Design and production studio Etch has partnered with Neal’s Yard Remedies to deliver a complete reimagining of the brand’s Covent Garden flagship, the spiritual home of the British natural wellbeing pioneer.
The result is a warm, inviting, and exquisitely crafted retail environment that reframes the brand’s heritage for a new era of conscious beauty consumers.
A Concept Rooted in Storytelling
From the outset, Etch grounded the design direction in a set of guiding pillars that articulate the heart of the Neal’s Yard Remedies brand: Botanicals, The Sundial, Blue, Balanced, and Open Retail. These pillars informed every decision across the project, from architectural forms to materiality, and can be seen clearly in the progression from early concept thinking to final spatial resolution
The studio’s ambition was to create a space that honours the brand’s foundations in natural ingredients, honest craft, and wellbeing, while offering a clean, elevated retail experience aligned with contemporary expectations.
Materiality Driven by Nature and Craft
Material exploration became central to the design, establishing a palette that is both sustainable and sensorial. Natural materials including oak herringbone, European walnut, limestone, travertine plaster and painted white brick introduce warmth and texture.
These are contrasted by Neal’s Yard Remedies’ signature deep cobalt blue, expressed through ceramic tiles, accent lighting, metalwork and product displays.
Botanical storytelling is woven subtly throughout the store. Pressed flower surfaces and herb-inspired details reference the brand’s Dorset garden and organic eco-factory, reinforcing the authenticity of the brand’s natural ingredients and sustainable practices.
A Space Designed for Discovery
The new layout centres around an elegant circular testing table, positioned beneath a soft overhead light and grounded by a radial tiled motif. This focal point encourages customers to slow down, test products, and engage in meaningful conversations with staff, a modern interpretation of the traditional apothecary counter.
Flexible perimeter shelving, crafted from walnut-stained oak and accented with blue elements, supports open retailing and future adaptability. Additional freestanding product moments allow the brand to tell richer product and ingredient stories in a calm, uncluttered environment.
Honouring a London Icon
The storefront, a familiar sight within the brightly coloured Neal’s Yard courtyard, has been carefully refreshed to enhance visibility while preserving its charm. Etch introduced a bespoke blue steel display framework that echoes the neighbourhood’s architectural language and creates strong product presence at street level.
A Warm Collaboration
“The process of collaborating with Neal’s Yard Remedies on the evolution of their store design has been a joy from start to finish. They have so many warm, authentic brand stories to tell that our job became simply to provide an elevated space to allow them to tell them. Celebrating true craftsmanship and distinctly British storytelling, the new Covent Garden store is a place for the NYR community to come together to discover and celebrate.” -DAVID ROBERTS, Creative Director, Etch
“Our Covent Garden relaunch is deeply personal to me. This iconic store was once a place where I came to seek expertise and trusted advice, long before I became co-owner of Neal’s Yard Remedies. It was a place of discovery and it remains so today. Our reimagined store embodies the sanctuary we’ve always dreamt of creating for our customers. A thoughtful homage to community, care and calm, we’re so excited to introduce a modern space that honours our apothecary roots while encouraging our customers to seek expertise, reconnect with nature and be more in touch with their senses and wellbeing than ever before.” -ANABEL KINDERSLEY, CEO and Co-owner, Neal’s Yard Remedies
A Blueprint for Future Retail
The Covent Garden flagship represents a confident new direction for Neal’s Yard Remedies – one that blends meaningful brand heritage with elevated, experience-focused retail. The design provides a scalable and flexible blueprint for future rollouts, ensuring the brand can continue telling its story in environments that feel grounded, natural, and unmistakably charming Neal’s Yard Remedies.
