26 Jan 2016
Skincare brand ila expands with branded spas and bespoke yoga programme
BY Jane Kitchen
Skincare brand ila is set to expand its presence with several ila only spas in the works for 2016, as well as a yoga programme designed to complement the brand’s treatments and a line of yoga clothing and accessories launching later this year.
The British company currently operates two ila only spas in India and one in the Maldives, with plans to open an additional Indian location and two to three UK locations in 2016.
“It really works well for us,” Denise Leicester, ila’s founder, told Spa Opportunities of the branded concept. “You can select the team and give them the training, and give them every single touch point...We can shape the spa more when we do it ourselves.”
Leicester said so far, she’s had 100 per cent therapist retention, and guest feedback at the ila only spas has been great. She credits that, in large part, to the training she gives therapists, which includes a focus on mindfulness, heart consciousness and transformative healing.
“They’re learning to touch with awareness,” she explained. “Creating that clarity and clearness within ourselves means that that’s how we engage with the guest. It’s taking responsibility as a therapist, and it’s empowering the therapist. Being present and working in that way is so rewarding.”
With the ila only spas, ila handles everything from recruitment and finding a spa director to setting up the spa journey to providing competitive analysis, said Leicester.
“It needs to be very carefully done,” she said. “Choosing the right team, making sure the spa journey works, choosing all the equipment...You create treatments that are really aligned with why people are there.”
For instance, Raas Jodhpur – the location of the first ila only spa – is a luxury boutique hotel set within the ancient city walls, in the direct gaze of the 500-year-old Mehrangarh Fort. Located within heritage buildings that have been restored with design-led interiors that fuse antiquity, innovation and sustainability, the spa incorporates creative, cultural elements in its design and treatments.
Yogic healing and energy work are combined with natural, regional products, and the spa is themed around an abode of the goddess, with a feminine flow and soft colours.
“To have this lovely little spa nestled just a stone’s throw beneath one of India’s largest fortresses, drawing off all the raw energy that it exudes, yet cocooned in the city’s most intriguing luxury boutique hotel, is about as exciting an alignment as we could have envisioned for our first ila only spa,” said Leicester.
The Finolhu resort in the Maldives, on the other hand, is very different, said Leicester, with more focus on couples retreats and rituals, and many treatments lasting two hours, as guests have more time to relax on the island retreat.
Ila only spas use crystal healing bowls for sound healing, and often incorporate things like chakra blessings and yogic healing. Leicester uses Oakworks beds and Comphy sheets along with ila products – including the newly-launched ila Gold line, which made an exclusive debut at iconic London department store Harrods before being rolled out worldwide.
Ila is also rolling out a programme of yogic healings with its ila active yoga menu, which aims to shape how yoga can be seen not just as a physical fitness regime, but as a healing lifestyle.
“Yoga is really a big part of what we do and offer,” said Leicester. “It mirrors the spa, so you feel that the journey is connected.”
Yoga teachers will be able to recommend treatments that will complement the classes, and ila oils and massage techniques will be incorporated into the classes as a “sneak peek” into the ila treatment offerings.
A retail component, including ila yoga mats, yoga wear, lounge wear, accessories, CDs, candles and more will also be available later this year.
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