Interview with Immaculate Vegan Founder, Annick Ireland

Our Founder, Erin Schmidt, sat down with Annick Ireland to discuss how Vegan Beauty and Fashion has grown in the last few years.

As the Founder of Immaculate Vegan, Annick has taken her Vegan Fashion and Beauty blog to a whole new level by opening her own Company website which features Luxury Vegan and Sustainable Beauty and Fashion from the UK, USA and around the world.  If you haven't had a chance to check out immaculatevegan.com yet, you are missing out! 

Bella Vida SB: "Thank you for letting us interview you, Annick! Have you seen the Vegan beauty and skincare industry change over the last few years?"

Annick: "Definitely! It’s really interesting to see big brands now using words like ‘natural’, ‘plant-based’ and ‘vegan ingredients’ in their marketing messaging now – even though they’re often not actually vegan brands and not very natural! But it shows how they’re trying to be more appealing to consumers who are now really valuing those attributes in their beauty and skincare products. A big change I have seen over the past few years, alongside changing those shifts in consumer preferences, is the launch and success of many smaller beauty brands – and I think there’s been a real movement away from mainstream, corporate beauty brands to many of these smaller brands that are often placing high emphasis on better quality ingredients, ethics, sustainability, as well as challenging the status quo of what ‘beauty’ looks like and means. Which is brilliant. I’m also really interested in the growth of gender-neutral brands."

Bella Vida SB: Do you have any favorite Vegan skincare ingredients or products that you love for your skin?

Annick: "I don’t have any favourite ingredients, but I love the use of natural, organic ingredients overall, I like trying lots of different things, and I’m a sucker for things that smell lovely! I do always invest in a high quality serum, and I’m a massive fan of the Bella Vida Radiant Sunflower Serum, it’s incredible how it makes my skin feel after using it."

Bella Vida SB: How many Vegan Beauty companies does Immaculate Vegan work with?

Annick: "Right now it’s only 20, which is quite small for a beauty category. But it’s definitely an area we plan to grow over time. And we believe we have some of the most high quality brands out there, including Bella Vida of course!"

Bella Vida SB: How is the Vegan and Sustainable Beauty and Fashion industry changing the Market overall?

Annick: "I’m seeing more and more sustainable and vegan beauty and fashion brands launch all the time. In fashion what’s very exciting to see is the use of innovative new materials (such as recycled fibres, apple leather, cactus leather and other plant-based materials). I think the choice now available, and the exposure many of these brands are getting, is definitely helping consumers consider these options and become more informed about what they’re buying. And both climate change and COVID have also made people more aware of the impact our beauty and fashion choices have on the health of our planet."

Bella Vida SB: How has Immaculate Vegan grown in the last few years and what's next for IV?

Annick: "We launched at the end of 2019 and started with vegan women’s shoes and bags, so this is the area we are strongest in, but we now really expanding our clothing categories too. We will also grow our men’s offering, which is currently pretty small, and we plan to launch Immaculate Kids too. Ultimately we want to make sure we have a strong offering in every key category in every region around the world, so that customers have a great choice of vegan and sustainable products that they can also buy locally."

We would like to thank, Annick Ireland and Immaculate Vegan for taking the time to let us interview them and for supporting Bella Vida SB and Vegan Fashion and Beauty around the world!

Visit immaculatevegan.com  to shop incredible Vegan brands from around the world! 

Erin Schmidt