two more sets of poles about what the product is for and who it is for: so on one axis you have everyday vs special occasion and on the other male vs and female.
From what you've said, I'm guessing your product is: Natural/Simple/Everyday/Unisex although, anything can sit anywhere along the spectrum (e.g. everyday luxury). In theory, this is your USP and it supports an easy brand narrative - simple product, easy to use, every day, for anyone. Finally, your product is Aussie, which gives it a "buy Aussie" positioning at home at potentially a narrative abroad - there to use if you want.
Firstly, you don't need to call your product anything that speaks directly to its features. Because skincare is crowded, there are tons of "Derma" and "Skin" type brands. You also have quite a few medical-sounding names (Clinique, Dr Hautschka, Dr Sebagh etc). Dr Bronners is slightly unusual in that it dates from a period when everyday health and beauty products were a bit more medicalised. I would caution against referencing chemistry overly. I don't see how it progresses what is a natural brand.
At a literal level, you could call your product NEUS - an acronym of its core features, a simple name and easy to weave into the brand narrative. I actually like the idea of something like "Put This On Your Skin" as a brand because it is no nonsense and speaks to the simplicity of the product.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:53 AM on August 29, 2013 [11 favorites]
Best answer: Why not "Better Living Through Chemistry"? BLTC for short. The acronym has a nice sound.
posted by snorkmaiden at 6:05 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by snorkmaiden at 6:05 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
I think MuffinMan has put you on the right track, but I wanted to suggest "Jayne Would".
posted by notyou at 7:23 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 7:23 AM on August 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm struggling to come up with an appropriate brand name, and I'd particularly fancy something that's a short chemistry- or dermatology-related pun. I also like the idea of a Latin word or phrase. I've gotten to the stage of overthinking where I've seriously considered calling it "Rub This Lotion On Its Skin", which is the point where I decided I might need outside help.
If you're looking for a fun/kicky/pomo sort of vibe, I'm immediately hung up on the balm/bomb homonym and there are a lot of fun things you could do with that, especially if your design could accommodate some sort of "cartoon bomb" (black sphere with a fuse) iconography. Would I, an avowed bathroom-product avoider, consider buying something with an interesting scent and cool packaging if it was called "Balm Diggity"? Yes. Yes I would.
I'm a little concerned that the "better living through chemistry" promise won't be fulfilled by something that smells organic/woodsy/herby, though.
posted by Shepherd at 7:32 AM on August 29, 2013
If you're looking for a fun/kicky/pomo sort of vibe, I'm immediately hung up on the balm/bomb homonym and there are a lot of fun things you could do with that, especially if your design could accommodate some sort of "cartoon bomb" (black sphere with a fuse) iconography. Would I, an avowed bathroom-product avoider, consider buying something with an interesting scent and cool packaging if it was called "Balm Diggity"? Yes. Yes I would.
I'm a little concerned that the "better living through chemistry" promise won't be fulfilled by something that smells organic/woodsy/herby, though.
posted by Shepherd at 7:32 AM on August 29, 2013
Three Times Daily
Derma's Little Helper
Obri
Super retro:
Jane Would's Hande & Elbowe Grease
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:04 AM on August 29, 2013
Derma's Little Helper
Obri
Super retro:
Jane Would's Hande & Elbowe Grease
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:04 AM on August 29, 2013
I'm a bath product junkie and would probably be part of your customer base. Fragrance is the most important consideration for me, and great packaging design sways me far more than it should, so this product line sounds right up my alley. I admit to being turned off by brand names that are cutesy, punny, awkward to pronounce, or just long. I also tend to shy away from brands that sound too doctor-y, since I assume they'll be full of dermatological promises that they can't keep.
Given that, I'd consider a name that implies "this is a good-smelling retro-stylish product" rather than "this is a dermatological chemical product for your skin." You don't need to get too literal; start listing words that remind you of the era you're trying to evoke, or words that relate to the package design, and see where that takes you.
And I think notyou is onto something with "Jayne Would." Something simple with the name "Jayne" in it would appeal to me - it's a stylish name! You could make up a last name to go with it, say, Jayne Basil or Jayne Orange or whatever your products smell like.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:07 AM on August 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
Given that, I'd consider a name that implies "this is a good-smelling retro-stylish product" rather than "this is a dermatological chemical product for your skin." You don't need to get too literal; start listing words that remind you of the era you're trying to evoke, or words that relate to the package design, and see where that takes you.
And I think notyou is onto something with "Jayne Would." Something simple with the name "Jayne" in it would appeal to me - it's a stylish name! You could make up a last name to go with it, say, Jayne Basil or Jayne Orange or whatever your products smell like.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:07 AM on August 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
So you're naming the company, not the products, correct? Maybe:
Alchemy
Elixir Vitae
FloraLuxe
____ Serum
posted by carmicha at 9:53 AM on August 29, 2013
Alchemy
Elixir Vitae
FloraLuxe
____ Serum
posted by carmicha at 9:53 AM on August 29, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for each of your responses; all of them were helpful. I've marked the ones that I'm most likely to end up using, although they're all quite different so I clearly have some more thinking to do :)
posted by jaynewould at 12:15 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by jaynewould at 12:15 AM on August 31, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:42 AM on August 29, 2013 [2 favorites]